This spiced apple butter is made in a slow cooker, which means that it is almost entirely hands off. I like to make this in the autumn and squirrel it away for holiday gift bags.
Since I was very young, I’ve been something of a collector. I figured that if having one of something was good, then having three or four was even better. As a kid, this meant that I had more pens and pencils in my school bag than necessary and felt most comfortable when I had a back-up security blanket.
In my adulthood, this propensity towards duplication has most actively manifested itself in the kitchen. I have at least two dozen wooden spoons and spatulas (when just a handful would really do), three vintage waffle irons (because you never know when one might break) and five slow cookers.
There’s no really good defense for the wooden implements or the waffle irons, but I do have a rationale for the slow cookers. My slow cooker needs often vary and so having different shapes, sizes and eras to choose from give me options.
Dips go in the mini-cooker. When I make overnight oatmeal, the 2 1/2 quart pot is best. If I’m doing a batch of blueberry butter and want really low, slow heat, nothing works better than my vintage, 4 quart, harvest gold cooker. I also have kept a basic 6 quart cooker in the rotation for a while for stocks and soups, though I must confess, it has never been my favorite.
Then there’s slow cooker number five. It joined the line-up recently and rocketed to the top of my slow cooker hit parade. It’s the Hamilton Beach Set ‘n Forget model, with a lid that can be locked into a place and a thermometer probe that you can use to test internal temperatures without lifting the lid and releasing the heat. It allows you to set the cook time and temperature (when the time is up, it shifts to a keep warm setting).
This time of year, my slow cookers are in regular rotation for the production of apple and pear butters. I typically go with my vintage cooker, because I know that I can trust it not to burn (older slow cookers have lower set temperatures than the newer models). However, because of its capacity, it ends up yielding just a couple of pints. As you know, most of the time I like a small batch just a little more than the next girl. During the holiday season that changes and I appreciate the option of larger yields for gift giving.
I realize now that I’ve avoided the newer cookers and their higher temperatures because I’ve never worked with one that had an auto shut-off before. I tend to let my fruit butters cook overnight. That was too much time for my brute force, either-on-or-off cooker. But having the option to set it to cook for 5 or 6 hours and then shift to warm has changed everything. I know this technology has been around for a while (my mom had a slow cooker when I was little that did something along these lines), but I’d never before experienced it. I am in love.
My fruit butter yields are higher because the new Hamilton Beach machine has a larger capacity and I’m not running the risk of burning the butter because it shuts off when I ask. I am a happy canner.
Before we get to the apple butter recipe I’ve made three times in the last month in machine, I have to tell you one more reason why I really like it. It’s that “Stay or Go” feature. This slow cooker has a lid fitted with a silicone seal that can be locked into place. That makes it an able traveler, which is terrific for a regular potluck-attender like me.
I used it to transport and serve mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving (sadly, they were the worst mashed potatoes I’ve ever made; both lumpy and gummy at the same time. But the quality of the potatoes wasn’t the cooker’s fault) and it will be pressed into travel service again soon.
The formal recipe I’ve been using for this slow cooker apple butter is down below, but here’s the narrative version. You begin by filling your slow cooker to the top with sliced apples (I got about eight pounds into my cooker, but there’s some natural variation here). You add a little water (maybe 1/2 a cup) to help things along and then you let the cooker for for four to six hours on low, until you can mash the apples into sauce.
Then you puree the heck out of the applesauce, until the skins disappear. It works best in my Vitamix, but I’ve also achieved this same effect with an immersion blender and persistence. Then you return the puree to the slow cooker (it will only fill it 2/3 of the way up at this point) and cook on low for another six or so hours with the lid slightly askew for venting purposes, until the sauce has reduced into butter. Stir in sugar, spices, and lemon zest/juice for balance. That’s it! Making spiced apple butter is so easy and makes such good holiday presents!
Spiced Apple Butter
Ingredients
- 7-8 pounds apples any varieties you like
- 1/2 to 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
Instructions
- Slice apples and heap them into a six quart slow cooker.
- Add 1/2 cup water and set to low.
- Cook until apples are tender and can be easily pressed into sauce. On low, this will take 4-6 hours. On high, it should only take 2-3 hours.
- Puree softened apples into a smooth puree (it shouldn’t be necessary to peel).
- Return to puree to slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours with the lid set slightly ajar so that it can vent.
- Add 1/2 cup sugar, spices and lemon zest/juice. Taste and add more spices and sugar, if necessary.
- Funnel hot apple butter into prepared jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
- Wipe rims, apply lids and rings and process in a boiling water bath canner for 15 minutes.
- When the time is up, turn off the heat and remove the lid. Let the jars rest in the cooling water for 5 minutes. When that time has elapsed, remove the jars and set them on a folded kitchen towel to cool. When the jars have cooled enough that you can comfortably handle them, check the seals. Sealed jars can be stored at room temperature for up to a year. Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used promptly.
I cook so many things in my slow cooker: soup, stew, roasts, etc. but my favorite use is to make overnight steel cut oatmeal with nuts & apples & spices. Yummmmmm.
I actaully have never owned a slow cooker, but have always wanted one. I would definitely use it for my beans – soups and stews -, as well to make anything and everything apple!
I love using a slow cooker for serving hot mulled wine at holiday parties. Slow-cooked blueberry jam with berries from my friend’s farm is also great.
My slow cooker got lost in the last move. Or maybe it was the move before that. Anyway, my favorite thing to make is beef barley soup. The beef gets so tender and just seems to retain a richer flavor. But I would be happy to try apple and pear butter in it.
Beef stew and chili
I love to use my crockpot most for the traditional pot roast with potatoes and carrots.
i love making carnitas in the slow cooker. long slow braise in orange juice and water which eventually cooks down and then it gets to render in its own fat. yum!
I love to use the slow cooker to make tough cuts of meat tender—stew meat, brisket etc.
oh my gosh! i dont have a recipe to share, i dont have a slow cooker, would love love love to have one tho. i am new to slow cookers and canning and all this stuff i am finding online bur super excited to get started!
I love to make Refried Beans. I slow cook the pinto beans overnight with chicken stock/ Bacon (or a ham hock)/Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce. Then I blend them and freeze for the month. An easy go to that isn’t the canned variety from the store.
I’m making chicken and corn chowder in my slow cooker as I type!
My favorite slow cooker recipe right now is a ziti and sausage recipe from America’s Test Kitchen slow cooker cookbook. Their taco meat recipe is also good.
I too have about five different slow cookers (dipper for potpourri, 1 quart, 3 quart, 5 quart, 6 quart, 7 quart, and 18 quart). I LOVE LOVE LOVE them and use them all the time for everything from apple and peach butter to spaghetti sauce to chili, soups and stews. They are so versatile! My favorite is using them to make caramelized onions. 😀
I use mine mostly for cooking while I’m a work. There is nothing better than knowing that dinner is already done when you finish up a long day at work.
Ohmyword, what a fine lookin’ slow cooker! I really like making refried (not really fried) beans in mine. And cooking down sauces.
I love to use my slow cooker for overnight steel cut oats. Such a great breakfast to wake up to!
I love using the crockpot for Cafe Rio style pork. It smells so good and then dinner is ready!
I love my crock pot/slow cooker for SO many things! Favorites are pulled pork, chili, Apple/Pear Butter & Blueberry Butter. Oh…and cheesecake 🙂
We don’t have one yet, but if we did, this recipe would be the first to try!
Plum butter. Also chili. Thanks for the chance to win.
Vegan sweet potato chili! I don’t know what I’d do without a slow cooker.
For canning, I love pear butter in my slow cooker. As for other things, soups, stews, fish— love coming home from a long workday to a ready dinner!
I’ve never tried apple butter before but it looks delicious 🙂 My favorite use for my slow cooker is pot roast.
My favorite thing to make in the slow cooker is chicken. It always comes out moist. I have a bad habit of drying it out when I cook it in the pan!
I have made yogurt in my slow cooker, but that is a little on the messy side for me. I often use it to make chicken stock. I put the chicken and the veg in when I go to bed, and I wake up to delicious chicken stock!!!
I use mine for anytime I need to make a large meal to take to a pot luck. I also use it for the occasional fill-in-the-blank fruit butter.
I never had a slow cooker until a couple of years ago when I got two at a thrift store for a Christmas party. It’s the perfect way to steam and keep tamales warm. (A Mexican and So Cal Christmas tradition.)
It’s terrible to say – I don’t know yet! I’ve never owned a slow cooker, but I admit I’d love to prep recipes and have dinner hot when I get home from work. My twin uses her for some fabulous hot breakfast meals, I think that would be divine!
We’ve never owned a slow-cooker before- but I imagine that making soups, stews and chili in it would be great!
The #1 dish that gets made in my slow cooker that gets the most praise is my pulled pork. I have co-workers that bug me about when I am bringing in the next batch. 😉
I’m a big fan of apple butter, though. I’m going to try this one out! 😀
I use my slow cooker for loads of things-soups and stews, chicken tacos, even rice pudding.
My most frequent use for the slow cooker is to cook a chicken, or chicken pieces, during the day, eat it for dinner, and cook the carcass overnight to make stock. But my favorite slow cooker treat, even if I only make it once a year, is your recipe for peach butter.
Just this year discovered how awesome slow cookers are- for cooking dried beans, apple butter, pear butter, making roasts. mmmm….
I have a 1970’s vintage slow-cooker that’s only 4 quarts, so it’s really too small for big batches of soup. But, several years ago I discovered a recipe for apple butter, similar to yours, that uses the slow cooker. I gave it a try, was pleased with the results and have now relegated my small slow-cooker to apple butter duty. I’d love a bigger one to make big batches of soup and stews!
Wow! Eight cookers to give away, very generous of HB. I have a Southwestern beef and corn soup that is great in the slow cooker. Love that I can throw it together in the morning, come home and stir up a little cornbread dumpling mixture to throw on the top, cook a little longer and dinner is MADE!
I love making Chili in my slow cooker…but the one I have is too small.
I try to use my slow cooker at least once a week. We do everything from soups to Roast’s and Breakfast to Desert. This year I plan on doing a slow cooker meal at least once per day. For either dinner or breakfast. Super Easy for meal with a large family.
I love making chili in my slow cooker.
I don’t have a favorite use, since I’ve never owned one, but I know *exactly* what I’d make first: pulled pork!!
We love to make stew and chicken stock in our slow cooker. I also use it for apple butter and apple sauce.
My favorite recipe is called All Day Saucy Apples and I love it particularly because of the wonderful smells that fill the house, but I think I’m switching to your Apple Butter recipe since it’s cooking right now and smells heavenly and canned, it will last til next apple season!
My fave slow cooker use is fruit butter and chicken & dumplings.
I’d love to say my favorite recipe is some kind of fancy thing, but honestly- it’s chilli and baked potatoes. We make chili for dinner one night, and then the next day I wrap potatoes in foil and cook them all day. We eat leftover chili on the potatoes. In fact, that’s what we’re having tonight for dinner. We probably do this at least twice a month.
I’m also a huge fan of shredded salsa or BBQ chicken. Throw in chicken with salsa or bbq sauce. Simmer, shred right before you’re ready to eat with two forks, most of the liquid is absorbed by the shredding. Makes great sandwiches/tacos/quesadillas that are super easy.
I’ve also made and entire turkey breast in their before and it came out divine!
Soups.. from Chinese Jook (rice porridge) to Butternut Squash soup. My favorite breakfast is soup, so I can set it up and have the perfect meal waiting for me when I wake up.
My non-veghead friend makes a great chicken in her slow cooker. She lines the bottom with root veggies and puts the chicken on top. Turns it on before she goes to work and there is magic in the pot when she arrives home…
I absolutely love to make stew in my crock pot. Oh and then there is applesauce that is awsome in the crock pot. mmmmmmm
Oh my goodness! That slow cooker would be awesome for when I pressure can beans!
I love using mine for chilis–it makes them so flavorful and thick! I’ve been meaning to use it for brisket as well.
For me it is less a favorite use and just rediscovering the slow cooker. We tried a recipie a while back on a whim and from there fell in love with the simplicity.
I’m still using the slow cooker I got as a wedding present — almost 22 years ago!
The best thing I make in it is a whole chicken and a crock of chicken stock–YUM!
I just made pear butter in it, too. Can eat that with a spoon.
I love the opportunity to win one and in this day and time where money is at a primium it would be nice to have something like this. I would do as many meals as I can find in it. I think soups are the best idea. Thank you even if I don’t win.
I was gifted a large slow cooker several years ago and love to make meals with it on my telecommute days. I’ll sneak in time to do the prep work during a break or while I’m listening to a conference call, and am happy to have a freshly prepared, hot meal at the end of the day. My slow cooker doesn’t have an automatic keep warm feature like this one, so I’ve never made fruit butters or cooked a meal while away at the office. I’d love to gain that feature!
I love a slow cooker for one of our family favorite meals using great Alaskan Wild Caught Salmon – we layer the salmon (fresh if possible but frozen works also) filets with onion slices and canned tomatoes (home is best) with lots of black pepper. Cook until it flakes and serve over hot steamed rice – sometimes we add corn off the cob at meal time too.
Thank you for the giveaway opportunity!
Love my slow cookers for a lot of reasons, but my favorite thing to use them for is roast beef. Followed very closely by chili, and homemade vegetable soup. My mom says that I am the only one who can get it to taste like my gram’s did.
I tend to make a ton of bean soups or stews in my slow cooker. Chili most recently.
I have always loved my slow cookers (I have a small one for dips and a large round and large oval). One of my favorite things to make was always a Cuban Black Bean Soup recipe. And then last year I started canning – so NOW my favorite use is to cook down the different fruit butters before canning them!
I love to make chicken for tacos or burritos in the slow cooker. However, I also love to make caramel dip for apples in the slow cooker too…dinner and dessert!
I used my slow cooker to make applesauce, and it is amazing. I also use it for pumpkin butter. But there’s nothing like steel cut oats that have been simmering all night long. Mmmmm! My current crock pot has cracks in the handle and the knob has long since broken off. Could really use a new one!
I made pear butter in mine this past autumn and it turned out great. I let it simmer all day and it was so much easier than being at the stove all day long. I’m not real happy with my current crock pot so this Set and Forget model would be a good change.
Throw a hunk of pork butt in the slow cooker with a little onion and water – it makes for perfect pulled pork sandwhiches.
I use my slow cooker for veggie chili and other soups/stews that I want to absorb flavor all day.
Slow-cooked collard greens, from stem to leaf, using leftover pickle brine and garlic for seasoning, with pre-sauteed onions added late. Some bits of smoked turkey or summer sausage? Lovely. Blackeyed peas and ham, a close second; stews, for third.
I’ve stepped back from using my slow cooker in its usual role as peach butter enabler, because I needed to perfect my jam canning techniques. Freezing the butter was good for its time, but now I like the way the light glows through jam jars….
Is it wrong that my favorite use is dinner? I don’t have a timer on mine to “set and forget” so I cook food all day long. Roast beef and gravy is the family favorite. Then I make beef stew with the leftovers. MmmmMmmmGood.
When my sons were babies, the slow cooker was used by our sitters to warm breast milk. Now I like to use it to make stock. It is amazing what 24 hours on low does – SO much better than when I make it on the stove.
I’ve really yet to use my slow cookers for anything but pulled pork! It’s an older, basic model that doesn’t shut off on its own, so I worry about electrical issues when I’m not home to keep an eye on everything.
Favorite slow cooker use is ham! My dad cures and smokes it to perfection, and then I cook it in until it literally falls apart, my favorite!
I love slow cookers for soups and stew type dinners, but am trying to learn more uses for them. I am intrigued with using them with preserving.
I love enchilada soup in the slow cooker!
My favorite use for the slow cooker is to fix lentils, which I rarely make any other way. With one vegetarian int he family, its wonderful to make something so delicious that makes the whole family happy!
My favorite thing from the slow-cooker is veggie chili!
I love making pulled pork!
I’ve never cooked in a slow cooker. I have several friends that do and they love it. I would love to give it a try some time. I think I could be a convert.
I love to make pot roast in the slow cooker!
My vintage crock pot doesn’t see much action, maybe a pound of beans or chicken stock once in a while. Would love to do more!
I love making chili and applesauce in a slow cooker.
Apple butter and pear butter!
Use mine mostly for roasts and stews. But I’m ready to start trying the different fruit butters (should eliminate the consistancy issues with pectin and jams).
There is nothing better than my italian chicken breasts… so yummy and simple. Not with sauce, but with a rub of spices and olive oil, set into a small amount of chicken stock. To die for!
I use my slow cooker for whole chicken, chicken horderves and meatballs.
I love to make Chicken and dumplings in mine. My kids love it!
Filling the house with the smell of elk stew. I’ll have to try the butters and the oatmeal.
I love using my crock pot for all kinds of things from stews to meatballs and sauce. But I have to say my most favorite thing lately is potato soup. It is so easy and so yummy!!
I LOVE using my slow cooker for so many of my gluten-free goodies. Our family favorite dinner is BBQ pork nachos. I cook the pork with rootbeer…yes rootbeer! I add mexican spices, salt and pepper, let it cook all day. Then I drain the liquid, shred the meat and add our favorite gluten-free BBQ sauces. Believe it or not, we put it over cornchips with blackbeans, cheese, avocado and onions. My kids LOVE them! I really wish I had new crockpot, since my current one is over 16 years old and has a cracked handle (hint-hint)!
Navy bean soup with ham hocks gets the most rotation with my slow cooker. My cooker is pretty basic. I’d LOVE a new one.
The best use is keeping mashed potatoes warm. Technically, I don’t make mashed potatoes, since they always turn out wrong. I love my potato ricer and it never fails to make great “mashed” potatoes.
Love mine for shredded chicken for burritos. But because the lid doesn’t hook down I have to put something heavy on top so my meals don’t get dried out.
With six little ones (well, I guess two or three aren’t so little anymore) at least one crockpot is a must.
We love anything made in the crockpot: Orange chicken, Spicy chili, Italian style pot roast, my super easy pot roast (one large roast plus one bottle of Greek Vinaigrette dressing. Works great for chicken breasts too!). I recently made a Bean and Corn Chili for a church potluck. We have a small church and this was an evening service with even fewer people, so I thought I would have leftovers. Not a chance!
A second crockpot would be great! Especially since my kids seem intent to keep growing. 🙂
I would use it to make jars of this recipe to give a gifts. And to make making dinner easier.
Soup! It is so nice to come home to a house that smells like heaven in this weather!
I love cooking whole chickens on a bed of potatoes and onions and carrots. For my family of 7, it is only enough for one meal, but I’ve always wanted to make soup by just adding water to the leftover, alas there are never leftovers.
I oftentimes use mine for a great artichoke and red pepper dip. I have never used it for jams or butters, but I am loving the idea of that right now.
I have an old basic slow cooker with 2 settings and no fancy settings, I have been looking to upgrade! I love making apple sauce and spaghetti sauce in my current model.
I use mine most frequently to make pulled pork. But after making apple butter for the first time this year im looking forward to trying that next year. Happy Holidays! !
The thing I use my slow cooker for the most would have to be a rotation of family dinners – chicken cacciatore, tomato beef stew, or a pork roast. I love when the carrots and potatoes cook in all of the good meat juices. Thanks for the apple butter recipe – I’ve done applesauces and spiced apples, but not the butter yet.
My favorite is pot roast, as I don’t make it very often and it seems so fancy when it’s done!
My slow cooker’s on the counter at least twice a week, so it’s tough to pick ONE, favorite use. I have to go with chicken fajitas; the meat comes out SO TENDER and delicious.
My favorite slow cooker use is making fruit butters, especially peach butter. But I do love some oatmeal cooked overnight. One of the best things to wake up to in the morning!
I love it for making soup. We make a big batch of soup and then eat on it for the rest of the week + we have plenty for guests. We live in a college town and college students will usually gladly take even homemade leftovers over cafeteria food.
I am with you on having different crockpots for different things. I host a good many parties for my grand kids and hot dips are a favorite for everyone. But since I am answering this question today I would have to say Crockpot Hot Chocolate is my favorite today!! Happy Holidays
I love my crockpot for soups and stews, those great Winter time comfort foods. A couple of batches of Apple butter in the Fall is also a wonderful delight. I actually use a very tiny crock pot when I make my jewelry as well. It holds the pickle to clean my metals or warms the Patina solution.
I use it most often for bean recipes, but I have made pear/apple butter in mine as well.