Apple Butter in the Crockpot! Super Easy!
by GrowingFlowers
A while back I attended the births of two baby girls. A two girl day. The sun was at that critically low point when it’s streaming from the sky, almost sideways. We were driving home. A client texted me to ask if we wanted to pick some apples! Yes! Yes!
Have I mentioned how much I love picking fruit? LOVE it. I know it must attend to some deeply primal need in us to be gatherers of food. To provide food. It makes me happier than most things. I love picking fruit.
So we’ve had bags and bags of apples. We’ve eaten them bunches. Yet the bags kept sitting there. But the babies didn’t stop coming. So many – which really meant that there was no time at all to process the apples. I noticed a few fruit flies, and just became so worried that we would lose the apples.
So I planned to begin slicing and chopping apples the next morning. I was worried especially the ones that were about to “turn.” I opened my eyes that morning, and boom ba da doom – the phone rang. Yep. A baby coming. I was sure it was going to be a fast one. What happens when I am “sure” of something? Sigh. I’m wrong. (At least when it comes to predicting labors and births.) I was gone all day – until the middle of the night. After that birth, apples were far from mind.
A couple of days ago, after returning from Florida, I began chopping. I am super excited about this recipe. I will share it here and give FULL, HUGE, CREDIT and THANKS to this site!
Here it is!
Homemade Apple Butter
Ingredients
25-30 apples unpeeled
2-4 tsp cinnamon
1/4-1/2 tsp allspice
1/2-1 tsp ground cloves
2 cups sugar (I used even less)
Instructions
Core and slice apples, dumping the slices into the crockpot as you go. Stop prepping apples when the crockpot is full (just save the remaining apples for later).
Add 2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp allspice, 1/2 tsp cloves and 2 cups of sugar. Mix well and put the crock pot on low for 10 hours. Feel free to stir when you walk by!
After 10 hours, core and slice more apples to fill the crockpot. Dump the new apple slices into what’s already cooked down. Mix well. Cook another 10 hours on low.
Repeat the process of adding more apples, mix, set the crockpot for another 10 hours.
Taste test your apple butter and add more cinnamon, allspice, cloves and sugar to your taste. I usually add the same amount I did the first time, although sometimes I only add one more cup of sugar, depends on how sweet the apples are.
After it’s gone a good 30-40 hours, use an immersion blender to puree it. (You could probably put through food mill or blender too). Continue cooking until it’s the thickness that you want. If it’s not cooking down enough vent the lid a little. If it gets too thick, add some water or apple juice.
When it’s the consistency you want, can it using a *waterbath method.
Sounds yummy. I’ve made applesauce and all kinds of other jams but never apple butter. You’ll enjoy it long after the work and the fruit flies are gone! Keep up the good work.
Thanks Aunt Judy!