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Apple butter is not butter. It is apples cooked down so far with sugar and spice that they turn dark, glossy and thick enough to spread, with a flavor somewhere between baked apple and caramel. It used to be made in a copper kettle over a fire at the church in October, or on the stove at home for two days with somebody stirring every half hour so it did not scorch. The slow cooker changed that. Same apple butter, two stirs, and you sleep through most of it.
The recipe has three parts. The apples cook down overnight on low with brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg until they collapse. In the morning a stick blender turns them smooth right in the pot. Then the lid comes off and it cooks on high for two more hours, until it is dark mahogany and a spoonful holds its shape on a cold plate. The uncovered stage is where the color and the depth come from, so do not skip it.
Why this slow cooker apple butter works
- A mix of apples. Half sweet, half tart gives more flavor than any single variety. Skins off, because they never blend fully smooth.
- Ten hours on low. The long, slow cook breaks the apples down completely and starts the caramelization.
- Blended in the pot. A stick blender saves transferring hot apples and gives a silky texture.
- Lid off at the end. Uncovered cooking evaporates the water and turns the butter dark and thick. This is the step that makes it apple butter instead of applesauce.
Ingredients
Makes about 6 cups, or 6 half-pint jars. US cups with grams in brackets.
- 6 pounds apples (2.7kg, about 12 medium), a mix of sweet and tart, peeled, cored and chopped
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar (200g)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
Good combinations: Honeycrisp or Gala with Granny Smith, or Fuji with Jonathan. Avoid Red Delicious, which turns mealy and flat.
How to make slow cooker apple butter
- Put the chopped apples in a 6-quart slow cooker. Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt and stir until the apples are coated.
- Cover and cook on low for 10 hours, or overnight. The apples will collapse and turn deep amber, and the kitchen will smell like autumn.
- In the morning, use a stick blender to purée the apples right in the slow cooker until completely smooth. (Or blend in batches in a regular blender and return to the pot.)
- Stir in the vanilla if using. Turn the cooker to high and leave the lid off. Cook for 2 to 3 hours, stirring every 30 minutes, until the butter is dark mahogany and very thick.
- Test it: drop a spoonful onto a cold plate. If no liquid seeps out around the edge after a minute and the mound holds its shape, it is done. If it weeps, cook 30 minutes more.
- Ladle the hot apple butter into clean jars. Let cool, then cover.
Tips that make the difference
- Set a wooden spoon across the top of the pot and rest the lid on it, tilted, during the last hours. Steam escapes and it thickens twice as fast without spattering the counter.
- Taste before the last hour. Some apples need an extra 1/4 cup of sugar; some need a squeeze of lemon to wake up.
- The color keeps darkening after blending. Stop at deep mahogany, not black.
- A 6-quart slow cooker holds this batch; in a smaller one, use 4 pounds of apples and reduce everything else by a third.
Variations
- Spiced cider. Add 1/2 cup apple cider with the apples for a more pronounced apple flavor.
- Maple. Replace the brown sugar with 3/4 cup pure maple syrup.
- Less sugar. Use half the sugar; the butter will be tarter and slightly less thick, and it keeps a little less long.
- Pear butter. Make it with ripe pears, the same way, with a pinch of ground ginger.
Storage and make-ahead
Refrigerated in covered jars, apple butter keeps for a month. It also freezes beautifully in freezer-safe jars or containers for up to a year; leave an inch of headroom.
For shelf storage, process the hot jars in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes using standard canning practice with new lids. This recipe is not tested for canning safety in every situation, so follow your canning guide’s rules for headspace and altitude.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between apple butter and applesauce?
Time and sugar. Applesauce is apples cooked until soft. Apple butter is applesauce cooked hours longer with sugar and spice until it darkens, caramelizes and thickens to a spread.
Do I have to peel the apples?
For the smoothest butter, yes. Skins never fully break down and leave flecks. If you do not mind the texture, leave them on and blend well.
Can I make apple butter on the stove?
Yes, the old way. Cook the apples and sugar in a heavy pot over low heat, stirring every 15 minutes, for 3 to 4 hours, then blend and cook uncovered until thick. It scorches easily, so keep the heat very low.
How do I use apple butter?
On biscuits, toast, pancakes and oatmeal; stirred into plain yogurt; spread inside a grilled cheese; brushed on roast chicken in the last 10 minutes; or spooned over vanilla ice cream.
Start it tonight, and tomorrow morning you open the kitchen door to the smell that used to take two days. Then find someone with a biscuit.
Slow Cooker Apple Butter (Overnight, Dark and Thick)
Old-fashioned apple butter made overnight in the slow cooker: six pounds of apples, brown sugar and spice, ten hours on low, blended smooth and finished with the lid off until it is dark and thick enough to hold its shape. With the crooked-lid trick.
Ingredients
- 6 pounds apples (2.7kg, about 12 medium), a mix of sweet and tart, peeled, cored and chopped
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Put the chopped apples in a 6-quart slow cooker. Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt and stir until the apples are coated.
- Cover and cook on low for 10 hours, or overnight. The apples will collapse and turn deep amber, and the kitchen will smell like autumn.
- In the morning, use a stick blender to purée the apples right in the slow cooker until completely smooth. (Or blend in batches in a regular blender and return to the pot.)
- Stir in the vanilla if using. Turn the cooker to high and leave the lid off. Cook for 2 to 3 hours, stirring every 30 minutes, until the butter is dark mahogany and very thick.
- Test it: drop a spoonful onto a cold plate. If no liquid seeps out around the edge after a minute and the mound holds its shape, it is done. If it weeps, cook 30 minutes more.
- Ladle the hot apple butter into clean jars. Let cool, then cover.
