There is a lovely, mature tree on the front of our property that is perfect for climbing. Plenty of wide branches with almost a nest in the center of the trunk. Affectionately, the children named this particular tree, “Book Tree.” Not only do they love to run off and read while sitting in this tree, but it often becomes a world of its own. A house, a store, sometimes even a hideout.
One blissful spring day, the children discovered that their favorite tree was growing flowers. We had a hard time identifying it, but assumed it must be a crab-apple tree or maybe a flowering dogwood. Only time would tell.
Sure enough! We found apples on the tree and began weekly inspections of the growing apples. About a month ago, we picked an apple to see if it was ready. (To tell if a crab-apple is ready, cut in half and check if the seeds are brown.) I’m sure we felt similarly to Noah as he repeated the bird sent-out several times before it was actually time to get off that ark. (Ok, waiting for apples to ripen probably is nothing compared to getting off that ark!) Still, they did ripen.
In well under an hour, we filled a 5-gallon bucket full of these surprise offerings from our bountiful land! While I discussed recipe ideas, I knew immediately that most of these tart apples would turn into our favorite fall and winter (ok, year-round!!) spread…Apple Butter!
Easiest Crock-Pot Apple Butter
First up, harvest or buy about 5 pounds of apples*. Over the years, I’ve tried a variety of combinations, but always go back to a tart baking apple, like Granny Smith or whatever this crab-apple variety is!
Next, clean those apples. If using store bought apples, a warm soak in vinegar-water will help clean the waxed skins. For these freshly harvested apples, I did a quick dunk in cold-vinegar water. They had a bit of dirt, but no wax!!
Peel and chop apples into eighths, and place apples into a crock-pot on low. This is the most labor-intensive step, unless you have a buddy beside you or a peeler/corer tool.
Allow the apples to cook on low for 20-24 hours. Really! The longer the apples cook, the darker and tastier they become. Stir occasionally. The picture below shows the apple mash at around 24 hours of cooking, before blending.
Ladle the apples into a blender and blend until smooth. Return to crock-pot, but turn off. This allows the apple butter to stay warm until you can it. (Canning the apple butter allows it to last for up to a year without refrigeration, but is not necessary. You can choose to refrigerate the butter and consume within a month. If you give as a gift, be sure to let the recipient know if it needs to be refrigerated!)
Add spices and sweetener of your choice. I typically add cinnamon, cloves and homemade vanilla to our apple butter. I use whatever sweetener I have on hand, and try to use as little as possible. In the first batch, I used about 2/3 of a small bottle of honey**. In the second batch, I used just over 1/2 cup of sugar.
At this point, the apple butter is ready to go into the fridge or go through the canning process. Between the two batches, I canned 7 pints and kept one almost full pint for the fridge/ current use.
Have hard water? We use well-water and currently do not have a whole-house water softener/filtration system. This means, jars get very cloudy while in a water-bath canner. It does not effect the jars or the contents, but it sure isn’t pretty to look at. So, once the jar is cool, simply wipe it down with a vinegar-soaked rag.
The jar on the left is cloudy from hard water. The jar on the right has been wiped down with vinegar. Such a lovely improvement!
*My crock-pot is an 8-quart capacity and I fill it as full as possible. If your crock-pot is smaller, you will need less apples to fill it.
**While we typically use raw, unfiltered honey for regular use, I do not cook or can with it. The benefits of raw honey are lost when it is heated.
