Description
This Best Apple Butter Recipe offers a rich and smooth homemade apple butter without the hassle of peeling apples. Utilizing a slow cooker, the recipe infuses soft, sweet apples with warm spices and vanilla, resulting in a perfectly spiced spread that’s ideal for toast, baking, or as a flavorful addition to many dishes.
Ingredients
Scale
Apples
- 5.5 lbs soft, sweet apples, cored and chopped into about ¼-inch pieces (no peeling needed)
Spices and Sugars
- 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
Vanilla
- 1 vanilla bean (or substitute 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract)
Instructions
- Prepare Apples: Slice the apples into small ¼-inch pieces and remove the cores. Peeling is not necessary, keeping the recipe simple and convenient.
- Combine Ingredients in Slow Cooker: Place the chopped apples in the basin of a large slow cooker.
- Mix Sugars and Spices: In a medium-sized bowl, thoroughly stir together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt, and cloves until evenly blended.
- Add Sugar Mixture to Apples: Pour the mixed sugars and spices over the apple pieces and stir to coat all pieces evenly.
- Slow Cook Apples: Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on low heat for 10 hours, allowing the apples to soften and the flavors to meld.
- Puree Apples: After 10 hours, use an immersion blender to puree the apple mixture until completely smooth with no chunks remaining. If an immersion blender is unavailable, transfer the mixture in batches to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
- Add Vanilla: Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the apple puree or stir in the vanilla extract for a fragrant finish.
- Cook to Thicken: Turn the slow cooker on low and cook the mixture uncovered for an additional 2 hours, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking and to thicken the apple butter.
- Store: Once cooked, transfer the apple butter to an airtight container and refrigerate. It will keep fresh for about 2 weeks.
Notes
- The type of apple used impacts the final flavor and sweetness; soft, sweet apples work best, such as Fuji, Gala, or Honeycrisp.
- If you don’t have an immersion blender, carefully blend the cooked apple mixture in batches using a regular blender or food processor, ensuring to let the mixture cool slightly to avoid spills.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator; it can also be frozen for longer storage.
