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Favorite Crockpot "extra": Apple Butter....
On Monday I shared with you my favorite soup in the crockpot. Today I thought I'd share with you a new "staple" in our fridge.

Apple Butter.

And before I go further, I had a lovely surprise when the author of Crockpot 365 stopped by my little corner of the internet on Monday and left a comment! Thanks, Stephanie!

OK. Back to the apple butter, because honestly...you want to make this.

If you're not familiar with apple butter, it is sold in most grocery stores in the jam/jelly section. It's not like a jelly or jam where gelatin is involved. In fact, it's really just apples that are cooked down like applesauce and then blended until smooth.

I made this for the first time 3 weeks ago and have made a batch every weekend since. The Big Guy likes it on toast. I love it mixed into my steel cut oatmeal.

The Crockpot 365 site had this recipe, you can view it by clicking here and I've tweaked it just ever so slightly, mainly in the area of the sugar. As Stephanie says, "3 cups is a LOT." I agree. My version is below.

Note: if you don't have an immersion blender, you'll want to peel these apples before you put them in the crock pot. If you have an immersion blender, you can skip the peeling.

Apple Butter
Apples: with it being apple season, you can really go with any apple variety that you'd like. I've used Harroldson's, Cortland's (my favorite) and Honeycrisp's. The choice is up to you. But you'll need at least 3 pounds or more. Depends on how big your crock pot is. I used 1 full bag and 1/2 of a second bag.



Cut up your apples. Fill your crockpot to the top with cut up apples. (I leave my apples in big chunks...).



Add 1 T of vanilla

Cook apples on low for at least 6 hours. After 6 hours, take a wooden spoon and see if apples are easily broken apart. If you can break them apart into a chunky applesauce, then the apple butter is ready. If not, continue to cook on low for another hour. When apples are easily broken apart, add:

1T of cinnamon
2-4 T of brown sugar


stir until well combined.

Use your immersion blender to blend apples until very smooth (or scoop apples into a blender and blend until smooth). Apple butter will be a dark brown color.





Spoon into containers and store in the fridge for 1 week or in the freezer for 6 months. I spoon apple butter into a small container and use that during the week and then freeze the rest in smaller portions.

Enjoy!