this past weekend, chris and i planned on going apple picking. sadly we completely missed apple picking season but we did venture to a farm out in maryland to pick up a bunch of local apples. we went to butler’s orchard and there was a festival going on but there it was $10 per a person and we felt like spending the money on apples instead. so we picked up a ton of different kinds of apples and a few pumpkins too. i can’t wait to carve them for halloween. yay!
there are a few different apple recipes i plan to make but first on the list was apple butter. there are a lot of different recipes out there for apple butter and you can either make it on the stovetop or in a slow cooker. i decided on a stovetop recipe because it was a little quicker but next time i may try the slow cooker route. either way though, this really isn’t a quick process. on the stove it took me about 5 hours to make from start to finish. yikes!
but the end result was amazing! it was thick and spicy and actually quite healthy. i cut down the amount of sugar in half so it’s pretty much just apples. this recipe ended up making about 4 jars of apple butter. we have 1 in the fridge and then 3 more in the freezer. i still haven’t gotten comfortable with the whole canning idea but hopefully i’ll try it out soon.
so let’s get started. first, peel, core, and chop a ton of apples. i used a mixture of courtland, jonathan, and shizuka apples. then put it in a pot along with the apple cider…
next cook for 25-30 minutes, until the apples are soft and tender. puree the apples with an immersion blender…
now you have to cook this apple mixture for a while – until it reaches 215-220 F degrees on a candy therometer. once it does add, the spices, sugars, and lemon juice. then cook it for about 2 hours. watch out it bubbles and splatters all over the place. it made quite a mess in our kitchen…
try to test out about 1 1/2 hour in. to test for doneness, mound a spoonful of apple butter on a small plate. the apple butter should stay mounded and there should not be any accumulations of liquid around the edges of the mound. as you can see, the one on the left wasn’t quite ready but the one on the right is. yay!
once it’s all done if you have a big ol’ pot of apple butter ready to jar!
Apple Butter
adapted from The Paupered Chef and RecipeTips.com
Ingredients
- 4 pounds of apples (just under a ½ peck) – a mix of sweet and a little tart is best
- ½ gallon of apple cider
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves or 15 whole cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- Juice of 1 lemon
Directions
- First, you peel the apples and cut them into bite-sized chunks. Place them in a big pot.
- Add the apple cider. Over medium-high heat, bring to a simmer. Some foam will rise to the top, which you should spoon off. Cook the apples for about 25-30 minutes, until they are tender all the way through.
- Remove from heat and let the apples cool for about five minutes. Then puree the mixture in an immersion blender (if you don’t have an immersion blender, use a regular blender or food processor – just be sure to do it in batches). You want the result to still be a little chunky, like a thin applesauce.
- Put the puree back in your pot over medium or medium-low heat. When it reaches about 215-220F on the candy thermometer, add the spices, sugar, brown sugar, and lemon juice. Stir slowly.
- Next, leave the pot on medium and stir regularly for up to 2 hours. The mixture will become thicker and darker. When you are satisfied with the thickness, remove from heat. (You can also test the doneness of the apple butter by mounding a spoonful of apple butter on a small plate. The apple butter should stay mounded and there should not be any accumulations of liquid around the edges of the mound.) If you used whole cloves, remove and discard the 15 cloves from the apple butter.
- Put in jam jars and can using your preferred canning method.
Printer Friendly Recipe: Apple Butter
miki's kitchen 