Yesterday I shared how to make and can homemade applesauce. Today I am going to take that process one step (well, maybe a couple of steps) further and show you how to make crockpot apple butter.
When my in-laws gave us 6 buckets of apples (with more to come) they asked me if I would make them a few jars of apple butter in return. No problem!
The apples I used for the apple butter and applesauce were Jonathan apples.
(I have included a couple of affiliate links in this post. If you purchase something from one of those links I will get a few cents and you will get a great deal.)
Joshua and Joseph were big helpers and seemed to enjoy running the apples through our Victorio food strainer
(affiliate link).
To make apple butter you first need to make applesauce so I really encourage you to read my post on making applesauce.
After making a bunch of applesauce I filled my large crockpot with 16 cups of applesauce.
Then I added 8 cups of sugar, 4 teaspoons of cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves.
I mixed all of the ingredients together and turned the crockpot on low overnight.
When I woke up in the morning this is what the apple butter looked like but it was still a little watery. So, I took the lid off and let it cook for another few hours.
After probably 12-14 hours of cooking on low the apple butter was ready to be processed in jars.
I ladled the hot apple butter into hot jars, wiped the rims with a damp paper towel, and added lids and rings.
The jars went into my water bath canner
(affiliate link) for 10 minutes (after the water in the canning was at a rolling boil).
Please check out my post on canning tomato sauce for more details about how to use a water bath canner.
When all was said and done I ended up with 14 pints and 10 jelly jars of apple butter.
It really is yummy. The great thing about using the crockpot is that I didn’t have to stand around and babysit the apple butter while it was cooking.
Here’s the recipe in printable format.
- 16 cups Applesauce
- 8 Cups Sugar
- 4 tsp. Cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. Ground Cloves
- Follow the instructions found here for making making applesauce.
- Combine the applesauce, sugar, cinnamon, and ground cloves together in a crockpot.
- Set the crockpot to low and allow the mixture to cook for 10-14 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Pour the hot apple butter into hot jars.
- Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp paper towel or cloth.
- Add a canning lid (that has been simmering in pan of water) and a canning ring to each of the jars.
- Process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes (after the water has begun to boil).
- Remove the jars from the canner and place on a towel on a counter and allow to cool for 24 hours before moving.
This recipe can be cut in half for a smaller batch. Just remember that you need a 2:1 ratio of applesauce to sugar when making apple butter.
For more information on how to use a water bath canner check out this post on canning tomato sauce for more detailed instructions.
Have you ever made apple butter in the crockpot?
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