Make Apple Butter in the Slow Cooker

I keep a stack of aspirational gardening and craft books by my bed, mostly un-molested, occasionally perused. I like the idea of them. I think to myself, Someday, when I’m a completely different person living an entirely different life, I’ll tackle all these projects. But for now, I have a job and a family, a modest 4-by-4 raised-bed garden, and a stack of unsewn quilt squares stashed away in a cabinet. Here’s one thing I can do: make apple butter in the slow cooker at night, while I sleep. It’s a trick I discovered while writing my book, The Apple Lover’s Cookbook (W. W. Norton), and it goes a long way toward delivering the satisfaction of making something by hand, even if you lack Nearing-esque zeal.

How to Make Apple Butter (official recipe follows) Peel and core 5 pounds of apples (any kind) and cut them into chunks. Add 1¾ cups sugar, ½ teaspoon each ground cinnamon and kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon each ground nutmeg and ginger, 2 cups apple cider, and ¼ cup fresh lemon juice. Turn your slow cooker on high, cover, and let cook for about 1½ hours, stirring occasionally. Now set the lid a bit ajar, to let some steam escape, and reduce the heat to low.

That’s it. Get a good night’s sleep: 7 to 9 hours. When you wake up, the house will smell like heaven. If it still seems like it’s not thick enough, let it cook for another hour or so. Stir the apple butter, then refrigerate for up to 3 weeks. Or you might want to can it.

How to Can Apple Butter Divide the butter evenly among 6 sterilized pint jars (or 12 sterilized half-pint jars), leaving ¼ inch of space at the top of each. Use a pair of tongs to place the lids atop the jars. Then use your hands to twist the bands into place; tighten most of the way. Gently place the jars in a canner with enough boiling water to cover them by at least an inch. Boil 10 minutes; then gently remove and transfer to a wire rack until the jars cool to room temperature. Test the seal: If it’s tight, tighten the bands completely—you’re done.

GET THE RECIPE: Overnight Apple Butter

Amy Traverso

Amy Traverso is the senior food editor at Yankee magazine and co-host of the public television series Weekends with Yankee, a coproduction with WGBH. Previously, she was food editor at Boston magazine and an associate food editor at Sunset magazine. Her work has also been published in The Boston Globe, Saveur, and Travel & Leisure, and she has appeared on Hallmark Home & Family, The Martha Stewart Show, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, and Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. Amy is the author of The Apple Lover’s Cookbook, which was a finalist for the Julia Child Award for best first-time author and won an IACP Cookbook Award in the “American” category.

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