Learn to make excellent apple butter within the gradual cooker! Made with 5 elements, this recipe is straightforward, scrumptious, and a lot better than store-bought.

Apple butter is a candy, silky unfold made with slow-cooked apples and spices. Assume applesauce, however thicker and way more concentrated. It’s just like the consistency of jam with a wealthy and intense apple taste.
On this straightforward apple butter recipe, we use a gradual cooker to slowly cook dinner contemporary apples till actually delicate. Use do-it-yourself apple butter to unfold onto toast, English muffins and biscuits, or use it as a topping for pancakes, waffles, and oatmeal. For much more fall-inspired flavors, see our homemade pumpkin butter.
Key Components
- Apples: You possibly can’t make apple butter with no bunch of contemporary apples. We’ll want 8 to 9 medium apples for this recipe. We usually attain for crisp apples when making apple butter (similar to after we make applesauce or apple pie). Honeycrisp, Gala, Fuji, and Pink Woman apples are all nice choices. Extra tart apples, like Granny Smith, are additionally glorious on this recipe.
- Brown Sugar: Since we’re searching for a concentrated jam-like high quality for our apple butter, we want some sugar. Brown sugar retains issues candy and provides a caramelized observe, too.
- Honey: I really like the floral notes honey provides to this apple butter. When you choose to make vegan apple butter, use maple syrup in its place.
- Exhausting Apple Cider: Right here’s the place our recipe is a bit completely different from different apple butter recipes we’ve got seen on-line. Exhausting apple cider provides further taste and a little bit of bitterness, which is so scrumptious when matched with the candy apples, sugar, and honey. When you’d choose to go away this out, we’ve got options within the recipe ideas part beneath. Use one you take pleasure in because the flavors will focus because it cooks.
- Chinese language 5 Spice: Apples and heat spices like cinnamon had been meant for one another (particularly within the Fall!). You should utilize cinnamon in our recipe, however for a bit extra spice and taste, use Chinese language 5 Spice, which is a mix of Chinese language cinnamon, star anise, cloves, Sichuan (Szechuan) peppercorns, and fennel. Pumpkin pie spice can be a wonderful concept.

How one can Make Apple Butter
First, put together your apples. Core and chop them. There isn’t a must peel apples if you make apple butter. The peel provides colour and taste. Then, mix the apples with brown sugar and Chinese language 5 spice. I prefer to toss them effectively in a big bowl.


It is a crockpot apple butter so, add the sugar and spiced apples to your gradual cooker (ours is a 6-quart mannequin, however smaller fashions also needs to work). Pour the honey and exhausting apple cider across the apples, then give all the pieces an excellent stir.


Cowl the gradual cooker and cook dinner on LOW for 10 hours. By simmering the apples over very low warmth, they virtually soften into themselves, making the apple butter further silky.
After 10 hours, the apples are delicate and cooked down. Uncover the gradual cooker, flip to HIGH warmth, and cook dinner, with the lid left off, for two hours. This step helps to pay attention the apples much more and ensures a thick, spreadable apple butter.
Lastly, mix! We use an immersion blender within the gradual cooker, however you’ll be able to at all times switch the apples (and any juices) to a blender and mix there.


Excellent Apple Butter
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This gradual cooker apple butter recipe is straightforward and scrumptious! Completely candy, frivolously spiced, and with a wealthy and concentrated apple taste, it’s so a lot better than store-bought.
The exhausting cider on this recipe makes barely thinner apple butter. We love the flavour it provides and particularly love the slight bitterness from the exhausting cider. When you discover that your apple butter is simply too skinny after cooking for our advisable instances, don’t fear; we’ve got offered ideas within the recipe and ideas part beneath.
Makes 1 pint (2 cups)
You Will Want
3 ½ kilos apples, 8 to 9 medium apples
1 cup (200 grams) brown sugar
1 tablespoon Chinese language 5 Spice, see notes
1/2 cup (165 grams) honey
1 (12-ounce) bottle exhausting cider, see notes
Pinch salt, non-obligatory
Instructions
1Core and chop the apples into 1/2-inch items. There isn’t a must peel them.
2In a big bowl, toss the apples with brown sugar and Chinese language 5 Spice, then add to your gradual cooker.
3Pour over the honey and exhausting apple cider. Season with a pinch or two of salt, if desired (I virtually at all times do).
4Cowl and cook dinner on LOW for 10 hours.
5Uncover and cook dinner on excessive for an additional 2 hours to scale back the liquid across the apples.
6Use an immersion blender to puree the apples till silky and clean. If the apple butter appears skinny, don’t fear; you’ll be able to thicken it simply. Proceed to cook dinner uncovered within the gradual cooker for an additional hour or till you might be pleased with the feel (see ideas beneath for fixing runny apple butter). Remember the fact that it is going to thicken barely because it cools.
Adam and Joanne’s Suggestions
- Chinese language 5 Spice: A mix of Chinese language cinnamon, star anise, cloves, Sichuan (Szechuan) peppercorns, and fennel. It’s scrumptious in apple butter. When you do not need it, think about using this homemade pumpkin spice blend or substitute with cinnamon.
- Gradual cooker: We use a 6-quart gradual cooker, however you ought to be okay with a gradual cooker as small as 4.5 quarts.
- My apple butter is simply too skinny: Listed below are two methods to thicken apple butter: first, cut back it for an extended time. You are able to do this within the gradual cooker with the lid off or on the range over medium-low warmth. Lowering on the range will take much less time however requires your fixed consideration since it may over-reduce and burn. The gradual cooker takes extra time however is extra hands-off. Second, when you’ve already tried to scale back your apple butter and it’s nonetheless too runny, you’ll be able to add a cornstarch slurry. Combine one tablespoon of cornstarch with two tablespoons of water after which whisk into the simmering apple butter. Cook dinner for 10 to fifteen minutes, stirring sometimes, till thickened.
- Alcohol-free model: Substitute the exhausting apple cider with non-alcoholic apple cider or go away it out altogether. Apple butter made with out the cider shall be a bit thicker.
- Vegan apple butter: Substitute the honey for maple syrup and use vegan-certified brown sugar.
- Storing: Retailer apple butter in an hermetic container within the fridge for 2 weeks or freeze for a number of months.
- Canning: Apple butter may be canned, however you have to to make use of a stress canner. We do not need directions for stress canning. We suggest following the directions that got here along with your canning tools.
- The vitamin details offered beneath are estimates.
Diet Per Serving
Serving Measurement
1 tablespoon
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Energy
63
/
Complete Fats
0.1g
/
Saturated Fats
0g
/
Ldl cholesterol
0mg
/
Sodium
7.2mg
/
Carbohydrate
15.7g
/
Dietary Fiber
1.1g
/
Complete Sugars
14.1g
/
Protein
0.1g