Apple Butter (crockpot)

5 1/2 pounds (approx. 15-16 cups) of baking apples – peeled, cored and finely chopped
2 to 2 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Peel and slice apples to equal 15 to 16 cups. Finely chop apples and add to crock pot. A food processor would have been good here but *gasp* can you believe I don’t have one??? Instead I chopped by hand.

Stir together sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt and pour over chopped apples.

Mix together apples and sugar mixture. Cover and heat on high for 1 to 2 hours. Stir and reduce heat to low.

Cook an additional 9 to 11 hours or until thick and dark brown, stirring occasionally.

To reduce the amount of chunks, stir with a whisk but don’t use wire as shown. (I left quite a few marks on my crock pot doing that!) A silicone whisk or hand held blender would work great.

Remove cover off crock pot and cook an additional 3-6 hours or until the mixture is a dark brown and is thick. To test for the right consistency, place a little onto a plate or bowl and allow it to cool. If the mixture stays mounded and doesn’t get watery around the edges you know it is ready!

Good Baking Apples for Apple Butter

Jonathan, Cortland, MacIntosh, Fuji, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious and Winesap apples are perfect choices. All will produce a deliciously sweet apple butter but just about any baking apple will do. Feel free to experiment with using a combination of apple varieties. Just do not use Red Delicious as they are for eating only.