MaMaw’s Slow Cooker Apple Butter
MaMaw’s recipe is guaranteed to become a tradition in your home like it is in ours. Get ready for a flavorful apple butter that tastes as good as it smells.
MaMaw’s Slow Cooker Apple Butter
Makes about nine 1/2 pint jars.
- 5 1/2 pounds apples – washed (peeled, cored and finely chopped (Golden Delicious, Jonathan or Macintosh apples makes the best apple butter but really any apple works, mix them up if you’d like.))
- 1 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Place the finely chopped apples in a slow cooker. (I use a 6 quart slow cooker)
In a bowl, mix the sugars, cinnamon, allspice and salt.
Pour the sugar spice mixture over the apples in the slow cooker and using a wooden spoon coat the apples with the sugar spice mix.
Cover and cook on high for one hour. Reduce the heat to low and slow cook for another 10 hours ( I put mine on before I go to bed and let it slow cook overnight). Uncover and continue cooking on low 1 hour until mixture is thickened and dark brown.
Whisk or use an immersion blender to puree the apple butter. To test for doneness, stand a wooden spoon in the center, if it stand up straight its ready. You can also tell if its ready by taking a spoonful of apple butter and if it remains mounded on the spoon, its ready to be canned or frozen.
Once the apple butter is thick and dark golden brown, fill sterilized mason jars to 1/2 inch from the top, then put it into a hot water bath for 25 minutes. Remove jars from hot water and place on cooling racks or tea towels to cool. Once cooled listen for the pop of the canning jar before storing it away. If you don’t want to jar the apple butter, you can also freeze batches in freezer safe containers or freezer bags, or simply just store some in your refrigerator. Can be eaten right away!
We love it on buttered cinnamon raisin toast, but it’s equally as delicious on biscuits, waffles, pancakes, roast pork or even on top of cooked oatmeal for breakfast.
The finished product makes excellent Thanksgiving or Christmas gifts. Just tie a pretty little ribbon around a mason jar filled with this yummy golden brown goodness.
Additional cooking notes: (to make 1 teaspoon allspice substitute mix 1/4 tsp cinnamon plus 1/2 tsp ground cloves plus 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg) ( 1 pound of apples = 4 small apples OR 3 medium apples OR about 2 large apples)
The Author:
Pioneerthinking.com – Ingredients for a Simple Life
Photo. Pioneerthinking.com
