What a Crock: Apple Butter

We don't know about you, but the Cool Dads crew loves fall. We love the leaves changing colors, football season, and everything pumpkin flavored. Fun fact: the Cool Dads Crew had their first conference call EVER to discuss the blog on the first official day of Pumpkin Spice Latte season. Yeah, we love fall that much.

Here in the Wisconsin test kitchen, we went apple picking a few weeks ago. Note to Wisconsin residents: we made the drive to The Little Farmer in Fond du Lac and had THE BEST experience. The farm is adorable, there are a ton of reasonably priced activities for the kids, and the apples were delicious. It was well worth the drive from Milwaukee. Here's their website if you're interested in making the trip:
http://www.mytlf.com/

Seriously... we crushed on this place so hard. It's the best apple farm experience we have ever had. We even picked (and sampled) twenty pounds of apples before the day was over.

We had big plans for all twenty pounds of apples. Rebecca is more than a little obsessed with canning and preserving every scrap of produce she can get her hands on. Every year for Christmas she even gives out boxes of homemade jams, jellies, pickles, beets and other preserved items she's made throughout the year. This year she had her heart set on apple butter.

For those not in the know, apple butter is basically apple jelly. It has a nice smooth texture- which is where the 'butter' part comes in. It's delicious on toast, or even in a Panini with ham and brie cheese. Once you get a jar in your fridge, you start finding a million different (and delicious) things to do with apple butter.

After a quick Pinterest search, we discovered you could make apple butter in a crock pot. So we were off and running!

Crock Pot Apple Butter
Recipe courtesy of www.healthylivingrevelations.com

12-18 apples, cored and quartered- no need to peel them
2 cups apple cider
Cinnamon
Nutmeg

Clean the apples, quarter and core them and place them in the crock pot.

 

Pour the cider over the apples, and place the lid on the crock pot. Cook on high for four hours. After four hours, your apples should look something like this:

Take a potato masher and mash the apples.

Let the apple mixture cool slightly, and then either use an immersion blender to puree the apple mixture until smooth, or ladle the product into a blender and blend it until smooth. I know what you're thinking... "There's NO WAY apples with the peels still on are going to blend to a smooth texture." I promise you- it will work. Once blended, this is what you end up with:

You're not done yet... the product is too runny to be true apple butter. Cook on low for another three hours- without a cover on the crock pot. After three hours, the product should be thick enough. You're going for a slightly thicker than apple sauce consistency. Once you get to the desired consistency, season with cinnamon and nutmeg.

This should yield approximately three pints of apple butter.

Now it's decision time. You have a few options when it comes with what to do with your three pints.
1) Let the product cool, spoon it into a clean container and put it in the refrigerator. You have a month to consume it.
2) Let the product cool, spoon it into freezer safe containers and freeze. This product freezes and thaws incredibly well.
3) Spoon the hot product into clean, sterilized mason jars. Top with sterilized seals and bands, and tighten to finger tightness. Process in a hot, boiling water bath for ten minutes. Remove, and make sure the jars seal. They will stay fresh without refrigeration for one year.

 We tried the warmed apple butter the next morning on pancakes (See? Another creative use!) and it was delicious. It's a whole day process to make the apple butter this way, but the results speak for themselves.

Give this recipe a try while apples are still in season; and you'll be able to enjoy the fruits (ha!) of your labor all winter long.

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew