Description
Experience the essence of autumn with this rich and velvety homemade apple butter, perfectly spiced with cinnamon and cloves. It’s a delightful spread that transforms your morning toast and adds warmth to your favorite dishes.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3–4 pounds of apples, peeled, cored, and roughly chopped (a blend of sweet and tart varieties like Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, or Braeburn)
- 1 cup light brown sugar (or to taste)
- Granulated sugar (optional, to taste)
- 2–3 tablespoons pure maple syrup (optional)
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- Pinch of ground nutmeg, allspice, or ginger (optional)
- ½ to 1 cup unsweetened apple cider (or water)
- 1–2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Wash, peel, core, and chop your chosen apples into roughly 1-inch pieces.
- In a very large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, combine your chopped apples, brown sugar, any other sweeteners, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, any other spices, apple cider (or water), and fresh lemon juice. Stir to coat the apples well.
- Place the pot over medium-high heat and bring the mixture to a gentle boil, stirring occasionally. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and let it simmer for about 20-30 minutes, or until the apples are very soft.
- Remove the pot from heat. Use an immersion blender to blend directly in the pot until smooth, or transfer the mixture in batches to a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Return the pureed mixture to the clean pot.
- Return the pot with the pureed apple mixture to the stovetop. Leave it uncovered and set the heat to low. Cook for 1 to 2 hours, stirring frequently, until the apple butter thickens and darkens in color.
- To check if your apple butter is ready, spoon a small amount onto a chilled plate. If there’s no watery ring around the edge when you tilt the plate, it’s done.
- Taste your apple butter and adjust sweetness or spice as needed.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Category: Condiment
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
- Calories: 50
- Sugar: 10 g
- Sodium: 1 mg
- Fat: 0 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 13 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: Mixing different apple varieties enhances flavor complexity. Taste and adjust sweetness and spice as you go, and stir frequently to prevent scorching.