It doesn’t take a national holiday to get me excited about Fall apples! However, since October is National Apple Month, we’ve got all the more reason to celebrate these delicious little gems from God!
Homemade apple butter is just one more way you can preserve the bounty of apple season to enjoy all year long. That’s why, I’m sharing this simple slow-cooker method for making apple butter that will not only fill your home with the amazing aroma of fall spices, but also fill your family’s tummies as well!
So easy to make, just pop all of the ingredients into your crockpot before bed and wake up to a special treat your whole family will love!
Homemade apple butter makes a delightful spread for toast, biscuits and muffins, as well as a delicious topping for pancakes and French toast.
Apple butter also makes a great appetizer – either as a dip served alongside graham crackers and fresh fruit slices – or you can place a thick layer of apple butter on top of a block of cream cheese and serve it alongside your favorite crackers. Yum!
And, with the holidays fast approaching, homemade apple butter also makes a delicious and thoughtful gift!
Ingredients
- 10 large apples (I prefer a mix of sweet and tart apples)
- 2 cups unfiltered apple juice
- 1 1/2 cups pure dark maple syrup
- 1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice (about 2 small lemons)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/8 tsp allspice
Instructions
- Peel and core apples. Then cut them into bite-sized pieces. (One large apple yields approximately one cup of cored diced apples. So if you’re using small or medium apples, simply use about 10-12 cups of diced apples.)
- Add the diced apples to a 6-quart slow cooker. Then add all remaining ingredients. Stir well to combine. Cover and cook on high for one hour, stirring once or twice. Mixture should be bubbly after an hour. If not, allow it to continue to cook until it comes to a bubbly simmer. Then reduce heat to low and cook the apples an additional hour.
- Remove the cover, stir the mixture and then set the cover back on slightly ajar, so some steam can escape during the remainder of the cooking time. Then continue to cook the apple butter on low (with cover ajar) until it’s dark brown and thick (about 8-9 hours).
- Turn off the crockpot, stir the apple butter and then allow it to cool to room temperature. If you prefer a smooth (less chunky) apple butter, use an immersion blender, or place the apple butter in a food processor for a quick whirl, to create a smoother texture.
- Then, transfer the apple butter to half-pint or pint-sized mason jars. Makes 12 half-pint or six pint-sized jars. Store in refrigerator for up to two weeks. (Or you can preserve the apple butter longer using the classic hot water bath canning method.)
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post include affiliate links, providing The Nourishing Home a small percentage of the sale at no additional cost to you. Of course, you are not obligated to use these links to make a purchase, but if you do, it helps to support this site and ministry. Thank you!
And incase you’re as crazy about apples as we are, I’ve provided a list of all the apple posts I’ve shared this month, so you don’t miss out on more great ideas and delicious recipes featuring fresh fall apples.
Simple, Healthy & Delicious Fall Apple Recipes
• Easy Apple Pie Filling(GF, DF)
• Cinnamony Apple Pie Muffins(GF, DF)
• Fall Apple-Picking Recipes Round-Up
• How to Make Apple Butter
Happy fall blessings to you and yours, Kelly
This was delicious! I used half honey, half maple syrup.
So glad you enjoyed it, Tami. Thanks for leaving a kind note! 🙂 Blessings, Kelly
Thanks, this was great. I love the hint of lemon juice in the apple butter, add a nice note.
You’re welcome, Mallory! Thanks for taking the time to leave a kind note. 🙂
Can you freeze the extra jars? I have done strawberry preserves for the freezer, but never anything with apples. There are just two of us, but I would love to make this and freeze to have it year round.
yes, you can as long as the jars are freezer safe 🙂
I would love to make this but I’m somewhat terrified of the amount of sweetener (apple juice plus maple syrup). Is the final product very sweet?
Magda, it is about the same sweetness level as regular applebutter. But you can certainly pull back on the maple syrup. It won’t impact the recipe, other than the sweetness level. If you taste it and feel it isn’t sweet enough after cooking, you could add however much more you’d like to taste and cook a little longer. Apple butter is a very flexible recipe. 🙂
Thank you, Kelley, for this blessing of a site!…I just happened upon it today.
Re: the crockpot apple butter recipe…Could molasses be substituted for the maple syrup??
Thanks, & God bless you & your family! Mary
Thank you for your kind words, Mary! Welcome! We’re glad you’re here. As far as your question goes … Since molasses has a much richer stronger flavor, I would start with just 1/4 cup and after it cooks down, taste it. You may need to add more, it’s a bit of a guessing game since I haven’t tried using molasses. Blessings you and your family as well! 🙂 Kelly
Hi Kelly,
This recipe looks delicious! I would like to try it with Stevia/Erythritol (grain free) blend, or just Stevia in place of the maple syrup. Will this work and how do I measure? I am wondering if Stevia can be cooked for that many hours. Could the Stevia be added after the apple butter is cooked? Thank you.
Hi, Diane. Since I don’t use stevia, I can’t answer for sure. But I did find this conversion calculator that may help? http://www.drjacobkeyzernd.com/sweet_calc.htm
Oh and I would think it best to wait and see how sweet the apple butter is after cooking and then add the stevia since stevia is so concentrated. It may need a lot less of it due to the sweetness of cooked apples.
Thank you for your time Kelly. I really appreciate it. That was my thought to add the Stevia after the apple butter is cooked. Merry Christmas!!
My pleasure to be of whatever help I can! Merry Christmas to you and yours too! 🙂