All Day Apple Butter

This is definately a keeper. I used Golden Delicious apples, and put them through the food processor VERY FINE before I started. This way I didn't have any lumps, and didn't have to mess with hot butter later on. We like really spicy apple butter, so I increased the spices a little, but then added 1/2 tsp. ground allspice. I also only used about 2 cups sugar. Put it on before I went to bed, and then in the morning took the lid off and let it cook another few hours where I could watch it to get the consistancy I wanted. (I checked it by putting a spoonful on a saucer and looking after it got cold to see if there was any water separation.)

This recipe was ok, but I found that the cooking time once the lid was removed needed to be longer. I made one batch leaving the lid off for the suggested one hour and the butter was more like apple sauce. I found some suggestions from an extension service. They said To test for doneness, remove a spoonful and hold it away from steam for 2 minutes. It is done if the butter remains mounded on the spoon. Another way to determine when the butter is cooked adequately is to spoon a small quantity onto a plate. When a rim of liquid does not separate around the edge of the butter, it is ready for canning. Also in my first batch I reduced the amount of sugar as some suggested. I think this was a mistake too. The second batch was much better using the entire 4 cups.

This is a great recipe. I had no idea it was so easy to make apple butter. I had a lot of apples on my trees this year. I love this recipe but I did try a couple of variations. I used just over one cup of sugar. I liked it better a bit tart. I cut the apples into chunks instead of small pieces and then put them in the crock-pot on high; I would add more apples as they cooked down so my crock-pot was full. I let them cook, covered on high overnight. After they got soft I removed the lid and let them cook down while I was at work (about 6 hours). Since they were in chunks the thinner liquid made them not stick and burn like a thick liquid would have. They reduced down to between 2/3 to ½ of a crock-pot. When I got home I took my immersion blender and blended them up and the thickness was just about perfect. I tried the saucer test for doneness. I put them in my sterilized jars and put them in a hot water bath for 30 minutes. Now I have my Christmas presents ready to go, cheap, fabulous and homemade! It just doesn’t get any easier. I made this with pears also and it was good but not quite as good as the apple. I also tried one batch with unpeeled apples and there is a huge difference. Take the time to peel the apples. Thanks for this recipe. I ended up making about five batches and each batch made about 9 half pints.