Crock Pot Apple Butter

Makes enough to fill ten 8 oz jars INGREDIENTS 6 1/2 lbs of apples (I used 5 lbs Granny Smith and 1 1/2 Honey Crisp) 1 cup sugar (use what you like- coconut, cane, etc) 1 cup light brown sugar 1 tbsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp ground cloves 1/4 tsp salt 2 vanilla beans (about 6-8 inches in length- if not available, use 1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract) 1 tsp fresh lemon juice *Things that will make this a lot easier: an APPLE PEELER/CORER and an IMMERSION BLENDER (if you don’t have those, use a regular peeler and blender) DIRECTIONS {here’s a more detailed step-by-step} Start by peeling all of the skin off the apples Then remove the cores… You’ll have a bunch of crazy looking apples (it’s okay if not every single piece of peel is gone- a teensy bit can remain) Slice and chop apples (If using an apple contraption/peeler/corer, then they will already be sliced, so you’ll just chop in half- if not, just roughly chop) *It’s normal for them to turn a little brown while sitting out Place in Crock Pot In a mixing bowl, add sugars, spices, and salt (but not vanilla or lemon) Stir to mix Pour sugar/spice mixture over apples Use hands (or utensils) to evenly mix it all together (As you can see, my pot was on overload, so I did the best I could without spilling anything- it’s not biggie if it’s not all perfectly mixed- it will blend more as cooks) Cover and set on low for 10 hours About half way through, remove lid and stir (I know, not the prettiest phase, but don’t worry- it’ll get good-lookin‘ soon!) All the apples will melt into a saucy soup instantly upon stirring At about 7 hours, add the vanilla from one bean (if you’re cooking overnight, no worries- just do it all at the end) To get vanilla from bean, cut the bean in half (just the top side- not all the way through) and then use the underside of your knife to scrape along the pod to remove all of the pasty vanilla yumminess Add to apple mixture and stir in Then cover again and continue to let cook for rest of time After 10 hours, your apple sauce will start to look thicker and richer in color (I made mine during the day, so my ten hours ended before I went to bed… so I let it sit as-is, covered, until I got up early in the morning. If you make this during the night, then your ten hours will likely be done right as you get up- great timing if you ask me!) Now that it’s done doing it’s thing (round one anyway), add the second batch of vanilla bean- same process, just scrape from the bean and add the vanilla to the apple mixture Now add fresh lemon juice to the mix Using an immersion, blend the apple mixture until smooth- even when you think it’s smooth, keep blending- you want it nice and smooth (If you don’t have an immersion blender, transfer the mixture to a regular blender and blend until smooth in small batches until it’s all done) Look at that transformation! Yumm ?? You’ll notice at this point that the texture is getting creamy and buttery already… Now return heat to low and cook, this time uncovered, for two more hours (I had to go to work, so I set my timer for two hours and then it stayed on warm until I got home, so it stayed uncovered on warm for about 5 hours- no prob. That’s what’s nice about this… timing isn’t a huge deal- it’ll just do it’s thing ?? Now start getting your jars ready… Boil and clean them and so forth Then scoop the apple butter into the jars until all are evenly filled Good luck not eating a few scoops before getting it into the fridge… (I couldn’t resist! Look at the yumminess just calling for you to devour it!!) You want to let them cool a little before putting the lids on, just so the steam doesn’t build up in there Then place in the refrigerator until ready to use/gift When you’re ready to give them to people, slap a sticker on the jar (dry the little sticker surface first), tie some ribbon on it if you want, and give give give!