Apples

It's apple season and there's so many wonderful recipes and things you can do with apples both in the crock pot and the microwave. If you haven't already, check last year's apple butter post HERE

I opened a jar of apple butter this morning that I made in November last year. It was wonderful! The flavor was richer and naturally sweeter.

When I made the apple butter last year, I opened a jar about 3 weeks later and it had some light mold on the edge of the inside of the jar. It tasted okay and we ate it but I was concerned about long term storage. I stored it in a cool room and the jar I opened this morning was perfect.

The apple festivals are everywhere this time of year. It's fall! Get out and get some apples and have some fun. Find what you like to eat that's made from apples and make some!

Apple Butter In The Crockpot

I used 3 regular size bags of apples you get from the grocery store (8 to 10 apples per bag). Any kind of apples would be fine except for Granny Smith or other sour apples (unless you like your apple butter tart).


I used this cool little gadget. I got it at Kmart. It said apple peeler on the package, but it also cores as it slices. It is so easy! I love it!!!



For apple butter, I cut each slice in half manually to make it smaller so that I could pack it down with my hands to get as many apple slices in the pot as possible. If you drop the slices into the crockpot loosely, you'll end up with only a couple of pints of apple butter. Pack in as many apple slices as you can. As you can see, I piled them past the rim. I have a dome lid on my crockpot. Next time, I'll put the sugar in before the crockpot is full.


I used:

1 Bag McIntosh Apples
1 Bag Golden Delicious Apples
1 Bag Red Delicious Apples

1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 bottle cinnamon candy

Cook in crockpot on low 12-14 hours.

Note: My crockpot is 4 or 5 qts. If yours is larger, you will need to adjust the spices to taste once the apples have cooked down and before you put it into the jars.

My apple butter is for Christmas gifts so I bought 12 half pint jars. With this recipe, I was able to fill 11 of them.

To get them to seal, I placed the lids and jars into a large round pot of water sitting on the stove that had already reached the boiling point. I turned it on low and took out each jar with tongs, one at a time, to fill it. I put the lid in the ring and placed it on the jar immediately and placed it upside down into another pot of water, on the stove. After about 5 minutes, they were completely sealed.

My family is very pleased with the flavor of the apple butter.



I think next time I make it, I'll try using spice drops candy instead of the cinnamon candy.