The Apple Butter Experience

Like you've heard my repeat in most of my blogs, I am constantly looking for new ideas for fun activities to do with My Girls. One of those activities is cooking or "making" foods. I like this activity for a couple reasons. I'm now a 40-something & if you're anything like me, you grew-up not learning or know much about what goes into getting food to your table. If you wanted some chips, you just bought them, or your parents did, but in any event, they showed up like magic without giving much thought into how things were made & what went into fulfilling those products. This is a fun & delicious experience that I do about once a month with My Girls.

Things that are, well, not so fun for adults, can be very exciting for kids. It can make them feel like adults. Some of the more benign activities with this recipe that shouldn't be overlooked are...

• Using the measuring cup for ingredients

• Pealing & coring the apples (easier than it sounds, I explain more below)

• Making a (manageable) mess

What Is Apple Butter?

If you have never had apple butter before, you might be confused by the name. Apple Butter doesn't have anything to do with the butter you're thinking about. It's not even one of the ingredients.

Apple Butter is basically just super concentrated or smooth applesauce. It's cooked longer than apple sauce which gives it that caramelized color and rich flavor, but the ingredients are nearly identical.

How To Make Apple Butter?

In a word, or two...crock pot. To be honest, being a man & not having much experiencing baking, I was a little intimidated at first. But it couldn't be any easier with an Apple Peeler & Crock Pot. The Apple Peeler allows you to both peel & core apples in a matter of moments. Throw all the ingredients into the Crock Pot & then go about your day creating new experiencing with your kids.

Peeling & coring the apples

The best apples for Apple Butter are Fuji, Golden Delicious, McIntosh, Honeycrisp or Jonagold. You don't have to chose a single variety. Mix it up.

Ingredients

• 6 1/2 pounds apples - peeled, cored and sliced

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. 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.

2. Cook in slow cooker on low for about 10 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thickened and dark brown.

3. Uncover, stir in vanilla and continue cooking uncovered on low for about 2 hours.

4. Use an immersion blender to puree the apple butter until smooth.

5. Spoon the mixture into sterile containers, cover and refrigerate for up to two weeks or freeze.

6. Serve on breads, muffins, pork chops or just eat it with a spoon.