I posted these questions very late last night so I didn't really expect anyone to find it in time for advice -- I just took a chance that someone might still be online.

So. The crock pot is still cookin' away, and this is what I did: I turned it back down to Low and left it until 4 a.m. At that point I turned the setting back up to High and it's still going. In other words, I reversed the timing and settings.

This doesn't tell me what to do about adding the sugar & spices AFTER the 18 hours, but the stuff smells so wonderful I'm just going to leave it and see what happens. I can adjust the taste during the last four hours when I was SUPPOSED to add them.

Now. What do I do about the BW bath? I know I have to adjust most things for my altitude, which is 4,230-something feet.

I'm very new at canning, but I really am loving it and right now the Farmers' Market is just brimming with local fruits and vegetables at very good prices.

I'm reading from the Ball Blue. To the prepared pulp, add sugar and spices in a large heavy clad bottomed pot. Cook slowly until thick enough to round up on a spoon. As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Ladle hot butter into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece lids. process 10 minutes in BWB. You may add 5 or 10 minutes for your altitude. I used my crockpot and left the cover off for the last 3 hours to thicken up.

Thank you, Shirley. I ended up with a mess black as tar, so I threw the whole thing out. It didn't taste bad, in fact the flavor was pretty good except that it was waaay too sweet. My mistake was adding the sugar in the beginning, and that's what turned it all black. Oh well, the Farmers' Market is still open for two more weeks so I'll try again.

Did the apple butter burn in the pot? The color should be a dark brown like milk chocolate. Hope you tasted it before tossing it.