Have you been apple picking and perhaps have lots of apples on hand? I have a lot of apples on hand but I’m too lazy to pick them. It is just too easy to buy them from farm stands and the farmers market. Pictured below are local Honeycrisp and Cortland apples I used for this recipe.

I still have plans to use some of the Honeycrisp apples in an apple pie but in the meantime I made some homemade apple butter. I didn’t realize how easy it is to make.

A lot of the recipes use a slow cooker but for this recipe I used the stove top method.

Apple butter does not contain any butter. It is basically concentrated apple sauce flavored with spices such as cinnamon and ground cloves. Chunks of the apples are cooked with the spices and usually apple cider. Once the apples are tender, they are pureed and cooked again until the apples are dark brown and caramelized.

A benefit of making apple butter is that your house will smell amazing. There will be no need for one of those expensive candles.

I made two separate batches for this post. The first batch I used Honeycrisp apples and for the second batch I used the Cortland variety. I think I prefer the Honeycrisp apple although a lot of recipes recommend using a softer variety such as the Cortland.

Apple butter tastes great on hot biscuits, toast, and English muffins.

Apple Butter

Time: 2hrs
Difficulty: easy
Print

3 pounds of apples (washed and dried off)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup apple cider

Peel, core, and chop the apples. Coat apples with lemon juice as you are cutting them and place in a large Dutch oven. Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, ground cloves, and salt. Sprinkle over the apples. Toss to coat well. Stir in the apple cider.

Cook over medium heat uncovered, until apples are tender, about 30-45 minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree the apples. (Or carefully transfer the mixture to a blender or food processer and puree, then pour back into the same Dutch oven.) Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 30-45 minutes. Apple butter is done when it is thick and jam like in consistency.

Cool completely and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Makes about 3 cups of apple butter.

Note:
Apple butter freezes well.