Apple Butter Recipe
This is a project for when you have too many apples and a bit of patience. It’s essentially applesauce that you keep cooking until it reduces into a concentrated, spreadable paste. The process takes a while, but the house will smell incredible.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Granny Smith apples
- 2 lbs Honeycrisp apples
- 1 cup unfiltered apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Cook the Apples Down
Quarter the apples. Don’t peel or core them; the skins and cores contain pectin, which helps the butter set later. The food mill will catch all of it. Just trim away any bruised or bad spots.
Place the quartered apples, apple cider vinegar, and apple cider in a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and let it simmer for ~20-30 minutes until the apples are completely soft and falling apart.
Mill the Pulp
Set a food mill with a medium disc over a large bowl. Ladle the hot apple mixture into the mill and process it. This is the easiest way to separate the smooth pulp from the skins, seeds, and stems. Scrape the underside of the mill occasionally to get all the pulp.
Discard the contents of the mill. You should be left with a smooth, thick apple puree.
Add Flavor and Cook Down
Pour the apple puree back into the pot. Stir in the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, nutmeg, and the lemon zest and juice.
Cook this mixture over medium-low heat, uncovered. You have to stir it frequently, scraping the bottom and sides with a spatula to prevent it from scorching. A crust will want to form on the bottom; don’t let it sit.
This stage takes 1 to 2 hours. The butter is done when it’s thick, dark, and a small spoonful placed on a cold plate holds its shape without any liquid weeping out around the edges.
Store or Can
You can now spoon the hot apple butter into clean jars and store it in the refrigerator for several weeks. For long-term, shelf-stable storage, you need to can it.
Canning Process
Have a large canner of simmering water ready. Sterilize your jars and lids by keeping them in hot water until you’re ready to fill them.
Ladle the hot apple butter into the hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch of headspace at the top. Wipe the jar rims clean with a damp cloth. Place the lids on and screw the rings on until they are just finger-tight.
Carefully lower the jars into the simmering water in the canner, ensuring they are covered by at least 1 inch of water. Put the lid on the canner, bring to a full rolling boil, and process for 10 minutes.
Turn off the heat, remove the canner lid, and let the jars stand in the hot water for 5 minutes before removing them to a towel-lined counter. Let them sit undisturbed for 12-24 hours. You’ll hear the lids “ping” as they seal.
Apple Butter
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Granny Smith apples
- 2 lbs Honeycrisp apples
- 1 cup unfiltered apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup apple cider
- 1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Method
- Quarter apples, leaving peels and cores intact, removing only bruised spots.
- Combine apples, both ciders in large Dutch oven. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 20-30 minutes until apples are soft.
- Process hot mixture through food mill with medium disc into large bowl.
- Return puree to pot, add sugars, spices, lemon zest and juice.
- Cook uncovered over medium-low heat 1-2 hours, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.
- Cook until mixture is thick and holds shape when spooned onto cold plate.
- For refrigerator storage: Spoon into clean jars, refrigerate up to several weeks.
- For canning: Sterilize jars and lids in hot water.
- Fill hot jars leaving 1/4-inch headspace, wipe rims, apply lids and rings finger-tight.
- Process in boiling water bath 10 minutes, ensuring 1-inch water coverage.
- Let jars rest in water 5 minutes before removing to towel-lined counter.
- Cool undisturbed 12-24 hours until sealed.
