Slow Cooker Apple Butter

In my opinion, there’s no better way to herald the coming of the fall season than a fresh batch of this slow cooker apple butter. It has an endless amount of uses, from a simple spread over toast to a way to flavor your chicken or pork, and is a sure and simple way to add flavor to any recipe. All you need to get this delicious fall staple started is a crockpot, water, and (you guessed it) apples!

Apple butter has been a timeless staple of every kitchen since the middle ages. Since sugar is a natural preservative, these medieval innovators would cook their apples long and slow in order to draw out the natural sugars so that they could caramelize, giving rise to the butter’s dark amber color.

Slow cooker apple butter is really just a step past apple sauce. The goal with the slow cooker is to draw out all of the moisture so that all that’s left is a thick, velvety butter. You’ll be surprised by how many apples go into one jar of apple butter. I started off with twelve apples, some small and some large, but in the end I was left with just about 12 oz of the finished product. So when cooking with apple butter, keep in mind that a little truly goes a long way!

How Can I Use Slow Cooker Apple Butter?

There’s truly no limit to what you can do with apple butter. Want some fall-flavored cinnamon rolls? Replace the cinnamon sugar spread with apple butter. Want a pop of tangy flavor on your vegetables? Slather some of it over your roasted carrots or dollop it on a baked sweet potato with butter. Honestly, having a jar of apple butter handy makes it a lot easier to get creative in the kitchen!

Just to get the gears turning, I’ve made up a short list of ways you can incorporate it into your meals.

• • Spread it over toast

• • Use it as a glaze over chicken, turkey, or pork

• • Add some to a charcuterie board

• • Slather your morning pancakes with it

• • Spread over baked sweet potato

• • Make apple cinnamon rolls by replacing the cinnamon sugar mixture with apple butter

• • Incorporate a little bit into pound cake batter

• • Add a dollop on top of vanilla ice cream

You can also find an endless list of apple butter based recipes on the web, like this mouth-watering apple butter french toast or these apple butter cheesecake bars, just to give some examples.

How Long Does Slow Cooker Apple Butter Last?

If properly canned and stored in a cool, dry place, this apple butter can last you up to two years. Once opened, you still have approximately three months of freshness as long as it’s kept in the refrigerator.

How is Apple Butter Made?

You’ll find that making homemade apple butter is actually pretty simple, as long as you are patient.

Step 1: Gather your apples

You’ll want to start with a LOT of apples. You can use any type of apple, or a mixture of apples, if you want. Just remember that using tart apples, like granny smith, will make your apple butter a little more tangy and sweet apples, like honeycrisp or gala, will yield a sweeter butter. So it really just depends on your preferences.

I like to start with anywhere between 5 and 7lbs of unpeeled, uncored apples. Once peeled and cored, you’ll be left with approximately 2/3rds the weight that you started with. For instance, I started with 5 lbs and ended with 3 lbs and 6oz after they had been prepped.

Step 2: Prep your apples

This step is pretty self-explanatory. Simply use a potato peeler to shave off the peels, then chop the apples into thin slices, leaving out the cores. I’ve found that using an apple slicer to remove the cores tends to take away a lot of the meat of the apple as well, so I always just opt to use a knife for this portion.

Step 3: Cook the apples

This is where the slow cooker comes in. Once you have all of your apples prepped, you’re going to want to throw it all into the slow cooker with a small amount of liquid. Depending on your preferences, you can use either apple cider or water. I used 1/2 cup of water for my recipe. Then cover the crockpot and let it cook on high for 2-4 hours, stirring occasionally, until the apples are soft and easy to mash.

At this point, you can add in any extra flavors that you want. For this batch, I added some apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and allspice to really bring out those homey fall flavors. You can get creative, but if the taste of pure apples is enough to satisfy your palette, then there’s no need to include any additives!

Once that’s done, turn the crockpot all the way down to “warm” and prop open the lid with a knife or wooden spoon. This will allow the moisture to escape, reducing your apples down to a thick butter. By turning the temperature down this low, you improve the caramelization of the sugars without running the risk of burning them. And now we wait.

This next part can take anywhere from 24-30 hours. Check on the apple butter every couple hours or so and give it a good stir. You’ll know your apple butter is ready when the apples have completely melted into the mixture and there’s no longer a ring of water around the edge of your butter