Dad Whats 4 Dinner

One dads attempt to make ordinary everyday food extraordinary

Crock Pot Apple Butter

by 23 Comments

So if you read my earlier post for Apple Harvest Bread you read the story of our adventures to the U-Pick apple farm and what to do with the 1/2 bushel of apples. As I said that is a lot of apples. Well one great way to preserve those apples is to make apple butter for enjoyment throughout the winter months.www.dadwhats4dinner.com

Apple butter is a highly concentrated form of apple sauce produced by long, slow cooking of  apples with cider or water to a point where the sugar in the apples caramelizes, turning the apple butter a deep brown. The concentration of sugar gives apple butter a much longer shelf life as a preserve than apple sauce. Wikipedia

www.dadwhats4dinner.comOne of the problems with cooking apple butter on the stove is can scorch easily. Scorched apple butter is not a good thing and you might need to return to the apple orchard to pick more. By using the crock pot, the low slow cooking allows the apples to get the nice caramelized flavor and deep brown color. You cannot overcook apple butter in the crock pot. The flavors will only intensify. Whisk or use your immersion blender to make this Crock Pot Apple Butter as smooth as well “Butter”. Here is how you make your apple butter.

q2222

Peel and chop the apples and place in your food processor. Pulse for about a minute. Place all ingredients in crock pot and stir. Cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce temperature to low and cook for at least 11 hours or overnight. Uncover and cook for another hour. Whisk or use your immersion blender to get the desired consistence of the butter. Process the butter in pint jars in a hot water canner. Enjoy!

If you like what you see, please sign up to receive all my new recipes via email or follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest and don’t’ forget to press the yum button.

www.dadwhats4dinner.com
Print
Crock Pot Apple Butter
Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
13 hrs
Total Time
13 hrs 30 mins
 
Great use of fall harvest apples to enjoy all winter long.
Servings: 4 -6 pints
Author: Quinn Caudill
Ingredients
  • 5 1/2 lbs apples peeled and finely chopped (15-18 medium apples) Tip: 3 apples per pound
  • 2 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup honey
  • 3 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves or 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie seasoning
  • 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
  1. Place apples in crock pot.
  2. Combine sugar, honey, cinnamon, cloves and salt.
  3. Pour over apples and mix well.
  4. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour.
  5. Decrease heat to low; cover and cook on low for 11 hours or until thickened and dark brown.
  6. Stir occasionally.
  7. Uncover and cook on low for 1 hour longer.
  8. If desired, whisk or blend with an immersion blender, until smooth.
  9. Can and freeze.
  10. See notes on water canning process.
Recipe Notes

USDA Guide to Home Canning Apple Butter
To test for doneness, remove a spoonful and hold it away from steam for
2 minutes. It is done if the butter remains mounded on the spoon. Another way to determine when the butter is cooked adequately is to spoon a small quantity onto a plate. When a rim of liquid does not separate around the edge of the butter, it is ready for canning. Fill hot into sterile half-pint or pint jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Quart jars need not be presterilized but
should be clean and kept hot until filling. Remove air bubbles
and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel. Adjust lids and process.

below 6,000 feet elevation process 10 minutes
above 6,000 feet process 15 minutes
Canning Apple Butter in Quarts

below 6,000 feet elevation process 15 minutes
above 6,000 feet process 20 minutes

Please join me and bring your blog posts to Throwback Thursday’s! with Alli @ Tornadough Alli. I have joined Alli in co-hosting this fun link party.

I also will be bringing this recipe to Freedom Fridays, Friday Favorites,  Fiesta Friday, Weekend Potluck,  What’s Cooking Wednesdays. Checkout my Link Parties Page for other great places to find new recipes.

q6666

Recipe modified from Food.com by Margo59

About Quinn Caudill

"Quinn is the author, photographer and recipe designer over at DadWhats4Dinner. He enjoys cooking for family and friends and being creative in the kitchen. He makes ordinary everyday food extraordinary. He lives just north of Cincinnati with his wife of 24 years, three kids and three cats. His kids have well-developed palates and his youngest daughter is now working with him on the blog creating recipes for her own page "Cooking with Ella". Follow him on: Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter or Instagram."

Comments

  5. Kaila says

    We just picked a 1/2 bushel of apples as well! We’re thinking about applesauce or apple crisp, but maybe we’ll try apple butter now. It looks tasty! Happy FF, and have a wonderful weekend! 🙂

    Reply

    • Quinn Caudill says

      Thanks kaila, You could make a lot of apple crisps with that many apples. I still have 2 gallons peeled and sliced in the freezer. Have a great weekend and Happy FF!

      Reply

  6. thebetterbaker11 says

    It looks perfect! I have loved apple butter since I was a little girl as my grandparents always had it on their table. Grandpa & I loved it on cottage cheese. =) I’ve made a few batches of crockpot applesauce this season and need to try this next. Thanks for sharing at Weekend Potluck. Your photos are always so lovely.

    Reply

    • Quinn Caudill says

      Thanks. I will need to tell my daughter about putting it on cottage cheese. She loves the stuff…
      My pics are getting better. I am working on that part of my blog quite a bit. Thanks for hosting Weekend PotluckQ Have a great weekend/

      Reply

  12. Sherry says

    This recipe reminds me of the apple butter my grandmother used to make. She didn’t use a crockpot. She made it outside in a big pot, sort of like a cauldron. I love it! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Funtastic Friday.

    Reply

  13. Beverly says

    I love apple butter and your recipe looks delicious. Cooking it in a crock pot is such a good tip. Pinned and Tweeted. Thanks for sharing at Snickerdoodle Sunday.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.