Anne's Apple Butter

Super easy preparation and really tasty rewards, isn't this what every recipe should be like? You can use any combination of apples that you like as long as they are cooking apples. I find that about half sweet and half tart works best. If you are unsure which apples are good for cooking just use Granny Smith's (tart) and/or Golden Delicious (sweet). You just need to have enough to fill a 6 qt slow cooker which is about 14-18 apples, depending on their general size.

Makes: 5-6 pints

Preparation time: 20m
Cooking time: 20m
Total time: 14h20m

Ingredients:

  • 14-18 medium apples
  • 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground clove
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Equipment: 6qt slow cooker, immersion blender, apple corer/wedger (makes this recipe much easier but not necessary)

Instructions:

  1. Core and slice each apple into 8 wedges; leave the skins on.
  2. Add the apples and the vanilla to the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 8 hours.
  3. After first cooking use and immersion blender to blend the mixture.
  4. Add the spices.
  5. Cook for a further 6-10 hours on LOW.
  6. Preserve in canning jars or keep in the fridge for up to two weeks.
  7. If you are preserving this in canning jars, then you should prepare the jars and process follow proper canning instructions. If you are new to canning, follow the instructions on the INLINE-LINK-START title="Canning" href="http://www.freshpreserving.com/getting-started.aspx" target="_blank">Ball website INLINE-LINK-END.
  8. Use this sweet sauce atop pancakes, toast, ice cream, pork chops, or stir it into oatmeal or plain yogurt.