Apple Butter, it's a wonderful thing.

Apple Butter

Many people think that apple butter is a difficult thing to make, they'd rather buy it from the store where they put who knows what into it and way to much sugar, you lose the apple in all those chemicals and sugars and just whatever else they decide they want to put in the bought stuff. That's why its just so much easier for you to just make your own, trust me, its more fun, easier and tastier then the stuff you get at the store!

This is a lot like making homemade apple sauce, if you've ever made apple sauce then you will have something of a one up because all you need to do is cook it for a longer period of time.

 I start by cutting the apples into cubes, getting rid of the stems and the seeds and then placing those cubes into a pot with about 1-2 cups of water and a bit of cinnamon for seasoning. Your going to want to let this cook for a while, at least until the water is mostly gone and the apples are squishy. Once they become squishy you can either mash them with a potato masher or put them in to a blender or food processor, which ever you prefer. If you used a food processor or blender you need to return the apple mixture to the pot and place it back on the heat to cook down further.

I've added more Cinnamon/Pumpkin Pie Spice, if you've ever read the ingredients on the container of pumpkin pie spice you will see why I use it here. I've also added a little more water and I've started to slowly add in some sugar. Manly this must be covered and kept on low heat for a long period of time and check I would say roughly every half hour, add more water as needed.

The apple butter will start to really darken and get a very dark caramel color close to the end, you want the texture to be very silky almost, the clumps with stick around, I did this batch with the potato masher in which case it will continue to have a clumpy look, I tend to like it a little more this way because it can still get some chunks of apple and its delightful when it melts in your mouth!

My apple butter has thickened and most of the moisture has been cooked out, or at least to the point that I like. This is where I ended and then placed the apple butter into a jar and let it cool in the frig over night. You can of course use it right then and there if you wish, I wouldn't blame you its some amazing stuff! Next time you go to the orchard get a bag of apples, make yourself some apple butter!

As always thanks for stopping by! Until next time! May your food adventures be GREAT!!!

Ingredients:

5-6 apples, peeled and cubed, stem and seeds removed.

about 3 tablespoons Pumpkin pie spice

1 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of brown sugar

about 3 cups water

Directions:

Peel the apples and then cut them into small cubes.get about 2 cups of water boiling in a pot and then add the apples and about 1 tablespoon of the pumpkin pie spice. Let this boil down for about 1/2 an hour, if the apples are still pretty hard leave it boil for a little while longer. When the apples are tender and easily mashed you can either use a potato masher, blender or food processor to mash the apples down into a sauce like state, depending on the consistency you would like. Put the apples back on to the medium heat and let it cook down further, check in about 15 minutes to 1/2 an hour. Stir in the 1/2 cup of brown sugar another tablespoon of pumpkin spice and half cup of water, let it set and cook down for another 15 minutes to half an hour. Add the rest of the ingredients and allow to cook down once more for about 15 minutes to half an hour. It should look dark caramel in color and the consistency should be very velvety and most of the moisture should have disappeared leaving the apple butter slightly thicker. If not let it cook down for a bit longer keeping an eye on it and stiffing it every so often. You can either enjoy the apple butter right then and there or you can put it into a container and let it cool in the frig and enjoy later.