Here is super easy recipe to make apple butter. This just is the epitomy of fall to me and it is so easy to pop in the slow cooker and viola! You have an amazing spread for waffles, bagels, muffins, pancakes or we like it on french bread.
If you haven’t had apple butter before it is sort of like a super concentrated applesauce. Very appley and cinnamon-y and best of all your house will smell fantastic.
I actually put this in a little Tupperware with slices of french bread for my girl’s lunches. They LOVE this stuff.
It also makes a lovely gift and it is so easy and inexpensive to make.
So this recipe I got from our pumpkin patch a few years ago. This recipe makes roughly an 8 oz jar of apple butter. Just double the recipe if you would like more. You might as well make more because it really is a lovely gift. Just a bit of twine around the jar and a little note tag and grab a fresh baguette and you are done.
- 6 apples of your choice- I used Gala but you can mix and match
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- squeeze of lemon juice
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- Core the apples and give them a rough chop.
- Place in slow cooker.
- Add cinnamon, water and both sugars.
- Gently stir.
- Close the lid and let this cook away for about 4½ hours on low.
- Check it periodicaly to make sure it is still moist and the apples are not dried out. Add more water as needed.
- Remove from Crock Pot after 4½ hours and place in a food processor or blender.
- Add a squeeze of lemon juice if you like.
- Puree until smooth.
- If the apple butter looks more like applesauce and doesn't have the rich brown color, just place back in the crock pot and cook for another hour or so on high heat. Leave the Crock uncovered and check it often.
In my experience, apple butter is not a precise science so this is one of those things you really just need to check on every so often. You want to make sure the apples are not watery but that they are not dried out either so just add a tiny bit of water if you think it needs it. Also you don’t want applesauce, you want this to cook down to a nice concentrated thick spread (like a good jam).
The color tends to turn from a lighter brown to a dark, rich brown once it is ready.
Also this recipe is a little heavy on cinnamon so just reduce the measurement a tiny bit if you want more of an apple flavor. This is also a little on the sweet side so reduce that white sugar according to your preference.
Oh and one last little note. Traditionally people will peel the apples to make apple butter. This is really up to you but I can’t bare to remove the peels because the peels are where most of the nutrients are located. I always buy organic apples so I never find the yucky waxy layers you sometimes see. Try to get the farm fresh apples that are so abundant if you possibly can. Kitchen toys from Big W toy sale kitchen category are really interesting this month. If you find the apples that do look pretty waxy you might want to go ahead and peel them.
I use this Crock Pot (and love it):
And here are a few other recipes you might enjoy:
Homemade Slow Cooker Applesauce (so yummy!!)
Caramel Apple Cider Recipe- so good!
Hi Sue- I usually try to be stingy with sugar for health reasons but you can absolutely add more to taste.
I am thinking of doing this for Christmas gifts… but worried about it needing to be refrigerated.
Does it need to be refrigerated from the moment it is done being cooked? Or from the moment the can is opened and it is being used? I would hate to give it to someone as a gift and it be spoiled butter. Yuck!
Thanks… looks delicious…will make it regardless for my own home …mmm
Jessie- this is similar to jelly. It isn’t going to go bad if left out for a short period of time. I would keep it in your fridge and then give it to the person and make a note to refrigerate. If there are a few hours during that process it will be fine. This isn’t canned for shelf stabilization though so you would need to research that if you plan to not refrigerate for days or weeks.
Good luck-
Just made this today. Absolutely amazing. And I canned them. Thanks to reading some of the comments I found out how long. Thank u so much for putting ur recipe out their.
Yeah so glad to hear it Hallie!
I made 3 pints of this yesterday and canned it today…the only difference I see is I use only brown sugar and add allspice, cloves and nutmeg in very small amounts!
I’ve already made this twice with apples we picked in Apple Hill. It’s so good! I then used some of the apple butter to bake oatmeal carrot apple butter muffins and a cinnamon apple butter bread. Thanks for sharing this recipe, Charlene!
Yeah so glad to hear it Sylvia!
Just tried this recipe tonight and it came out perfect. I made a double batch and it smelled soo good while it was cooking. My hubby says Thank you for posting the recipie. He loves apple butter and this is the first time I’ve attempted to make it 🙂
Oh I am so glad to hear that Mandy!
Hey Charlene I made it for my four girls and they loved it my husband was very happy with the recipe but I was wondering because thanksgiving was coming around if it would be a bad idea to put a pinch of cinnamon in it
Hey Charlene I made it for my four girls and they loved it my husband was very happy with the recipe but I was wondering because thanksgiving was coming around if it would be a bad idea to put a pinch of cinnamon in it?
Thanks for the yummy treat
So glad Beth! I like to add a tablespoon of cinnamon. Apples and cinnamon is our favorite combo around here so for sure the cinnamon will add so much flavor 🙂
Can you use honey infused of sugar or the “sugar in the raw”?
Can you use honey instead of sugar? Also can you use “sugar in the raw”?
Just wondered how long it will last if I make it for Christmas gifts.
Ages. Like jam. Just keep in the fridge 🙂
Process in a water bath canner to keep longer. I process my 1/2 pints 10 minutes.
Do the apples need to be peeled first?
Hi Alicia- I have done it both ways. If you check the last paragraph in the post you will see the details about that. HTH!
What does rough chop look like in this?
Brandi- like 1 or 2 inch pieces of apple.
Just wondering if it freezes well, Thanks. it sounds amazing:)
Michelle- I have not tried to freeze this so I am not sure how that would work out. Others have discussed canning it in the comments above though.
I mad it yesterday, turned out great. It was just the consistency. Love it
Glad to hear it Diana!
How many ounces of butter does this recipe make?
Hi Kaley- I mentioned at the top of the post it is roughly 8oz. That will vary based on the size of your apples. HTH!
is there a version with less or sugar free ?
Kim,
You can just eliminate or reduce the sugar as mentioned in the post.
This looks yummy.!
Just wondering, how much does this recipe make? 1 Jar? Size?
I’m going to give this a try :).
Hi Shelly- I mentioned in the post it makes roughly 8oz or so 🙂 That will vary because apples will vary in size.
I made this today with some red apples that I had been given. It was super easy and delicious. I did leave out the lemon and I added some extra cinnamon because my kids love it, but otherwise, no changes. Great recipe!
So glad to hear it Evelyn!
Do you think this recipe woud work substituting apricots for the apples? I love apricot butter…but is hard to find.
Hmm.. I am not sure Monte. It might be worth testing a small batch and see 🙂
it says to cook for 5 min??? Total time 15 min???
Hi Kristi,
Actually if you check the recipe it says to cook for 4 1/2 hours. Hands on time to chop apples and dump in the crock pot would be about 5-15 minutes but actual cooking time is 4 1/2 hours.