Jake has been on a "field trip" to his grandparents' house the past couple of days. He has done his school work there, much to his disappointment. So, we didn't do anything yesterday for Make It Monday. I was able to do some deep cleaning in the bedrooms though, since he wasn't here to reclaim the toys I was taking. I guess yesterday was Make It Clean, which makes me very happy.
Today, Alyssa and I made apple butter. She enjoyed having Mommy all to herself.
Ingredients:
5 1/2 pounds apples - peeled, cored and chopped 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cups white sugar 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Directions:
1. Place the apples in a slow cooker. In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Pour the mixture over the apples in the slow cooker and mix well.
2. Cover and cook on high 1 hour.
3. Reduce heat to low and cook 9 to 11 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thickened and dark brown.
3. Reduce heat to low and cook 9 to 11 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thickened and dark brown.
4. Uncover and continue cooking on low 1 hour. Stir with a whisk, if desired, to increase smoothness.
5. Spoon the mixture into sterile containers, cover and refrigerate or freeze.
After six hours of cooking, I made the mistake of trying it. Actually, the mistake was allowing Zac to see me try it. He insisted on having some himself, and when I say "some," I mean a bowl full. At this point, it tasted and smelled like apple pie. Good, but not apple butter.
When it was finally finished cooking, I poured it in the blender and pureed it until smooth. Finally, after 12 hours, we have apple butter! It was worth the wait!
It's great on toast, pb&j sandwiches, as a topping for ice cream or however else you can think of serving it. I had never been a fan of apple butter before, but I love this homemade version!
Hi Erika- I just presented you with an award on my blog. What you do (if you want too- you don't have too) copy the award to your computer. Add it to your blog post along with:
ReplyDelete1. A mention/link to the person who gave it to you
2. List 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass the award on (to one or more people- up to you)
This looks easier than I imagined. We will be trying this next week. I hope it turns out as well as yours did.
ReplyDeleteIt's SO easy! And yummy. We've made it multiple times since. I'm planning to can some this year.
DeleteThanks so much for linking up. I love apple butter!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting. :)
DeleteMy husband and son went to a pumpkin festival today...and came home with a jar of apple butter! (My husband loves it.) I'm excited that I happened upon your post (from Tots and Me -- Throwback Thursday). I'm looking forward to trying your recipe! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete