Thursday, October 27, 2011

~Crock Pot Apple Butter~

I love apple butter.  Plain and simple.  I will always choose it first before any other type of jam spread.  Unfortunately, I am the only one in my family who likes it.  Unfortunately, the apple butter found in stores always come in huge jars and I end up throwing about half away before it goes bad.  Why is that?  The huge jar, that is.  I know why it goes bad...I can't eat it fast enough!  Hehe.

So, I decided to try and make my own.  I've seen lots of recipes about the crock pot method and knew that it would be a no-brainer as to how easy it would be to make.  Unfortunately.....here I go again :)  I didn't know which recipe to try.  Decisions, decisions.  Sometimes life can be so hard!

I finally found one on www.cooks.com that got lots of great reviews and decided to give it a shot.  It didn't say what type of apples would be best, but I used a combination of Gala and Granny Smith even though I forgot to include them in this photo...about 3 pounds.

Other ingredients include...
     3 cups sugar
     2 tsp cinnamon
     1/2 tsp allspice
     1/2 tsp cloves
     dash of salt
     3/4 cup water or apple cider (I used apple juice)
Fill crock pot three-fourths full of peeled, cored and chopped apples.  Mix together all other ingredients and add to apples, stirring until evenly coated.  Cover and cook over low setting overnight or until the butter is a thick spreadable consistency.

If apple butter has too much liquid, remove lid and cook on high until thickened.  Stir often to keep it from scorching.

Note:  I was rather busy and didn't have the time to 'watch' the apple butter, so I just left the setting on low and cocked the lid just a bit to allow the butter to cook down slowly.  I did have to smash my apples as it was more chunky than what I wanted.  Look at all that yummy goodness!!

Store in the refrigerator for up to six weeks or freeze for longer storage.

But I decided I wanted to can my apple butter and used half-pint jars processing in a boiling water bath for ten minutes.  Then...ping....ping...ping. Done!  I forgot how much I enjoyed canning and the the joy of having something in the pantry that you put together.

Now, when tasting this yummy goodness, I noticed that there was an extremely strong taste of the spices in my lovely butter.  I may have...just may have doubled the cloves and allspice.  I'm not really sure.  I've never had homemade apple butter before and so I'm not sure if it's supposed to be this strong.

So....I'm asking for your help here.  Do you make your own apple butter?  Is your recipe different than mine and, if so, would you mind sharing it with me?  I would love to try a different version especially from someone I 'know'.  :)

An apple a day.....


Update:  I tried the apple butter on some English muffins and it wasn't as overpowering as I thought it would be.  It was good.  If I make this recipe again, I'll have to pay close attention to how much of the allspice and cloves I add. :)




Participating in Fresh From the Farm Recipe Swap

12 comments:

Kerin said...

Hi Velma.
I have a wonderful apple butter recipe that is made in the crock pot. I posted it back in Sept. (I think) I've been told by friends and neighbors that it is the best apple butter that they have ever had. I've had the recipe for years and years, and it's one that I found in an old slow cooker recipe book.
Turns out perfect every single time.
It seems that quite a few other bloggers have tried it, and have posted my blog link for the recipe....(I have about 100 hits a day on that recipe) so I'm guessing it's worked out great for everyone :)
Hope you can give it a try. Best of luck, and have a great day!

Kerin said...

p.s I found the post..it is Aug. 30th. Hope this helps.

Anonymous said...

Ooh, I've never tried making it and preserving it sounds like fun. Must check Kerin's recipe. I think cloves tend to be very strong flavored and I only use a tad when a recipe calls for it. Thank you for the inspiration.
Enjoy your day.

❁Velma ~Down Our Country Road❁ said...

Kerin,
I found your post and have flagged it so that I can make another batch...soon!

Thank you for sharing.

Kathy said...

Ok, now you've done it! You've given me a craving for biscuits and apple butter! Off to the kitchen I go! K

TinaTx said...

Mumm - can't help ya since I don't eat apple butter but I bet it smelled good while it was cooking!

❁Velma ~Down Our Country Road❁ said...

Tina ~
Oh, yes it did!!

Cindy said...

Hi Velma,
I made it last year when our apple tree produced so many, none this year, don't know what is wrong with our tree.
I think my recipe was much like yours, though. And didn't it smell good!
Hugs, Cindy

Sunny Simple Life said...

Hey there is our lamp. That looks so yummy for fall and I bet it smells so good. Hope you are feeling better.

Nancy's Daily Dish said...

I've never made apple butter so I'm not much help but it sure does look good! I like it too and haven't bought it or had it in years. I love the photos too!

Nancy

Maura @ Kisiwa Creek Photography said...

Hi Velma! I LOVE Apple Butter so I've written your recipe out and I also went to Kerin's blog and wrote her's out too. Looks like I'll be making lots of Apple Butter :) I can almost smell it.
Maura :)

Kathy Shea Mormino, The Chicken Chick said...

I have always wanted to try making apple butter. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Hello, new follower here! I would love to have you link up with my Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week!
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/09/clever-chicks-blog-hop-2-featured-post.html

I hope to see you there!
Cheers!
Kathy
The Chicken Chick

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