Sweet Spiced Apple Butter

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So I simmered the apples in orange juice, adding whole cloves and allspice with a fairly heavy hand. The end result was a delicious sweet spiced apple butter that was exactly what I was after. And so I called it Sweet Spiced Apple Butter. I’m original that way.

This apple butter recipe has a two-step cooking process – first, you cook the apples down with the orange juice and the spices until you’ve essentially made applesauce, and then you put it in the Crock Pot for several hours until it cooks down to perfect apple butter consistency.

Here’s the recipe.

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Sweet Spiced Apple Butter

Yield: About 4 pints
Equipment note: You need a food mill or sieve and a Crock Pot for this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds apples (I use a variety of apples and like to keep them on the sweet side, like Gala, McIntosh and Braeburn), quartered
• 1 1/2 cups orange juice
• 1 tablespoon whole cloves
• 1 tablespoon whole allspice
• 1 5-inch cinnamon stick
• 2 cups sugar (to taste)

Directions:

1. Wash and quarter the apples.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, mix the orange juice, cloves, allspice, and cinnamon stick.
3. Add the apples, and bring to a boil. Turn heat to medium-low, cover, and allow to simmer for 30-45 minutes, until apples are softened all the way through.



4. Remove mixture from heat, and let it cool for a bit so you don’t burn yourself when processing. Process the mixture through your food mill, or push it through the sieve, which will leave the leftover peels, seeds, and spices behind.
5. Pour the apple mixture into your Crock Pot. Prop the lid so that the steam can escape – this is important, because the apple butter needs to cook down. You can use knives, chopsticks, what have you to prop the lid.
   
   
6. Heat on high for an hour, then reduce the heat to low, and cook on low for 8-10 hours, stirring occasionally (but it shouldn’t be the end of the world if you don’t, unless your Crock Pot runs really hot – you just don’t want it to burn on the bottom).
7. The Apple Butter will cook down to a nice, smooth consistency and take on a delicious brown color.
8. Stir in sugar, and cook on low for another 1/2 hour or so. You may need a little more or a little less depending on how sweet your apples are.
9. Pour it into jars and enjoy! If you’re canning, leave 1/4 inch head space and process jars in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes (depending on altitude) (here are thorough canning  instructions here from the Virginia Cooperative Extension).

More goodies like this:

• Applepalooza! Wrap Up
• Apple Cranberry Crumble Pie
• Apple Mustard Dip with Sharp Cheddar Cubes and Apples
• Easy Apple Crisp
• Zucchini Apple Muffins