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 don’t use our slow cooker much, and it’s the reason you mentioned, it burns more often than I think it should. And much like you, the last thing I made in it was stuffing for Thanksgiving and it didn’t come out right at all. Taste was fine, but the texture was completely wrong.
I also am in love with my slow cookers and have 3 in various sizes (but I don’t have one with a timer, which I’ve been craving!). I use them all the time from soups and making stocks, fruit butters, etc. I also love it for making a “rotisserie” chicken that tastes better and less salty than what you can get in the store. First day to cook the chicken; next day for the chicken stock!
soup
I would say I have two favorites for the slow cooker: chili (of course), and perhaps the less utilized mulling and keeping hot apple cider hot for the entirety of a holiday party or get together. You don’t have to worry about running out really (just add more when it gets down to 1/3 full or so), and you don’t have to worry about scorching a pot while you’re not paying attention.
What a great idea from Hamilton-Beach — a temperature probe! I have the ubiquitous “wedding gift crock pot” that we received almost thirty years ago and it is used at least weekly for all kinds of things. My two favorite dishes using it though are breakfast bread pudding and bell peppers stuffed with lentils and couscous. Thank you for your great recipes! Happy New Year!
I’ve never had a slow cooker – I would definitely use it for fruit butters and long braises!
pork roast with cranberry sauce & a little bit of juice. good stuff.
thanks for the giveaway. happy holidays to you & yours.
My favorite slow cooker use is stews and corned beef!
Did my first batch of Apple Sauce in the slow cooker this year and my husband went nuts. He didn’t want me to make it as he says he doesn’t eat apple sauce. Hahaha proved the man wrong again! Loving it.
Hard to narrow it down to my one favorite use. I also made apple butter in the slow cooker this fall – I’ve been doing it that way for 20+ years. I love it for stock – just throw everything in the pot while I’m cleaning up dinner and let it cook all night. Strain and enjoy!
My favorite use for a slow cooker is to make pot roast. Oh, the endless possibilities of what to do with the leftovers!
I loved my old fashioned slow cooker for 30+ years before it broke. My slow cooker pot roast is the absolute best. I won’t cook pot roast any other way.
Just getting into the crock-pot thing and this item looks great. Thanks for sponsoring the giveaway, and the blog is wonderful!
Not to be redundant, but apple butter amazed me when I tried last year using the recipe from Canning for a New Generation. Beans are great too.
I’d love to do my fruit butters in a slow cooker. I always run out of patience on the stovetop and call it quits around the sauce stage.
Just last weekend I made two crock pots full of lentil soup, one for my family and one for a friend that was moving to a new house. I used her crock pot and taped the top for the delivery, that locking top would sure have been handy. I also tend to use the crock pot for company dinners so that I have fewer thing to prepare at the last minute.
My favorite use for my slow cooker is to make stews and roast beef. Yummy dinner already to go when I get home from work.
I got one from my daughter (for Christmas!) many years ago – and it’s just burned out! Time for a new one! Have done apple and pear butters, all kinds of soup and soup stocks, and various bean soups. Daughter also taught me how to do a mean Pulled Pork recipe using just a large Pork Roast and BBQ sauce. So easy and great for company. Miss that wonderous machine! Can’t do without one, so winning a new one would be great.
My favorite? It would have to be Roast Beef like my mother used to make. I struggled for years to get mine to taste like hers, but no luck. She just had that special touch of browning and then roasting it in the oven. Finally I tried doing it in my slow cooker/crock pot and BAM–just like hers! Now I have them in several sizes, from a tiny 2-person cooker to my big 6 quart one (and that one’s great for holiday stuffing!). I’d sure love to add a new one to my collection!
I use my slow cooker regularly for stews and chilis to feed my family of 5. This year tried your pear butter recipe in your new cookbook with windfall pears from my father’s pear tree. Fabulous! My kids loved it!
I use my slow cooker for just about everything! It gets regular use at least 2 nights a week, plus during apple and pear season, it works over time. I think my favorite recipe is a spiced pear butter. I haven’t tried the Set It and Forget It yet, but I go through an average of 2 slow cookers a year. They just break down! It’s cheaper to get a new one than have the broken ones fixed…
I have a great pot roast recipe. I usually make it once a year in the winter.
My favorite use is chili. Nothing like a crock of chili that has simmered all day long. My 2nd favorite would have to be applesauce.
I like making a roast in the crockpot, so nice to have supper done in the morning 🙂
Without a doubt, my favorite slow-cooker use is to make yogurt! It’s foolproof, easy and cheap. And if you still fail the foolproof method – ricotta!
My second favorite use is beef stew. Mmmmmmmmm!
I generally use my dutch oven in my regular oven to approximate slow-cooker technology for soups and stews, and resist acquiring more appliances. But I’m well known in my canning group for nearly losing an eye to a renegade apple butter splatter when cooking it old-school on the stove-top, so this would be a welcome addition to the kitchen arsenal! Peaceful holidays to you….
I’ve made some delicious cranberry apple butter for holiday gifts.
My favorite slow cooker use is grits, using the recipe from the SFA Community Cookbook. Perfect creamy grits with no stirring needed!
Apple butter and oatmeal are my favorites to make in the slow cooker. The problem with mine is that it has a hot spot, so I have to watch so it doesn’t burn. This would be a great replacement.
For years, my favorite slow cooker recipe was my grandma’s pork butt in her bbq sauce and cola (a true southern girl, she always used RC – I tend to go for Coke). Once I discovered the method for making yogurt using my slow cooker, all bets were off!
I love to make BBQ chicken for sandwiches.
Chuck roast!!!!
pot roast, bean soup, green beans and ham, apple butter, pear butter, caramelized onions, chicken….I love slow cookers!
Definetly baked beans!
My very favorite thing to cook in my slow cooker is chicken soup. The best!
spaghetti sauce
I love do do meats in mine. Roast or turkey breast. I do like to do soups or stews too. I just love slow cookers!!!
I have a larger slow cooker that I used for fruit butters this year. I also took advantage of the timer feature that converted to warm setting after a few hours. I think my favorite thing made in it so far was vanilla bean honey peach butter. It’s OMG good. When blueberry season comes around, I’m gonna have to try blueberry butter. never even thought of that before.
I LOVE slow cookers! My favorite use is to cook dry beans in it. I rinse the dry beans, soak them in the morning, add them to the pot in the evening with several cups of water, turn her on and it makes perfectly cooked beans by the AM! No fuss! Thanks for the giveaway!!!
Thanks for the chance to win this crockpot. I have coveting one for a while but just can’t justify buying it – but winning one is another story indeed!
Beans. Dried beans, soaked over night, into the slow cooker for anything from dal to chili to cajun red beans to refried beans. Lately my favorite meal has been plain & simple black beans with rice & some hot sauce on top. I find them so comforting…
I love making soup in my crock pot — its great for making turkey soup or ham soup — anything where you cook a bone for a long time. Mine is always not quite big enough, so a new one would be fantastic! 🙂
like others i do fruit butters, stews, pot roasts, cooking dry beans. but.. one of my fav is to do baked potatoes! delicious with a nice crispy skin. really like the idea of this new one with the thermometer built-in and silicone lined lid!!
I love to make soups and stews in my slow cooker. I have never made apple butter in one and you have inspired me now to make a batch!
Chuckwagon beans all the way…and the longer they sit the better they get.
My newest use for my slow cooker is to make pumpkin grits. They come out so creamy, they don’t need almost any fat to be delicious. My most common uses are apple butter and steel cut oats.
I’d love to try out a new slow cooker. I use my current one to make spaghetti sauce, soup and apple sauce.
Thanks!
Oooo, that would be so nice. They are so great to do one-pot meals in!
The best dish I love my slow cooker for is BBQ pulled chicken – it goes on everything (breakfast, lunch, dinner, whatever). I also have a “brute force either-on-or-off” slow cooker, and while I love using it, I always have to consider when I’ll be home to turn it off. The timer option would be a dream!
This time of year I use my slow cooker at least twice a week. Soups & stews are what’s for dinner all winter long.
Would LOVE to have this new fangled contraption. I could bring soups & stews to fellowship on Wednesday nights!
I recently made chocolate peanut candy in the slow cooker – turned out great!
I have only ever used to to cook meals/dinners. One time I made blueberry butter (from your site I believe). My 13 yr old son’s new favorite crock pot meal is chicken and dumplings 🙂
I love making homemade apple sauce and my mushroom/onion pot roast
That crockpot looks so pretty.Thanks for the chance to win..
Pot roast…that’s all I’ve ever used it for!
Split pea soup is my favorite crock pot recipe!
I love the convenience of a slow cooker. I tried making my Thanksgiving mashed potatoes in the morning and kept them in the slow cooker on warm until dinner, and it worked out very well.
I would love a larger more modern slow cooker. On Christmas Eve we prepare tortilla soup for a horde then attend church before dinner. I’m always rounding up crock pots from friends and neighbors to keep everything warm. Also we now make a vegetarian version so two slow cookers are a must.
I haven’t used a slow cooker since they stopped calling them crock pots, but I used to love mine in college, since it was one of the few ways to cook in the dorm room without breaking fire safety rules. I always thought of it mostly as a stew maker, and I’ve only ever made fruit butters in a low oven, so this is the first thing I’d like to try. Apple butter, pear butter, pumpkin butter – all of it!
My favorite use for a slow cooker is spaghetti sauce. I can cook it all day on low and the flavors mix together and it is so tasty. I have to force myself to keep the spoon out!
I’ve been cautious about getting one of those “new fangled” slow cookers, although they’d (well, one) be helpful given my long work days. My favorite thing to make in my slow cooker? It’s supposed to be fajitas, but honestly it’s probably closer to ropas viejas. Healthy, tasty and easy!
I use it all the time to cook dried beans – black beans, pinto, kidney, garbanzo. Makes soup-making easy!
Pot Roast!
I make and take a lot of food to church and to my son’s high school band. My crockpot makes light work of it let me tell you! I love to cook and share it with friends and family!
Apple butter is my favorite thing to make in my slow cooker! I’ve only made one batch this year though – I need to get on that!
I have used my plain jane slow cooker for all sorts of butters; peach, apricot, blueberry. I am not so successful at other things and it may be because my slow cooker gets too or, on some occasions, not hot at all! So maybe it’s time for a new one. The Hamilton Beech sounds great!
I love making roast in the slow cooker…the way it makes the whole house smell amazing. I would love trying to make some butter in one!!
I LOVE to make poultry stock in my slow cooker. It makes a super gelatinous stock by breaking down the bones until you can crumble them with your fingers and all of the carlilage, even the keel bones dissolve . It never get that nasty overcooked flavor no matter how long I cook it.
Using it for apple butter sounds so much easier than stove-top, so that would probably be my new favorite!
My favorite use is to feed a crowd – chili, spaghetti sauce or stew – especially for a party centered around watching something like a goal game or award show
That should say football game 🙂
I like making Caramel Apple Butter in my slow cooker. The recipe is in the Ball Blue Book. It’s my favorite apple butter recipe.
I too have 5 of the very old fashioned type slow cookers. I love the lower temps & don’t worry about letting them cook all night. BUT I would love to have the new Set It And Forget It cooker! It sounds awesome…
I love to use my crockpot for apple butter but sadly my latest batch burned and I’m having a hard time cleaning the pot. This new Hamilton Beach one would be a perfect replacement!!
I’ve made some excellent stews from a book called The Gourmet Slow Cooker.
I use mine most often to make yogurt. But also frequently for long cooking Indian dishes.
My favorite thing to do in my slow cooker is beans. They come out perfect every time.
Chili! Or a good soup! Merry Christmas to all!
definitely our famous hamburger stew. Never the same way twice but always good. This cooker looks marvelous. I also have back ups…how about 3 of the large turkey roasters. 2 rectangular and 1 oval. extras going on in the garage with meats while the rest of the dinner gets the stove and oven treatment. BTW Pioneer woman and cook’s illustrated have a great mashed potato ahead recipes. cream cheese, etc then bake or reheat up to 2 days later and they are good! I remember an experience just like yours with gummy yucky mashed potatoes never again!
Happy Holidays love your blog
So many delicious things come out of our slow cooker, but I’d have to say a good beany or lentil soup is my favorite!
SQUEAL!!! This has been on my wish list! Our favorite use for our crockpot has been batches of homemade chicken noodle soup, or crockpot lasagna (YUM)! Recently saw the article on making homemade granola, yep, have to give it a try… but our fall-backs are always the soup & lasagna in large batches so we can share with family, neighbors, or freeze a bit for another dinner… please enter me into your drawing 🙂
Merry Christmas!
Stacy
I love mine for pulled pork and butters.
I use my vintage crock pot for pineapple butter and my new newer one for blueberry butter, spiced pear butter and apple butter. I also use it a lot to make spiced apple cider and mulled wine.
Ooooh! My slow cooker is over 30 years old and really showing its age! My favorite slow cooker recipe is called Pepper Pot Beef! Thanks!
I use my slowcooker for everything from soup to nuts. Literally! My favorite use is for whole chickens or roasts where I can later throw in a lot of vegetables. I am borderline vegetarian and don’t like meat much but my family does. With my slowcooker, I can make a huge gourmet meal for my family even if I am busy. That makes everyone happy. I currently use a Hamilton Beach slowcooker, which works perfectly fine. It is very nice but not nearly as nice as this one. Mine is just old and outdated. I would buy this myself except my coffeemaker just broke so I need to replace that. We are coffee fanatics!
One more thing regarding your post. I love all things kitchen so I get your reasoning on having so many wooden spoons and everything else. If a new gadget comes out, I have to have it. A few weeks ago my daughter’s friend called me a horder. I laughed and then told her “I am a collector”.
I like making meatballs
I have never made pear butter but would love to. can you make it from canned pears. Now the apple butter is another mateter. It is one of my family’s favorite and really appreciate the recipe.
Soups and stews! I love coming home to the house smelling wonderful and dinner hot and ready to eat!
My slow cookers get a lot of use…chili, pot roasts, crock-pot lasagna, et, but it makes the best applesauce ever!
Favorite use is making spaghetti sauce.
Favorite use is definitely for pulled pork but will try the apple butter… been wanting to make some for a long time!
I use my slow cooker most often to make sweet potato curry or vegetarian chili. Even vegetarians can get good use from slow cookers! LOL. I also like it for apple butter, apple sauce, marinara sauce, taco filling, etc.
I love to use my crock pot for soups and also to slow cook cheaper cuts of meat. When I get home from work those pieces of meat just fall apart!!
I have got to get me one of these. I can a lot of dried beans in the fall and bake them in a molasses sauce for pot lucks. This would be perfect!
I love to put a roast and veggies in before work so it’s ready when we get home!! Also applesauce!!! This cooker sounds great!!!
I use my crock pot mainly for soups, but also chili, pot roasts and I even had a recipe for homemade bread in a crockpot! Thank you for hosting this neat giveaway!! Merry Christmas!
My favorite uses for my slowcooker is to make applesauce. It was originally an apple confit recipe & the slowcooker went crazy & what I found when it was done was that the apples were all mush & easily made applesauce. The other recipe that I use my slowcooker for is weekly I make spaghetti sauce.
My biggest hit from the slow cooker is minestrone soup. There is never any leftovers, but mine has no timer, so it limits me. I would love to have one.
I use mine primarily for pulled pork, but it is best put to use during the holidays to keep foods hot at a party. I also like to make mulled cider in mine.
My favorite use for it is of course pot roast- but one winter’s day I made a lasagna in it. It was neat!
I find that using a slow cooker on days when the evenings promise to be busy makes life much less complicated. I enjoy one pot meals, soups, and cooking meats in crock pots.