Slow Cooker Apple Butter - Canning Recipe

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Easy Crock Pot Apple Butter

This recipe is super simple - and because it cooks for hours your house will smell heavenly!  The canning part at the end is pretty time consuming and involves a lot of hot water - so be sure to have something to distract your kiddos at the end (or time it right so that you can put them to bed or down for a nap when canning.)

Apple butter is a fantastic way to save the amazing taste of fresh, ripe apples and makes a nice gift. 

Kids can help!  Put 'em to work, they'll love it - or at least be grateful to you for it when they grow up. Maybe. Hopefully. 

Yield: 10-12 half-pint jars (cut it in half if you need less)

You'll need:

A 6-quart slow cooker

12 pounds of your favorite local, organic and freshly picked apples (I used Galas)

5 cups of dark brown sugar

3-4 teaspoons ground cinnamon (to your taste)

1/2 cup golden raisins (optional)

3 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

10-12 half-pint jars with lids and bands

A water bath canner

Get to work:

Wash and peel your apples, checking for and removing any bad spots or spoiled fruit.

Sprinkle each apple with a bit of ascorbic acid fruit preserver to keep it from browning. 

Add about half of your brown sugar, cinnamon and cloves to the bottom of your crock. 

Use an apple corer to make cutting all those apples a breeze.

Begin adding apples to the crock, when it's about half full add the rest of your brown sugar and spices. Cover with the remaining apple slices.  It's ok if the apples are mounded up higher than the top of your crock, as long as the lid will still fit snug around them. 

Cook on low for 3-4 hours, mashing with a potato masher every 20 minutes or so. 

When the apples have softened, add raisins, if using, and lemon juice.  Turn the heat to high and let it cook for another hour.  This is a good time to get your canner, jars & lids warming up.  Stir and mash often.

After an hour on high you can get the texture where you'd like it using a submersion blender.

Pour into hot jars, adjust lids and boil in a water bath canner for 10 minutes. Uncover canner and turn heat off, let jars sit in hot water for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from water, cool over 24 hours and check seals. 

Recipe adapted from The Crockin' Girls Slow Cookin' Companion. I make no guarantees about its safety. Please see this link to learn about canning food safely:  http://extension.missouri.edu/p/GH1451

Follow all manufacturers instructions for canning jars, lids and bands.