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 apples in mine before I run them through the food mill. I have very little waste. The applesauce or applebutter is very thick when I am done making it.
i’ve actually never used a slow cooker so i don’t yet have a favorite use, but i would love to experiment with fruit butters and other fun recipes.
Fruit butters in the crockpot have been game changing for me!
I have the older model (minus the timer function) of that slow cooker and I love it! Great for taking hot/splashy things to pitch-ins! The only thing I wish mine had was a timer function. 😉
I use my slow cooker all the time. Most recently, made applesauce. Tonight, there’s white chili cooking away. Couldn’t live without it!
I love to make cheater pulled pork, soups, and veggie chili!
I like to make apple, pear butter as well in my slow cooker. In addition, I also like to make yogurt in my big one. it’s an easy, overnight thing, just right for my busy life. (I have to confess, I have 3–a big one, a medium and a small one) : )
Red Beans and Rice, or Baked Beans are my favorite ways to use a slow cooker.
I use my slow cooker mostly for soups, but I have made apple butter in it a few times and it worked perfectly!
Braised meats. Slow cookers are great at turning cheap tough cuts of meat into tastyness. Also, I have a tiny cooker that’s great at making just enough steel cut oats for me and my husband.
I use my slowcooker for so many things! I bake in it, One pot dishes, ham, Mac ‘n’ Cheese. I have never used it for canning but I am sure going to try it now!!! Oh And I use it for mashed potaoes all the time!
Have not tried this recipe yet… But, I love all the step by step photos you post on your blog! It makes it so easy to get it done! My mouth is already watering just thinking about this… Just need the slow cooker! 😉 Happy Holidays Marisa!
I have an itty-bitty slow-cooker that makes just 2 servings, and I use it constantly for small meals-for-one. I have a big old one that I use for making stock or cooking big batches of stuff for potlucks- my slow-cooker enchiladas are what’s requested most often!
BBQ Meatballs in the slow cooker. The whole house smells like heaven when they are cooking. I even take them to work in the crockpot. They are always a hit. Slow cooking improves the flavor.
I don’t have a slow cooker anymore. I’d like one, though. I’d use it for New England type corn beef meals with lots of root vegetables and I’d use it to cook more apples from our small orchard–applesauce, apple catsup, apple chutney.
My favorite thing to make in a slow-cooker is chili! I also use the overnight method for fruit butters but would love to try this Set n Forget model!
Making fruit butters is the ONLY way I use our slow cooker. I should branch out, but just haven’t yet. I use my roommate’s slow cooker, and have now broken it twice (my fault the first time, not the second), and need to replace it again. Gah!
I’ve never used a slow cooker. I was about to buy one for my husband for Christmas but changed my mind at the last minute. We don’t eat meat so I wasn’t sure how useful it would be for us, but this post has given me lots of ideas and makes me think that I do need one for my kitchen.
It’s unanimous…apple sauce!
My slow cooker has always been for pot roast and occasionally chili. I also have an older “low-high-off” type. 😉 I’ve always wanted to try some of the newer ones. I’ll definitely be making apple butter if I win!!
chillis and soups, no doubt. but i might use it for apple butter!!
I love to make pulled pork in a slow cooker. Or, acually anyting that I can start in the morning and then have dinner ready at night. I’ve never tried fruit butters but they sure sound good!
I like to use it to bake potatoes in the summer. It’s so nice to not have the hot oven (on) on a hot summer day. Sometimes I use the slow cooker outside.
I love my slow cooker…This year I used it for my first apple and pumpkin butter, and its amazing! Tomorrow I am making slow cooker chocolate candies to give away for christmas…I am hoping to be able to get another slow cooker soon, i often find myself needing one bigger than the one I have!
I don’t own a slow cooker and have never used one; would love to try making fruit butters some day.
I love using my slowcooker for potroasts and stews.
I have an old hand-me-down crockpot I use for everything from beans to soup to pot roast.I hsve never tried jellies. Would like to, though!
I rarely use my slow cookers – I always found that slowly braised hunks of meat did best in this particular appliance but since we are not a meat eating family they had been neglected for quite a while. Until I discovered your blog and the slow cooker fruit butter recipes. I have also made ketchup using the same lid off method. I have a new appreciation for my old appliances.
My favorite is a thick layer of sliced onions on the bottom, a pork roast on top of it, and some spices ( I like Tony’s salt-free seasoning) shaken all over the top. Let it cook all day and when you get home, you have a roast that has completely fallen off the bone because it’s so tender. Skim the excess oil/fat from the top and mix it together after shredding the meat. The juices make a wonderfully flavored “gravy” to serve over top of mashed potatoes…I think I’m going to have to make this soon, I made myself hungry just typing, and it’s been too long since we had this, I think!
Pork barbecue is our favorite but any lesser cut of beef always comes out wonderful. This holiday I have been making tortilla chicken soup and always a hit. A necessary cooking tool.
So far I have only made soup/stews, but fruit butter is the next adventure for sure!
I love making barbecue short ribs in mine. My grandpa didn’t use a slow cooker to make his, but when the smell fills my house it’s like I’m in my grandparents’ kitchen again.
Good Ol Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup for me, it reminds me of home.
I have used mine mostly for things like pot roast or a roast pork, but I’d sure love to try this apple butter recipe of yours! I also need a larger capacity cooker than I have.
So… question. I’m cooking the purée for 6 hours before I put in the spices and sugar?
I think I currently own three slow cookers… small, medium and large. I would love one of the programmable ones!
My favorite things (I had to pick two) to make in the slow cooker are Beef Stew and Applesauce. And, either coming home when it’s dark and cold out, or waking up on a dark morning and having those wonderful, delicious aromas all through the house… that’s the best!
My favorite slow cooker use is making Pot Roast. I love the fact that I can put the meat in the pot, leave the house and come home to a fully cooked meal. Make a little gravy and eat. Yum, yum, yum.
I’ve been looking at the new slow cookers – thinking about getting one. I’d love to win this one! I make apple butter in mine too but my favorite use is for barbecue sandwiches: beef, pork or chicken. It’s the easiest way to cook a very easy fast supper or something to take on picnics/potlucks.
I have several little slow cookers that we use for fondue every Christmas. From cheese, to Thai peanut sauce to chocolate and vanilla custard fondues, I love keeping them warm with my slow cookers!
I love putting a pot roast in and letting the cooker work it’s magic!
If I had a slow cooker I would slow cook beans, as well as experiment w/fruit butters and jams. Thanks for the chance to win one!
My favorite use is cooking a cheaper cut of beef for a good 8 hours and by dinner time it practically melts in my mouth!
My favorite thing to cook is pot roast.
In addition to more common soups and stews, I like to attempt not-typically-slow-cooked meals in the slow cooker, like falafels. The family favorite is a hot fudge cake. There’s always room in my heart for another slow cooker even if there isn’t much room in my kitchen 🙂
My favorite thing to make in a slow cooker is roasted chicken. I LOVE roast chicken but don’t have time after work to do it in the oven before dinner. Instead it gets to cook away all day and my house smells amazing when I get home!
my favorite use for my slow cooker is a good, hearty chicken broth! I let it go for a couple of days to extract every nutrient out of the bones! 🙂
I’ve only used a slow-cooker when I was in grad school and had a tiny one-person slow-cooker. I think I remember making a pasta and spinach dish that was pretty gross but somewhat healthy and edible/filling. My MIL makes a lot of really good soup in her slow cooker though — I think I’d have to get her to share some of her recipes if I got this one.
Two cookers, one vintage 7 qt. ( whole chickens) and one newer and programmable 3.1/2 qt. ( steel cut oatmeal or any hot cereal)
I don’t have one so I don’t know yet 🙂
I like to use a slow cooker for meals mostly. I have yet to use any for any canned goods.
I love to make applesauce and pearsauce in mine. Any kind of chili, one pot dinner or soups are great too! I find uses for all 3 of my slow cookers.
Any kind of meat and vegetables–I enjoy the smell all day and it’s such an easy way to get dinner on the table.
I use mine for beef stew, chili and beef roasts mostly.
I needed to cook up some black beans one time when it was late and I really wanted to go to bed, so I decided to put them in the crockpot on low and figured they’d be done in the morning. Worked great.
I’d love to learn to use it for other things too.
My favorite slow cooker use is a big ole chuck roast with potatoes….yum!
I use mine for beef stew or pork roasts.
I love using my slow cooker for beans & lentils – I almost never use cans of either, because a slow cooker batch tastes better and meets my legume needs for an entire week! 🙂
I do not have a slow cooker but would love one.
I love to cook chicken in my old and slow, slow cooker. The newer ones with the higher “low” temperature are not convenient — you can’t leave them on all day while you’re at work. This one with the timer feature seems ideal!
I have 2 crockpots, both crockpot brand. The 4 qt round one I love…it’s cooks all my beans and oatmeal. The 6qt large one is HORRENDOUS. It overcooks everything!!!
I have never had a slow cooker and have been thinking of getting one but am reluctant to purchase since my life seems to be complete without it. But everytime I see slow cooker fruit butter recipes, I get a pang of jealousy…
This is my favorite slow cooker use! I love making butters, especially apple and pumpkin. I’ve never made pear butter but this slow cooker would be a great reason to start!
Any kind of stew. I could live on meaty, hearty, potato-y, vegetable-y stews.
Pulled Pork or Chili, either way I love slow cookers!
Use mine most for apple and pear butter. Found an old green one at Goodwill that I use but would love to have a new one with all the bells and whistles’s. Love the idea of the locking lid.
I’ve never used a slow cooker, but I love the idea of using one for apple butter!
I usually use mine for dinners (throwing a big pork loin roast in my slow cooker in the morning with some random stuff makes for some good eating when I get home) but my latest favorite use is to make wassail!
Love the old time favorite of Pot roast.
I have never had a slow cooker and would love one. I can think of stocks, jams, etc to make, and maybe even kefir or yoghurt.
we love to use ours for applesauce!
I’ve never used one! But I’d love to ;-). I do love a good beef stew.
It is hard to narrow down to 1 favorite, but guess I would have to say spiced pork that is shredded and turned into burritos. YUM! Think I will put that on the menu this weekend.
Definitely overnight steel cut oats. I can’t live without oats during the fall and winter, and a slow-cooker makes it easier on hectic mornings.
I mostly use my slow cooker to make roasts. Have never tried to make fuit butters, I will hav to try that soon.
Pork roast.
My favorite thing to do in the slow cooker is beef stew! So yummy!!!
My favorite use for a slow cooker is soup; but I know it does work great for apple butter! I currently have 5 slow cookers also, but the largest is only 4 quarts; I’d love a larger one with a locking lid.
I like to use mine for pot roasts or chili. Throw it all in in the morning and by dinner the house smells fantastic and all the meat is just absolutely falling apart. Yum!
I’ve only really gotten into cooking with mine this year, since I originally bought it to make mulled wine. The overnight oatmeal you mention sounds delicious though, I’m going to have to look that up!
I make all my fruit butters in my slow cooker. I also like to use it to make chili and the occasional roast.
I use my slow cooker for braises of meat or chicken. I love it because you can pretty much forget about it and still have a wonderful meal afterwards.
I think my favorite thing to make in my slow cooker is BBQ chicken thighs – just slice up an onion, pile a bunch of boneless skinless thighs on top, then pour a bunch of your favorite BBQ sauce on top and cook until the chicken’s falling apart. Seriously, crazy delicious and great for sandwiches or over rice!
My newest favorite crockpot recipe is Honey Chicken. It’s just plan ol’ delicious. Thanks for the apple butter recipe and a wonderful chance at a new crockpot. Happy Holidays!
I love to put Chicken Tortilla Soup in the crock pot. I use my crock pot all the time. I do apple butter, desserts (the chocolate pudding one), roasts, beans, and soups but by favorite is the Chicken Tortilla Soup. On a cold day it just taste even better. I would love to have two so I could do a main dish and a dessert.
My number one use for slow cookers would have to be tougher cut roasts…makes them tender every single time !
I love to prepare a roast chicken in my slow cooker. Thanks!
I use my slow cooker all the time! Having two would be wonderful! I mostly cook beans (kidney, pinto, navy, and garbanzos). I also like using a slow cooker for making yogurt.
I used my slow cooker last year to make rosemary apple butter. This was by far the best use of the machine. I bought a bushel of apples from a farm stand still open when visiting my sister for Thanksgiving. I peeled, sliced, and cooked them, then put it all in the blender in batches. I then cooked it down in the slow cooker for two days until it looked like it had the consistency I wanted. The smell in the house those two days was amazing, and my family loved the fresh taste of the apple butter with a hint of rosemary.
I use my slow cookers the most for roasts and stews, but you can do just about anything with it! Mine is 20 years old this year, I sure would love to have one like this!!
I like to use mine to make a indian spiced chicken thigh dish.
Oh my. I keep trying to read everyone’s entries to get good ideas, and everytime I come back to the computer there are another 100!
I have a very basic slow cooker, metal shell, ceramic inset. High and Low. I use mainly for the winter months and making hot apple cider. It came with a mini pot tucked inside that I use for bean dip. I bought one for my son that has timers and stuff on it. That seems more usable. I would love to trade that one out for this one which sounds to have more bells and whistles.
My personal favorite slow cooked foods are a chicken stew recipe I made up and chili. Yeah! This looks delish too.
I love making mulled cider in mine. It’s ancient though and I would love to try one of these! TY!!!
Sadly I no longer have a slow cooker…if I had one I would use it for stew and now apple butter!
I love using a slow cooker for almost any meat or roast chicken. Spaghetti sauce works well too!
I use my slow cooker for the best turkey legs EVER! I brush molasses and sprinkle garlic on each leg…then wrap individually in foil. Place them in a “bare” slow cooker – no liquids required…using the low setting! The legs cook up beautifully by the time you are home from a hard days work and your kids will love them as mine do!!! ENJOY!
I love cooking roasts in the crockpot! Coming home to the smell of a juicy, tender roast makes dinner time PERFECT!!!
I use mine for apple butter, too, but I also love it for making chicken stock and pot roast.
I use my old slow cooker mostly for bone broth. Hot cider over the holidays is also very nice. The fruit butter idea is awesome! In other automatic canning news, a friend of mine has a bread machine which he uses for jam-making. Works great!
I use my slow cooker to turn inexpensive pork shoulder into tender and delicious shredded pork for tacos, a ragout, sandwiches, anything!
I make corned beef from scratch every year for st Patrick’s day. I set up a couple of slow cookers and feed all of my friends corned beef and soda bread throughout the day. And Guinness of course.