Apple Butter

See directions for step by step pictorial

So, what exactly is apple butter? First of all, there is no butter or dairy in it. Rather, it seems to take the name from it's smooth texture (and spreadability on all sorts of delicious treats). This dish takes patience, but with a crock pot, you have to check on it very little. I'd rather spend the extra time and know what went into my food (and when it was made). Also, many store-bought brands have an enormous amount of added sugar.

This recipe made ~5 cups of apple butter, which is a lot. It's great for handing out to friends in small plastic containers, and I'm imagining it would freeze fairly well. The websites I consulted said that apple butter should last for ~2-3 months in the refrigerator.

Most of the recipes I looked at had a TON of sugar (4 cups for 5 lb of apples!?! Crikey!), so I cut that way down. It is possible to make it with no added sugar and would be just as delicious. I also used as many different apples as I could find (the checkout girl at Henry's looked at me kind of funny as she rang up at least 12 different types of apples).

Also, you do not NEED a crock pot to make the apple butter, but it will take more minding on the stove to stir and make sure the apples do not burn. I stirred occasionally and had no problems.

Ingredients:

18 assorted apples, peeled and finely chopped
2 tsp ground cinnamon
5 whole cloves (or 1 tsp cloves)
1 tsp nutmeg
1 cup sugar (1/2 raw cane or white, 1/2 brown)...would be fine with even less or none at all

Equipment:

Sharp knife
Vegetable peeler
Cutting board
Crock pot
Food processor (it's do-able without one, just slower)
Bamboo skewers or butter knives

Directions:

1. Peel, core, and rough chop apples.


2. Use a food processor to finely chop apples (or chop finely by hand).

3. Put apples in crock pot. Add sugar and spices. Mix.

Prior to cooking

4. Cook apples on HIGH for 1 hour.

5. Reduce heat to LOW. Cook for 10 hours. (I did this overnight)

6. After 10 hours, keep heat on low, but vent pot so moisture will escape. To do this, prop bamboo skewers or butter knives on top of the crock pot and lay the lid on top. Cook for 2 more hours.

After 10 hours (note the amount of moisture still remaining)

Venting the crock pot

7. At this point, the apples should be a rich, dark brown color. They can be smashed to a smooth consistency using a whisk, food processor, or immersion blender, or left as is.

After 2 hours of cooking with vented lid...notice the color difference

Smooth like, uh, buttah :)

Note: I used whole cloves and did not remove them prior to the final spin in the processor. I couldn't even tell.