I have had canning on the brain for several weeks now. Fresh seasonal produce is what I am looking for... this week I found APPLES!!
I know this recipe seems very INTENSE... but trust me, the extra cooking time is well worth the hassel of the usual peeling, coring and slicing of the apples.
After scouring the internet for dozens of recipes -- as usual I took a little of this and a little of that and altered it to make it my own. This recipe takes 2 FULL DAYS in the slow cooker (give or take)
So I present you with.... (drumroll please)
Slow Cooker Apple Butter
The beauty of this recipe is that it calls for the PEELS of the apples too... saving you MUCH time and effort!
25-30 medium apples (I prefer Fuji or Empire)
2-4 tsp cinnamon (to taste)
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp whole cloves (to be picked out later)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2-4 cups sugar (to taste)
Slice (1/3 approx 8-10) of the apples, dumping the slices and peels in the slow cooker as you go. Stop prepping apples when the crockpot is half full -- (and save the remaining apples for the remaining parts of the recipe)
Add Cinnamon, Cloves, Ginger, Nutmeg and 2 cups of sugar. Mix well and put the crock pot on low for 8-10 hours. Stir about every 2 hours or so if possible.
After 10 hours, add more (another 1/3 or 8-10) apples to the slow cooker. Dump the new apple slices and peels into what’s already cooked down. Mix well. Cook another 8-10 hours on low.
Repeat the process of adding the final 1/3 of the apples.... mix and set the crockpot for another 8-10 hours.
Taste test your apple butter and add more cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar to your taste. Pick OUT the cloves at this point. Depending on how sweet your apples are, you may need to add more sugar and cook for an additional couple of hours.
Do NOT worry if you are out of the house or sleeping during the cooking process, if you cannot stir the butter as often as you would like, then turn your slow cooker to the WARM setting and when you return or awaken, you just stir and put it back onto low. No harm done for cooking 8 or so hours on WARM without stirring.
After it’s gone a good 30-40 hours, use a food processor to puree it. (You could probably put through food mill or blender too). Return to slow cooker and continue cooking on LOW setting until it’s the thickness that you want. If it’s not cooking down enough vent the lid a little. If it gets too thick, add some water or apple juice.
When it’s the consistency you want, can it using a waterbath method.
I know this recipe seems very INTENSE... but trust me, the extra cooking time is well worth the hassel of the usual peeling, coring and slicing of the apples.
After scouring the internet for dozens of recipes -- as usual I took a little of this and a little of that and altered it to make it my own. This recipe takes 2 FULL DAYS in the slow cooker (give or take)
So I present you with.... (drumroll please)
Slow Cooker Apple Butter
The beauty of this recipe is that it calls for the PEELS of the apples too... saving you MUCH time and effort!
25-30 medium apples (I prefer Fuji or Empire)
2-4 tsp cinnamon (to taste)
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp whole cloves (to be picked out later)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2-4 cups sugar (to taste)
Slice (1/3 approx 8-10) of the apples, dumping the slices and peels in the slow cooker as you go. Stop prepping apples when the crockpot is half full -- (and save the remaining apples for the remaining parts of the recipe)
Add Cinnamon, Cloves, Ginger, Nutmeg and 2 cups of sugar. Mix well and put the crock pot on low for 8-10 hours. Stir about every 2 hours or so if possible.
After 10 hours, add more (another 1/3 or 8-10) apples to the slow cooker. Dump the new apple slices and peels into what’s already cooked down. Mix well. Cook another 8-10 hours on low.
Repeat the process of adding the final 1/3 of the apples.... mix and set the crockpot for another 8-10 hours.
Taste test your apple butter and add more cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar to your taste. Pick OUT the cloves at this point. Depending on how sweet your apples are, you may need to add more sugar and cook for an additional couple of hours.
Do NOT worry if you are out of the house or sleeping during the cooking process, if you cannot stir the butter as often as you would like, then turn your slow cooker to the WARM setting and when you return or awaken, you just stir and put it back onto low. No harm done for cooking 8 or so hours on WARM without stirring.
After it’s gone a good 30-40 hours, use a food processor to puree it. (You could probably put through food mill or blender too). Return to slow cooker and continue cooking on LOW setting until it’s the thickness that you want. If it’s not cooking down enough vent the lid a little. If it gets too thick, add some water or apple juice.
When it’s the consistency you want, can it using a waterbath method.
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