Description
This Crock Pot Apple Butter recipe offers a rich, spiced, and creamy apple spread perfect for canning. Using a slow cooker, sweetened with both granulated and brown sugar and flavored with warm spices like cinnamon and cloves, it delivers a deeply flavorful apple butter that’s easy to prepare and ideal for preserving and enjoying year-round.
Ingredients
Scale
Fruit:
- 6 pounds apples (such as McIntosh, Cortland, or Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and chopped
Sweeteners & Spices:
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Flavoring:
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare Apples: Place the peeled, cored, and chopped apples into a 6-quart slow cooker, ensuring they are evenly distributed.
- Mix Sugars and Spices: In a medium bowl, combine granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and salt. Pour this mixture over the apples and stir well to evenly coat all the fruit.
- Cook Slowly: Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 10 hours, stirring occasionally, until the apples become soft and the mixture turns a deep, dark brown color.
- Puree the Mixture: Using an immersion blender, blend the apple mixture until smooth. For a chunkier apple butter, you may skip this step or blend only partially according to your preference.
- Thicken the Apple Butter: Continue cooking uncovered for an additional 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the apple butter reaches your desired thick consistency.
- Add Vanilla: Stir in vanilla extract during the last 30 minutes of cooking to infuse the apple butter with a warm vanilla flavor.
- Sterilize Jars: Boil canning jars and lids in water for 10 minutes to sterilize them thoroughly.
- Fill Jars: Ladle the hot apple butter into the sterilized jars, leaving a 1/4 inch of headspace at the top to allow for expansion during processing.
- Seal and Process: Secure the lids on the jars and process them in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes to safely preserve the apple butter.
- Cool and Store: Let the jars cool undisturbed for 12-24 hours on a towel or rack. Store the sealed jars in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year to maintain freshness.
Notes
- Use a mix of apple varieties for balanced flavor and texture.
- Stir the apple butter occasionally during cooking to prevent burning at the bottom.
- Adjust spices to taste; increase cinnamon or cloves for bolder flavor.
- If you prefer a chunky texture, blend only half or skip blending entirely.
- Ensure jars and lids are fully sterilized before canning to prevent spoilage.
- After opening, store apple butter in the refrigerator and consume within a few weeks.
