How to Make Apple Butter

When I came home for the holidays, I found a few bags of apples sitting in the garage- sweet, homegrown apples in more quantity than my parents know what to do with. So I decided to make apple butter.

I'd never made apple butter before, but based on cursory internet research, it seemed to be just spiced, caramelized applesauce.
Which, I can now tell you, it is. I made it and it turned out great: melt-on-your tongue spiced apple!

My recipe took twelve hours of crock pot time and was very easy.

Step 1: Ingredients & Equipment

Apples! Lots of them. Fill up your crock pot! (These should be sweet apples; or otherwise you'll have to add sugar later.)
Crock pot
Wooden spoon
Spices- I used ginger, cinnamon, and clove
Brown sugar, if you want to sweeten it
Water

Comments

[shazni]

Can I pressure cook it so it would be faster?

[SelkeyMoonbeam]

Haven't tried it.. it seems like you should be able to, to get it to the applesauce stage. I'm not sure if it would work from the applesauce to apple butter stage. Let me know!

[rich_engr]

Traditional apple butter is made over an open fire in a large kettle with the help of family and friends. http://www.asimplehomecook.com/making-old-fashioned-apple-butter/

[Thergox]

I've never heard of apple butter! I usually do bakery -- This would be an interesting new approach to cooking! Excellent Instructable as always, SelkeyMoonbeam!