Apple Butter Recipe Time! This is an amazing recipe that is a great addition to your pantry because it can be canned and saved for later use.

Ingredients

• 5.5 lbs soft, sweet apples (see note 1) Cored and chopped into small pieces, about ¼”
• 1 cup brown sugar firmly packed (200g)
• ¾ cup granulated sugar (150g)
• 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 vanilla bean (may substitute 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract)

Recommended Equipment

• 6 quart slow cooker
• Immersion blender (see note 2 to use a regular blender)

Instructions

1. Slice apples into small pieces (about ¼”) and dispose of cores (you do not need to peel the apples).
2. Place apples in the basin of large slow cooker
3. In a medium-sized bowl stir together sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and cloves until well-combined.
4. Pour sugar mixture over apple pieces and stir until well combined.
5. Place lid on crockpot and cook on low heat for 10 hours.
6. Once 10 hours has elapsed, use an immersion blender to puree apples until smooth and no chunks remain (see note 2 if you do not have an immersion blender).
7. Scrape the inside of the vanilla bean into your apple puree (or add vanilla extract).
8. Turn crockpot on to low heat and cook another 2 hours uncovered, stirring occasionally.
9. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container, where it will keep about 2 weeks.

Additional Notes:

1. For the apples, I recommend using Golden Delicious, McIntosh, Fuji, or Gala. Don’t use Granny Smith; they are too tart and firm for this recipe. Weigh your apples before coring and chopping. Do not peel them! For me this was about 13 apples but this could vary wildly depending on the size of your apples.

2. Pureeing: If you do not have an immersion blender, pour the apples into a blender and puree until smooth, then return to crockpot. You may need to work in batches, depending on the size of your blender. 

3. Storing: Store apple butter in an airtight container in the refrigerator for several weeks or freeze for up to several months.

Check out more recipes from Arcola Feed’s blog here.