Oh yum! thanks!

I always wondered how it was made. So the immersion blender must really chop up those peels. I love making apple pies, crisp, etc, but I get sort of tired with the peeling part. Thanks for a new recipe to use up the pounds of apples we always end up picking.

The immersion blender is a wonderful invention. Yes, it chops the peels very finely. I never peel apples or pears anymore for pies or crisps or jams. The peel becomes so soft after cooking that it isn't worth the effort to remove it. Besides, it's extra nutrition and fiber.

How long would it take on the stovetop if I cut the recipe in 1/3- 1/4 to make a quart or less? 3 qts is a lot, but I want to try this. I'm making apple crisp next week for DD's class (on their field trip day to orchard), we just picked up easily 15 lbs of drops off 3 trees (Ida Red, Spencer and Mutsu) but some are for eating whole and I also might try apple muffins if anyone's got a good recipe to share.

I don't want the apple butter to go bad (since I won't be canning it, just refrigerating it). Thanks

ajm, I don't know. I'd guess to simmer, say, about 6 apples to a mush on a stovetop -- maybe 20 or 30 minutes? Then you can give them a whirl with the immersion blender. You'll end up with apple sauce, which isn't as thick as the apple butter. Still, it's delicious and much better than what you buy in the store.

Thickening the sauce to apple butter on a stove takes low heat, lots of stirring and several hours. A small amount would be prone to burning, I think. That's why I prefer the crockpot method: set it and forget it.

Your thread made me crave apple butter; I bought a jar of McCutcheon's apple butter at Eatzie's, it's amazing stuff. McCutcheon's also makes seedless raspberry preserves, also very good.

Hmmm, I guess I'm going to have to buy some jars. We got rid of all ours (from MIL's pickled okra over the years) when we moved. How hard is it to preserve? Do I need a pressure cooker?

Right now my freezer is full of wheat bread and my fridge is full of zucchini bread (will move some to freezer as we use the sandwich bread). My pantry is full too (mostly pasta, rice, and flour) but I guess I can put apple butter in the basement (where the apples are now).

No need for a pressure canner/cooker. Apples are high acid foods, so 10 minutes in a boiling water bath canner is all that's needed for pint jars or smaller.

Preserving is easy (and addictive), but you do have to invest in a pot large enough to boil jars in, a jar lifter, and the jars, rings and lids. These things aren't that expensive, but would be a deterrent to spur of the moment and what could be one's only attempt at canning. I'd store the apple butter in the freezer or fridge for now -- those homemade breads won't last long, especially if you eat whole wheat toast with homemade apple butter :)

Mmmmm ... apple butter! I haven't had it in ages, and this post has rekindled my desire for some. Right now! My only "concern" (if you could call it that) is using 4 cups of sugar. Could you substitute something else? I did a brief online search for "healthy" recipes and see a couple that suggest using no-sugar-added frozen apple juice instead. Your thoughts?

Hi auntjen. My experience in making jams & candies is, unfortunately, the high sugar amounts also contribute to the structure and jelling of the product in addition to sweetness. But I think you could get by with less sugar in this case. Apples have lots of pectin (pectin used to be made from apples), so less sugar should work. You probably couldn't get it to thicken as much, but that isn't a necessary thing, IMO. It won't be thin & runny, just more like the consistency of commercial applesauce instead of preserves.

If you don't have tart apples like Winesap or Granny Smith, then you certainly would want to reduce the sugar amounts and maybe add fresh lemon juice and some lemon peel. Or try the recipes that call for cider vinegar.

In general, there are many kinds of apple butter recipes out there. It's a very forgiving food to make.

Thank you! I'm definitely going to make me some apple butter, and soon. This is something that would be fun to share with others as well!

Yum, thanks for sharing!

Thanks for this recipe!! I'll have to try it . . . I made apple butter on top of the stove just once . . . what a mess! As it cooked down, the little bubbles sent sticky apple butter everywhere . . .

I do have a "bake in the oven" recipe that I've used for years that works well, if anyone is interested.

I think I could actually do this! Might try this weekend.

I love my immersion blender too - so darn handy for so many things. Picked it up at as Sam's Club and DH moaned a lil something like 'oh great another kitchen gadget you'll never use'. Secretly I was thinking the same thing! lol! But it's turned out I use it a lot.

Thanks for the wonderful recipe. I made it this weekend and it was a big hit! Gave my Mom and DD a jar of it. Today my Mom made a batch.

Little 2 year old GGS ate it with toast this morning and informed me that he LOVED apple butter.

I enjoyed the part about not having to peel the apples! It was so easy and the house smelled great.

I made this in a 2-qt crock pot (I forget how many apples, 1 C sugar) last night, it didn't thicken up after it cooled. So I emptied the jars back into clean crockpot this AM, turned on high. It's been going 1.5 hrs, still seems thin and runny. How thick should it get when it's hot so it will be butter and not sauce when it's cool?

I didn't peel the apples, but did core them. Thanks

Gosh, ajm, I'm not sure what to do here. You could try leaving it on low heat all day to see if enough moisture evaporates for it to thicken. You could try adding another half cup of sugar. You could try the high setting if you watch it, but I'd be worried about high heat scorching a small amount like that.

It should be thick enough so that when you scoop some up with a spoon, the scooping retains its mounded shape and doesn't fall off the spoon. It isn't stiff, just thickened.

texaspanhandler, I'm so happy to hear your family enjoyed your apple butter!

Well, it still dripped off the spoon (didn't see your post til now), but I washed and boiled the jars again, if we have to put it on sandwiches with a spoon instead of a knife it'll still taste good LOL!