If you want to make your kitchen smell like the essence of fall and seasonal cooking, drop everything and start making this apple butter right now. Especially if your rewards from fall apple picking are still taking up a lot of room in the fridge, this is the perfect, no fuss, easy recipe to use up all of those delicious fall apples.
Apple butter is basically just a concentrated, thickened applesauce. It is more like jam or preserves than butter, but it is rich in taste and spreadable like butter. I love putting apple butter on pancakes and toast. A dollop of apple butter is also delicious on a bowl of yogurt and granola for breakfast. You also must try it warmed up and spooned over vanilla ice cream. Decadent fall deliciousness!
This is a slow cooker recipe, which means it is an easy, hands-off process once you get all those apples peeled and cored. Depending on how hot your slow cooker runs (ours is a bit on the hot side and even gets up to a simmer on the low setting), you can adjust the setting to keep the apple butter moving along. If it has not completely broken down and started to turn brown after 4 hours, turn the heat up to medium. If your slow cooker is a hotsie totsie like ours, you can even leave the lid askew to cool it down and let some of the water evaporate.
Ideally this turns into a thick and spreadable consistency. If at the end of the cooking time it is still more liquidy than desired, transfer it to a saucepan and reduce it on the stove top of medium high heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring often.
The spices are also fairly customizable here. Proceed with caution, though, as the flavor just intensifies after 9-11 hours in the slow cooker. One cinnamon stick brings a powerful but modest cinnamon warmth, and you could add some nutmeg, ginger, cloves in small amounts for a more complex fall spice.
I love enjoying the taste of fall with this apple butter spread on a warm homemade biscuit. We’ve been making apple butter every fall for the past few years, and I am excited every time! It makes a big batch, so you could definitely freeze some now to have in the end of winter or early spring.
- 6 lb apples (about 20 apples) any type (we used macs and granny smith)
- 1/2 cup water (or apple cider or white wine)
- 150 g dark brown sugar (about 1 cup or 5¼ oz)
- 1 cinnamon stick
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Peel and core apples, chop roughly.
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Add to slow cooker vessel with cider, sugar, and cinnamon stick
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Set slow cooker to low and cook for 9-11 hours, stir halfway through.
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Remove cinnamon stick and stir, mashing until an even consistency
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If apple butter is still liquidy at the end of 9-11 hours, take off the lid and turn slowcooker to high for 1-2 hours. Alternatively, you can transfer the apple butter to a sauce pan and reduce on the stove top at medium heat until thick and spreadable.