Apple Butter

I love fall foods so much. I have so many great memories of getting apple cider and making apple pie growing up. Apple stuff just reminds me of my childhood. I’ve always loved apple butter, but I had never considered making it until last year when I was suddenly curious how hard it would be to make it. Then I forgot all about it, but stumbled across a recipe recently and it looked pretty easy.

Yes, it is in fact very easy. The hardest part is peeling the apples. And it is ohhh so very good. I’m afraid we’re going to finish this batch pretty quickly, but no worries! We’ll just make more!

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Apple Butter
recipe adapted from 101 Cookbooks by way of Desserts for Breakfast
makes about 20 oz. apple butter

2 lbs. apples, peeled, cored, and in chunks (about 5 apples)*
4 cups unfiltered apple juice
heaping 1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
juice of half a lemon

In a large pot over medium high heat, combine the apples and apple juice and cook until the apples are completely tender, about 15-25 minutes, depending on the size you chop the apples. If a foam forms, you may skim it off if desired.

Remove the pot from the stove and let cool briefly. Puree the apples and apple juice with an immersion blender or in a blender until completely smooth.

Return the puree to the pot and add the brown sugar, cloves, cinnamon, and the lemon juice.

Return the pot to heat and simmer on medium to medium-low heat, trying to maintain 220 degrees. Cook for 1-2 hours, stirring regularly, until the mixture really thickens and darkens to a dark, dark amber and is very bubbly and splattery (for me, this was one hour). Be aware that you will have lots of splattering around your stove. Remove from heat and store in an airtight container in the fridge. Or if you’re going to get fancy, you could always can it.

*I like using a variety of apples for more complexity. I used 2 granny smiths and 3 braeburns.