I try to live as seasonably as possible, so when that crisp autumn air arrives, I always think about going apple picking. Last weekend, I headed over to a local apple orchard, the trees heavy with Empire, McIntosh, Northern Spy and other apple favorites, and I loaded up on several pounds of apples. Then I trotted home, pleased with my harvest and fired up and ready to make one of my favorite autumn treats: homemade apple butter.
Creamy, spicy and oh-so-delicious, apple butter is an amped up version of applesauce, with a darker, caramel color and a more complex taste. Delicious on breakfast toast and desserts or gobbled up with a spoon, apple butter is a versatile treat and the homemade version puts store bought apple butter to shame!
So do you want to learn how to make your own crockpot apple butter from scratch? It’s easier than you may think and all the steps and ingredients you need are right here. So why not fire up ye ole crock pot and make this rich autumn treat right along with me!
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How to make slow cooker apple butter from scratch
Despite its name, apple butter doesn’t include any butter or other dairy, so it’s perfectly appropriate for vegans. Even better, apple butter is super easy to make and you don’t need a lot of ingredients. Plus, you can make delicious apple butter without peeling a single apple!
Follow along with these basic steps and make your own apple butter from fresh picked apples or grocery store apples. It’s up to you!
What you’ll need:
- 5 to 6 pounds of fresh apples
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 3/4 cups of granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves
- Cutting board
- Pairing knife
The process:
1. Gather your apples.
To make apple butter, you’ll first need to gather your apples. You can use apples straight from the grocery store, or you can head to a local apple orchard and pick fresh apples yourself.
On my trip to our local orchard, I got a bit excited so I picked every type of apple for my apple butter, including Empire apples, McIntosh apples and Northern Spy apples; however, you can limit yourself to a single type of apple if you want to! Many home preservers feel that the best apples for apple butter are apples with soft flesh, such as Golden Delicious and Fuji, but you can try tart Granny Smiths or mild Red Delicious apples too!
Select apples of any size, but make sure they’re good and ripe and without any soft spots!
2. Prep your apples.
Once you’ve picked your apples, it’s time to prepare them for your crockpot. So give your apples a good rinse under your kitchen sink and then core them either with a pairing knife or an apple corer. After that, simply chop up your apples into small, 1/4″ cubes and pop them into your crockpot.
You can peel your apples if you want to, but the beauty of this recipe is there’s no need to do any peeling. If you’ve ever peeled pounds of apples, you know how much work that can be, so feel free to leave those peels on if they’re not bothering you!
3. Add your ingredients.
After adding your apples to your crock pot, sprinkle in your cinnamon, ground cloves, sugar and salt, but don’t add the vanilla extract just yet! Then give the ingredients a good mix until everything is well combined.
4. Turn on your crockpot.
When your apples and other ingredients are all mixed together, place the lid on your crockpot, turn the dial onto ‘Low’ heat and allow your apples to cook for 10 hours. While this may seem like a lot of time, remember that low and slow cooking is how you develop those delicious, apple buttery flavors to their fullest!
Tip: I like to start apple butter in the morning, so that it will be done cooking before I go to bed!
6. Blend your apples.
After 10 hours, your apples should be quite soft and they should smell amazing! But your work isn’t done just yet!
Now it’s time to blend up your apples to create a smooth “butter,” which is easiest to do with an immersion blender. Just give your blender a few pulses to puree your apples into a smooth and buttery texture.
If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can also use a standard blender or even a personal blender, but you’ll want to allow your apples to cool down first and you may need to puree them in batches.
7. Mix in some vanilla.
After blending your apples, mix in your vanilla extra and give the whole puree a good stir with a spoon.
8. Cook a bit more.
Once everything is good and blended, turn your crockpot back on but leave the crockpot lid off. You want some of that moisture to evaporate off your apple butter!
Allow your apple butter to cook for another 2 to 4 hours on low until it’s a consistency that you like… but don’t cook your apple butter so long that it becomes dry. You’ll know your apple butter is done when it’s as thick as a good, hearty jam and sticks to your spoon!
9. Serve!
When your apple butter has finished cooking, turn off your crockpot and allow your sweet confection to cool off slightly. Then scoop it into jars or food storage containers and store it in your fridge for up to 2 weeks. For longer storage, you can also spoon apple butter into Ziploc bags, press them flat and keep them in your freezer for up to 1 year!
Apple butter vs. applesauce: What’s the difference?
On the surface, apple butter and applesauce seem quite similar. After all, they’re both made with pureed apples that have been mixed with spices and cooked for a long time. However, these two apple products have very different tastes and they’re used differently too.
Applesauce is lighter in color and it has a milder flavor. Additionally, because applesauce isn’t cooked as long, it has a higher moisture content and a more watery consistency. A perfect snack on its own, applesauce is delicious on top of pancakes with a bit of sour cream, but it can also be mixed into baked goods.
Apple butter, on the other hand, is cooked longer, so it has a deeper color and a more intense taste. During that long, slow cooking process, much of the moisture in apple butter evaporates, leaving you with a thick and creamy condiment that’s ideal for spreading over toast and English muffins!
How to use apple butter
My absolute favorite way to serve apple butter is on English muffins with a bit of cream cheese, but apple butter is a versatile treat that can be used in many other ways too! If you’re looking for some ways to use up apple butter, why not:
- Serve it on toast.
- Add it as a topping to pancakes and other baked goods.
- Put a dollop on a charcuterie board with your favorite cheeses.
- Stir it into ice cream or yogurt.
- Substitute it for tamarind chutney.
- Mix it into spice cake and other baking recipes.
- Use it in place of pumpkin puree or applesauce.
- Smear it on grilled cheese.
- Or simply dig in with a spoon!
Frequently asked questions
Can you freeze homemade apple butter in glass jars?
Yes, but remember water expands when it freezes. Freezing sealed jars of apple butter (or any other food) can make quite a mess as jars often break when they’re placed in the freezer. To avoid this, freeze your apple butter jars WITHOUT the lids on and then place the lids back on your jars after your apple butter is frozen through.
How do you thicken apple butter for canning?
Apple butter has a lot of moisture in it at the beginning of the cooking process but that moisture evaporates over time. To get a thicker apple butter, cook your butter longer and keep the lid off of your crockpot.
How do I know when my apple butter is done?
Apple butter is done when it has a nice, thick consistency… similar to jam. If your apple butter sticks to your spoon and forms a neat little mound when you scoop it up, you know it’s done!
