Homemade Apple Butter

Homemade Apple Butter

So basically, my crock pot hates me.

It’s supposed to be one of the easiest appliances to use, right? Everytime I’ve tried to something has gone wrong. Things are either over cooked or undercooked, and definitely not very tasty. I decided I needed to find a recipe that couldn’t possibly fail. When I realized I had 5 pounds of apples, I had my answer.

I found a recipe for crock pot apple butter, and it seemed super easy. Peel and chop the apples, add sugar and spices, let cook overnight. I could do that. My crock pot could do that.

It turns out peeling and chopping 5 1/2 pounds of apples is kind of a pain in the a…pple. Your hands get all slippery and tired, and you get sticky apple juice everywhere. Then the apples didn’t fit into my crockpot, so I had to puree them all in order to make the most of the space I had. Finally I got everything in the crock pot and turned it on. The recipe said the whole thing would take less than 12 hours. Great!

12 hours later? Not even close to done.

I ended up cooking this apple butter for a full 24 hours. Between prepping, cooking, and canning, the whole project took 26 hours! 26! A lot of that was downtime, but still. My crock pot is cursed.

It was so worth it though. It’s dark, sweet, tangy, silky, and spicy. It is SO GOOD on toast with a little vegan margarine, you have no idea. It’s like concentrated apple pie. I wish you could taste it. Well, actually, you might be able to!

Since I have a lot of this stuff, and it’s such a b…anana to make, I’m going to give away three jars to VeganYumYum readers. Yay!

Win Homemade Organic Apple Butter!

Contest is closed!  Stay tuned for the winners!

Homemade Apple Butter1) Comment!
2) Use a valid email address! (Will not be published!)
3) Win apple butter!

In one week (November 11th at 5 PM), I’ll use a random number generator to pick three numbers, corresponding to the comments here. Those people win a 1/2 pint jar of organic apple butter, complete with fun spreader knife and recipe card. I’ll email you to tell you you’ve won: just reply with a mailing address.

Some general rules: If you don’t leave a valid email address with your comment, I’ll pick another person. If I don’t hear back from you with your mailing address, I’ll pick another person. I’ll ship overseas, so don’t worry, everyone can play!

For those of you who don’t win, here’s the recipe. I used this recipe found I online.

Crock Pot Apple Butter
Makes 4 Pints

5 1/2 lbs Apples, peeled and finely chopped (as many different kinds as you can!)
4 Cups Sugar
2-3 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
1/4 tsp Salt
1 Sprinkle Nutmeg

Peel and core the apples. Slice finely or puree in a food processor. Add apples and remaining ingredients to your crock pot. Cook on high for 1 hour, then on low for 8-10 hours. Remove lid (or crack it open a bit) and cook on high until a wooden spoon stands upright in it. The apple butter will have reduced by about half to get to this point. Blend if desired.

Fill sterilized jars with simmering apple butter and process for 15 minutes in a boiling-water bath. Remove jars and let sit, undisturbed, overnight. Test the seals and refrigerate any jars that have not sealed completely. Fully sealed jars will keep for 18-24 months unopened. Once opened, the apple butter will keep for 2 months in the refrigerator, or indefinitely in the freezer.

Good luck!

Homemade Apple Butter

682 comments

  1. Lindsey

    IT’s my BIRTHDAY TODAY!!! so i would greatly appreciate winning some of your apple butter :) your blog is a lovely delight to read

  2. rachel

    I’m getting my wisdom teeth removed tomorrow, so apple butter would be very nice for my sore mouth! Also my birthday was 2 days ago which would make this extra nice.

  3. Payal

    I’ve had apple butter only once in my life. It was at Universal Studios and it was the best thing ever! I bought some at a store to re-live the deliciousness but it was terrible! I can only image how wonderful this must be!!!! If I won I think I might explode from excitement!

  4. Caveman

    Is there any type of apple you would not recommend using? Or using less of? I’d be concerned about somehow making it too tart :(

  5. Alicia

    The apple butter looks really delicious – I would love to try it! Can you make “butter” out of other kinds of fruit? Can’t wait to see your next entry…

  6. rachel

    i don’t want any apple butter, thank you, but i wanted to point out that an apple peeler/corer/slicer is SO WORTH IT for things like this, as well as any time you need peeled sliced apples and you don’t care too much about having neat slices (pies, crumbles, etc). i’m not generally a fan of super-specific kitchen gadgets, but i am a diehard peeler/corer/slicer fan!

    plus they look so old-fashionedy (since they haven’t changed in design since 1890 or whatever).

  7. Shanthi

    Hi Lolo :)

    Been an ardent admirer of your blog. I have learnt so much stuff from your postings. Your info on food photography has been fabulous. I visit your blog atleast once daily. I also follow your flickr pics, they are indeed fun to browse through.

    These comments are NOT to win anything but I really appreciate your talent and skills. I will me making your kaju katli recipe soon.

    Best Regards and loads of Love.

  8. Xin

    I love apple butter! I remember making it with my mom when I was a kid. I’m definitely going to try this one out. Thanks! :)

  9. Lolo

    Thanks for entering everyone! I’ll be picking the winners shortly. Any comments left after this comment will not be considered for the drawing.

  10. Nalini

    I have just spent an hour prepping for this dish.
    It is doing its thing in the crock pot as I write this.
    Anxious to find out how it will turn out.
    Will let you know.

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  12. Laura

    My husband and I are trying to eliminate oil and sugar from our vegan diet. Do you have any suggestions for substitutions to some of your incredible recipes? Any assistance would be eagerly followed and gobbled. Thanks so much for your amazing site!

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  15. Chelsea

    I made this today (w/a couple tweaks), and it was AMAZING! I have a really big crockpot so I doubled the recipe, but instead of sugar, I added two cans of frozen apple juice concentrate and 1 c of maple syrup. Thank you so much for the info on how to cook apple butter in my crockpot!!!

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