To be honest, apple butter and I are not friends. But the apple trees are really producing this year and I'm surrounded by fruit and the persistent nagging feeling that I should revisit apple butter. We have some unfinished business.

The last time I attempted apple butter production was in college and I had the bright idea to make thrifty gifts. To the day I moved out, I could still see the remnants of that experiment on the flowery wallpaper, even though I dutifully scrubbed and scrubbed. What a mess. Stovetop apple butter left me scarred for decades.

This year, I sorted through recipes and read and thought and scribbled, finally coming up with a method that yields a nice product and doesn't wreck the kitchen. It combines a few different techniques, leaning towards some shortcuts that don't affect flavor. I went down the path of baked butters and this proved to be a good way to go, since I don't own a slow cooker or instant pot. (Both of these appliances are easy, no splatter ways to make any fruit butter.) I'm pleased with the process and the results: a caramelized apple butter that tastes crisp and cozy. Serve with warm biscuits, on toast, or stirred into yogurt.

Caramel Apple Butter
Makes 3-4 pint jars
8-9 pounds apples (after the chop weight is 8-9 pounds)
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt

  1. Harvest your apples and wash them in a large bowl or your clean sink.
  2. Chop the tops and bottoms off, making it easy to discard the stem and blossom. Halve or chunk the apples into relatively equal pieces.
  3. Find a pot that will fit your apples and add a little bit of water in the bottom which will create steam. Cover with a lid, but leave the lid slightly askew.
  4. Over medium-high, bring the apples to a boil and steam for about ten minutes or until tender when poked with a butter knife.
  5. Remove apples with a slotted spoon to the food mill. (Discard water left in pot.) Grind. Discard the solids left behind.
  6. Mix 1 c. brown sugar into the applesauce you just made. Divide this mixture between two 9x13 pans.
  7. Bake in your oven at 300F for 2-3 hours. Each hour, reach in and stir it carefully. You will know that it is done when the consistency has changed to a thicker mixture that is stickier and darker. Another good test is that, when you drag your spoon through it, it does not leave any separated water behind.
  8. Pour the mixture into a pot and add the spices and salt.
  9. Keep on low, stirring, as you begin the canning process.
  10. In pint jars, process in a boiling water bath for fifteen minutes.

Notes:

  • For a good canning tutorial, check out the resources at the National Center for Home Food Preservation here: https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_home.html
  • No food mill? You can go ahead and slice and core your apples, discarding the stems and blossoms with the center that holds the seeds. I find the food mill route less fussy and, as I'm often dealing with small little apples, a lot faster. If you have big, beautiful apples, you can skip the food mill and just blend the mixture.
  • Apple butter is a great way to take a huge quantity of apples and reduce them to a few jars. Be warned that you'll probably feel like you produce way less than you thought you might.
  • You'll notice there are no cloves in this recipe. If you're used to traditional apple butter, that may surprise you. I think cloves often overpower the flavor of the apples. While they do lend a darker color to the butter, their absence allows for a fresher, less cloying taste.