Easy Peasy Apple Butter

 I am always trying to combine the old world simple lifestyle of being self sufficient mixed with a heavy dose of convenience. That is my definition of  "Modern Homesteading".   One of the conveniences I must have is a Slow Cooker. ( I actually have 3! Sometimes all going at once.)  Right now one is making Apple Butter.  I love apple butter and this time of year with fresh local apples - YUM!!

Choosing apples to make Apple Butter or Apple Sauce is really a personal choice - in my opinion.  I think you pick the flavors you like and go from there.  Keeping in mind that softer apples cook faster and of course the opposite for firmer apples. For this batch I used a mix of Pink Ladies, Paula Reds, Granny Smith (because it is one of my favorite) and Red Delicious (for the sweet factor).

I am new to canning "all by myself".  My mother canned and I remember watching her and I am sure "helping" and I was very involved in helping my grandmother when I was older and really,  actually helping. 

I am very fortunate to have friends and mentors and inspiration.
Here is how I do it:

You will need:
6-7 pounds of your choice of Apples
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon
1 Tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract ( used near the end of the cooking period)
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
1/4 tsp. Ground Cloves
1/4 tsp Salt

**A note on the ground cinnamon and ground cloves.  If you have a coffee grinder (another gadget!!) buy whole cinnamon sticks and/or whole cloves and grind yourself.  It is fresher and the flavor is very intense - which in Apple Butter is a very good thing.  You might also notice that the freshly ground is a much darker color than the already ground package.

So - the apples need to be peeled and cored.  If you have an apple peeler/corer/slicer by all means use it.  I used to have one but I can't find it and will be getting another one.  In the mean time I peel with a veggie peeler first and the use a apple corer/cutter thingy pictured here and then cut into small pieces:

Go ahead and put the apples into the Slow Cooker.
Measure out white and brown sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.  Combine them in a bowl (medium size will work).  Pour the mixture over the apples.  Set  Slow Cooker to "Low" and timer for 10 hours.  You will want to stir occasionally throughout this time - I do about every 2 hours but it is probably not necessary to stir even that often.

At the end of 10 hours you will want to stir in your Vanilla Extract and reset timer for 2 hours.

Now is a good time to start setting up for the canning part. Clean and sterilize jars, lids and rings.  I use a roaster pan spanned across two burners.  I got this idea on a canning blog and it works great.

At the end of 12 hours the apples will have cooked down and look like this:

Now - there are two options for the next step.  I use an Immersion Blender (aka a hand blender) Yes - another gadget!!  However, you could also use a regular counter top blender. An Immersion Blender is a great gadget - so easy to clean up after use - the bottom half twists or clicks off - depending on style and simply rinses off.  You can use it right inside the Slow Cooker so you do not have to remove the cooked apples.  Easy Peasy!! ( I have 2 - I got one at a lawn sale for $1 and it works great!!)

After using the immersion blender the Apple Butter looks like this - oh so yummy!  Now it is ready to "jar up" and can.

 Fill the jars with Apple Butter leaving about 2 inches from top. (A jar funnel comes in handy about now - you can see the blue one in the above picture with jars being sterilized.)  Place your lids and tighten rings just "finger tight".  Using a jar lifter, place in your hot water bath and make sure jars are covered with  2" of water.  Allow to boil for about 10 minutes.  Have a dish towel ready to place removed jars on.  Once all jars are removed (jar lifter again) -  cover with another dish towel.  You want them to cool slowly.  This is a tip from my good friend and mentor Ms. Polly over at Wee Acre Farm.
I made 4 pints and put the leftover in a container for us to eat right away.

And here we are - 4 pretty little pints of Easy Peasy Apple Butter!  
What was the very first food you canned "all by yourself"?
Are you self taught or did you have someone teach you?
Please share all about it.


This post was shared on The Homesteaders Blog Hop  http://www.modernhomesteaders.net/the-homesteaders-blog-hop-9/