Apple Butter - Slow Cooker. Place the apples in a slow cooker. In a medium bowl, combine sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg cloves and salt. Pour the mixture over the apples and mix well.
Place apples and vinegar into a large slow cooker, and place lid on top. The key to a thick and hearty apple butter actually starts with the cooking method. Apples are cooked low and slow until the sugar in the apples caramelizes. You can cook Apple Butter - Slow Cooker using 8 ingredients and 5 steps. Here is how you cook it.
Ingredients of Apple Butter - Slow Cooker
- You need 1.5 lbs of apples (about 4 medium or 3 large).
- You need 1/4 cup of brown sugar (could also use maple syrup or honey).
- Prepare 1 tsp. of ground cinnamon.
- You need 1/4 tsp. of ground cloves.
- You need 1/4 tsp. of ground nutmeg.
- You need 1/8 tsp. of ground allspice.
- You need 1/2 tsp. of vanilla extract.
- You need pinch of salt.
This technique is what gives apple butter its rich color and dense spreadable texture. Our Slow-Cooker Apple Butter recipe uses brown sugar to get a jump start on the caramelization process! This tasty apple butter is a real slow cooker, but well worth the wait. Depending on the sweetness of the apples used, the amount of sugar may be adjusted to taste.
Apple Butter - Slow Cooker instructions
- Core and roughly chop the apples. You can peel them if you'd like, but I don't feel it's necessary, considering everything will be blended at the end. Place them in a lightly greased slow cooker..
- Sprinkle the brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and allspice over the apples and stir to incorporate. Place the lid on and cook on low heat for 6 or so hours..
- After the 6 or so hours, the apples should be all broken down and very tender. It will resemble a chunky, rustic applesauce in texture, but it should be thicker and darker than applesauce..
- Use an immersion blender to blend it right in the slow cooker bowl or transfer it to a food processor and pulse until smooth. Once its pureed, stir in the vanilla and salt..
- Place it into a large shallow bowl so it can cool off. Allow it to cool completely, then place it in an airtight container (I like to use a mason jar) and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks..
If you want the apple butter thicker, you can continue to cook it on low with the lid of the slow cooker slightly ajar so that steam can escape. This will allow the apple butter to cook down and thicken. Of all the apple butter recipes on the Internet, this one is the simplest! You just need four ingredients and your slow cooker to make a big batch of velvety, sweet apple butter in under five hours. You'll notice that though this recipe is called "apple butter" is doesn't actually have any butter listed in the ingredients.