With the weather turning cooler, I decided it was time to make my mother’s crock pot apple butter. Jordan and Yankee made their own batch, but they used apples they picked at the orchard. I went the lazy easy route. This is great to give as little hostess gifts, etc. This might seem like a complicated undertaking, but I only can one thing – unlike my daughter/blog partner who is a canning machine – and this is my one thing. The bottom line is “if I can do it, you can do it.”
I made a trip to the big box warehouse and bought a gallon of applesauce.
All you do it combine the applesauce, lots of sugar, vinegar, and flavorings and cook it a loooooooong time. Here it is midway through the cooking process.
Make sure you have jars and lids on hand. You can use old jars but the lids must be new. I like the 1/2 pint size.
The apple butter will cook down during the day and thicken somewhat. However, don’t despair if it is runnier than you think it should be. It will thicken as it cools. This is how it looked when I began dipping it into the jars, which I sterilized in the dishwasher. Just put your jars in a regular wash cycle, and as soon as they are finished drying, when they are still very hot, it is time to get the party started. I timed it so they would be finished when the apple butter was ready.
About 10 minutes before you are ready to start the canning process, put your lids in clean water and simmer them. This is part of the sterilizing procedure.
Be sure to clean all of the excess apple butter from the rim of the jar carefully with a clean paper towel. This is before I cleaned this one.
Using tongs, remove a lid from the simmering water. Gently tap the water off of it, and place it on the jar.
I am making mine next week– I love using a slow cooker for my jams because it controls the mess and aids in clean- up. I use the twice baked Apple Butter recipe from Brown County Indiana with the addition of 1/2 Calvados–
What a great idea and it looks so delicious!!