Keeping with tradition, the four of us went apple picking again this year. And, just like in previous years, we got over-zealous and picked at least a couple bushels of apples. Close to a hundred bucks and a darn-near broken back later, we came home with apples out the ying-yang. Now what??
Not to fear. I have several apple recipes in my repertoire, like this one, and this one, and this one, but one recipe that I’ve been wanting to make for a long time is apple butter. So I set out and started my research, like I always do when creating a recipe, to see what other people have done. I gathered inspiration from a few, and started out on my own apple butter recipe.
I knew I needed it to be cooked in a slow cooker, mainly because of time. The apples need to be cooked until they’re basically mush, so a slow cooker was definitely the answer. I adjusted sugar measures; eliminated cloves and added allspice, and since I felt the recipe needed brightness, I added lemon juice. Just a hint did the trick. I started by cooking on low for 6 hours, and the apples still had a long way to go before mush. I checked back at 8 hours, and they were getting there. 10 hours proved to be the Goldilocks of time. I wanted the vanilla and lemon juice to bring the brightness and not blend, so once the apples had cooked for 10 hours, I added those two ingredients and cooked another 2 hours with the lid of the slow cooker off. Perfect-O. Since I love to can things, I went this route. If you don’t feel like canning, the apple butter will keep well in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
You can serve apple butter on a number of things, like biscuits, muffins, scones, or even toast. For an out of this world sandwich, how about a grilled cheddar and apple butter sandwich! Mic drop.
For the easy Slow Cooker Apple Butter Recipe, click here, or on any of the photos.
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