I have enjoyed Apple Butter several times, but this is the first time that I have made it myself. I love it! It is so much better than the jars I have picked up at the grocery, and it is even better than the time I bought some at an apple festival! It is a sweet, flavorful mix of apples, cider, sugar and spices. No butter is involved, but you can spread it like butter on anything and everything!
This is not a quick recipe, and if you make it like I did, pressing the apples with a sieve, you need a little muscle. A food mill would work much better. But, either way, it is worth your time and energy! I only made enough for one canning jar, and it was gone within the week!
Grandma’s Apple Butter
(printable recipe at end of page)
(makes 1 jar)
3 pounds of Apples
1 quart Water
1/2 quart Sweet Cider
1 1/2 cups Sugar
1 teaspoon Spice House Apple Pie Spice
Wash the apples and cut them off the core.
Chop the apples into small pieces. Place in a large saucepan, cover with water, and boil until soft. It takes about 30 minutes.
Once the apples are soft, place a small amount at a time into a sieve and press down on the soft apples, pushing them through the holes and into the bowl underneath. This helps the apples breakdown. You could also use a food mill.
Pour the quart of sweet cider into a medium pot, and boil down the cider to half.
Here is a quick tip for making sure you boil the cider to half volume and not more. Pour the cider into the pot, and mark where it is in the pot on the outside with a pen and a piece of paper. Then mark where you want it to end up, which is halfway down. When the cider gets to that point, you are done. This helps you remember to keep an eye on the cider, because it boils down fast, and it is easier to gauge.
Add the apple pulp, sugar and Spice House Apple Pie Spice to the pot. Mix in.
Cook until the apple butter becomes a spreadable consistency, stirring often. The amount on this spoon is at the beginning of the process. Stir often to prevent burning.
The continued cooking and stirring will make the apple butter thicker, like it looks on this spoon.
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After cooking, the apple butter wll look like this. Pour into jars and let cool. This Apple Butter is perfect for canning, and would make a great hostess or teacher gift! 
Tip-I should have peeled the apples, but forgot until after I had cut them. So I went ahead and left them on. Some of the peels came off as the apples cooked, and some of the peels came off as the apples went through the sieve. The peels would not go through. Thank you for joining me today for another fun #appleweek recipe. I hope you will enjoy making and eating Grandma’s Apple Butter!
Don’t forget about my blogging friends and all their tasty recipes they are posting today! You don’t want to miss them! |
apples, appleweek, apple butter, spreads, treats
treats, breakfast, snack, after school treat,
3 pounds of Apples
1 quart Water
1/2 quart Sweet Cider
1 1/2 cups Sugar
1 teaspoon Spice House Apple Pie Spice
- Wash the apples and cut them off the core.
- Chop the apples into small pieces. Place in a large saucepan, cover with water, and boil until soft. It takes about 30 minutes.
- Once the apples are soft, place a small amount at a time into a sieve and press down on the soft apples, pushing them through the holes and into the bowl underneath. This helps the apples breakdown. You could also use a food mill.
- Pour the quart of sweet cider into a medium pot, and boil down the cider to half.
- Here is a quick tip for making sure you boil the cider to half volume and not more. Pour the cider into the pot, and mark where it is in the pot on the outside with a pen and a piece of paper. Then mark where you want it to end up, which is halfway down. When the cider gets to that point, you are done. This helps you remember to keep an eye on the cider, because it boils down fast, and it is easier to gauge.
- Add the apple pulp, sugar and Spice House Apple Pie Spice to the pot. Mix in.
- Cook until the apple butter becomes a spreadable consistency, stirring often. The amount on this spoon is at the beginning of the process. Stir often to prevent burning.
- The continued cooking and stirring will make the apple butter thicker, like it looks on this spoon.
- After cooking, the apple butter wll look like this. Pour into jars and let cool. This Apple Butter is perfect for canning, and would make a great hostess or teacher gift!
