Spiced Apple Butter

It all started when Ryan bought twice the amount of apples than he needed to make an apple pie for Thanksgiving.  He had peeled, cored, and chopped all 10+ pounds of apples.  Instead of snacking on them or turning them into another pie I decided to take what he couldn't fit into a pie plate, freeze them, and save the apples for future apple butter.  I wasn't quite sure how well apples would freeze, but I was willing to take a chance.

It’s been about a month and a half since we put those apples in the freezer and this weekend I was finally feeling motivated enough to make Liana Krissoff’s Spiced Apple Butter from Canning for a New Generation.  I never canned before receiving this book for Christmas in 2011 and Liana makes it seem easy peasy even for a very beginner by simplifying each step. Since my initiation into canning with her Strawberry Preserves this past summer, I have made several other canning recipes from her book:  Tomato and Basil Jam with Sherry Vinegar (awesome on grilled cheese), and Cardamom Plum Jam (excellent in yogurt).  She has yet to disappoint.

Turns out, using frozen apples works quite well with this recipe.  I would imagine that if Ryan wanted to make another pie these would work as well. 

Note:  Since I only had 2.5 pounds of chopped and peeled apples, I cut the following recipe in half.

Spiced Apple Butter

Adapted from Liana Krissoff’s Canning for a New Generation

Makes about 6 half-pint jars or 3 pint jars.

6 pounds apples, cored and peeled only if necessary

(see Note), cut into 1-inch chunks

2 cups apple cider or water

About 1 ½  cups sugar

1 ½  teaspoons ground cinnamon

½  teaspoon ground cloves

½  teaspoon ground allspice

½  teaspoon ground aniseed (optional)

Put the apples in a 6- to 8-quart preserving pan. Add the cider and 4 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil, stirring occasionally, until the apples are completely broken down and the peels have separated from the pulp, 30 to 40 minutes.

Pass the mixture through a Squeezo strainer or food mill to remove the peels and cores. (Or, if you cored and peeled the apples-bless your heart, as they'd say here in Georgia-puree it in batches in a food processor or blender.) Measure the puree.

If using the stovetop: Rinse out the preserving pan and return the puree to the pan. Add 2 tablespoons sugar per cup of puree, and add the spices. (Puree with an immersion blender, if you want an extrasmooth apple butter.) Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, stirring carefully every 10 minutes or so with a long-handled spoon or spatula, for several hours, until the puree is dark and thick enough that it mounds up in a teaspoon, and you can dollop a bit of it onto a plate and no liquid seeps out around the edges of the dollop. (My note:  This baby will spit at you as it’s simmering, so watch out.)

If using the oven: Pour the puree into a large, deep baking dish, stir in the sugar and spices, and bake in a 300°F oven, stirring occasionally, for several hours, until thick and dark. (Transfer to a large pot or bowl and puree with an immersion blender if desired.)

If using a slow cooker: Pour the puree into a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker and stir in the sugar and spices. (Puree with an immersion blender if desired.) Cook on the low setting, with the lid propped up on chopsticks or set askew to allow the liquid to evaporate but still keep the splatters in the pot, for 9 to 12 hours, stirring occasionally when you can, keeping in mind that different models of slow cookers cook at different temperatures, until thick and dark.

Prepare for water-bath canning: Wash the jars and keep them hot in the canning pot, and put the flat lids in a heatproof bowl. Bring the apple butter to a boil (transfer to a pan on

the stovetop if it's not fully boiling in the oven or slow cooker; usually if you turn the slow cooker up to high for 10 or 15 minutes it'll come to a boil).

Ladle boiling water from the canning pot into the bowl with the lids. Using a jar lifter, remove the hot jars from the canning pot, carefully pouring the water from each one back into the pot, and place them upright on a folded towel. Drain the water off the jar lids.

Ladle the hot apple butter into the jars, leaving ½  inch headspace at the top. Use a damp paper towel to wipe the rims of the jars, then put a flat lid and ring on each jar, adjusting the ring so that it's just finger-tight. Return the jars to the water in the canning pot, making sure the water covers the jars by at least 1 inch. Bring to a boil, and boil half-pints or pints for 10 minutes to process. Remove the jars to a folded towel and do not disturb for 12 hours. After 1 hour, check that the lids have sealed by pressing down on the center of each; if it can be pushed down, it hasn't sealed, and the jar should be refrigerated immediately. Label the sealed jars and store.

Note: If you're using a Squeezo or similar strainer with a very fine screen, there's no need to core or peel the apples (yay!). If you're using a food mill, don't bother peeling them, but do core them; even the fine-holed disk will tend to let bits of core through (boo!). If you're pureeing the apples in a food processor or blender rather than passing them through a mill, core and peel them (sorry).