As the old saying goes, there are few things as American as apple pie. For whatever reason, American culture and apples seem to go hand in hand. Of course, apple pie is amazing. Still, it’s not always easy to have an apple pie on hand for all the times we’re craving that taste. Fortunately, there’s another way to satisfy that craving without going through all the effort of making an entire pie.
If you’ve never tried it, apple butter is a delicious and amazing way to get that goopy apple pie filling flavor without going out of your way to do so. While you can buy this delicious topping at a store if you want, it’s never as good as if you make it on your own at home. The best part of all of this? You even get to use your slow cooker too. So what are we waiting for?
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 5 pounds of apples
- 1 cup of apple cider
- 2 cups of sugar
- 1/4 cup of lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon of allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
Here’s what you do:
1. First, begin by preparing all your apples. You’ll need to peel and core them before slicing them up into little pieces. No need to wash since you’re going to be taking the skin off!
2. Once those are ready, drop all your apples in the slow cooker along with all your other ingredients. Set your slow cooker on high, cover it and let it all cook for one hour.
3. After enough time has passed, open the slow cooker and stir everything so that it’s all evenly combined. Close it again and set it on low to cook for 12 more hours. Be sure to open it up and give it a stir occasionally throughout the process.
4. Finally, once it’s been cooking for at least 12 hours, open it up and check on the consistency. If you’re happy with it, take it off and serve! Otherwise, set it for another hour to thicken it up a little before serving and enjoy!
Though the above recipe does take a little bit of time to come together, the results are a delicious and gooey apple flavored topping that you can use on all kinds of desserts (or simply as a snack). While the basic recipe works quite well, there’s still plenty of variety to be had within this recipe with a few simple tweaks.
After tasting this version, see what you think. If you want it to be a little sweeter, add more sugar. It you want it to be more tart, experiment with what kinds of apples you put into the slow cooker. Adjust the spices as you wish and even add in a little bit of some other soft fruit like peaches or pears to help create a more nuanced flavor. Above all, have fun experimenting with the recipe (and with finding new foods to put this butter on). Enjoy!
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