Crockpot Apple Butter

My grandmother was a baker - not by profession, but by habit. She was a country woman at heart and she baked a few pies every day whether she needed to or not.

I always loved her pies, but I really miss her apple dumplings. To me, they were the ultimate comfort food, and a mighty good breakfast with some milk poured over them! She also participated in making apple butter the old-fashioned way with a group of friends, cooking it all day in a huge black kettle and then canning it for the winter. In her later years, she began making her apple butter in a crockpot. All of the flavor, none of the hassle.

Crockpot

I have carried on the apple butter tradition -the crockpot version, not the Little House on the Prairie version. It takes two days in a crockpot, so plan it on a weekend if you work away from home during the week, but it doesn't require much effort. I freeze mine in canning jars, but you could freeze it in plastic containers or can it and store it on a shelf. It's not hard at all, so if you're looking for a good way to bring home the taste of fall and wow your friends with your domestic abilities, then try this apple butter recipe: 

Crockpot Apple Butter

4 c. sugar ( I use brown sugar or succanat)

8 c. cooked apples

1/2 c. vinegar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. nutmeg
 
Wash, peel and slice apples thin. Pack into crockpot until full. Add only enough water to keep from sticking to the bottom. Cook all day, covered on low; that night, add 4 cups of sugar to 8 cups of cooked apples (adjust sugar if less than 8 cups). Add 1/2 cup vinegar; stir well and cook all night, covered on low. The next morning, add spices. Cook, uncovered, on high for 3 hours. Fill jars and freeze them when cooled to room temperature, or fill jars and seal, if canning.
 
Yum! The perfect fall bread-spread!

Crockpot Apple Butter

Lisa Scott is a mom, chef-on-call, and a nationally certified speech pathologist. She believes in living every day intentionally and thinking through decisions with a heart after God rather than just following the crowd. She is passionate about helping people find creative solutions to life's challenges, and blogs about her experiences at http://www.wisdompursuit.com. When not chauffeuring her three kids around town, she helps professionals with a foreign accent or regional dialect to increase the clarity of their speech. You can find her speech services at http://www.accentuatecommunication.com.

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