Name: Apple Butter
Yield: About 4 pint jars
Ingredients: 5 pounds apples (a mix of sweet and tart — Fuji and Granny Smith, McIntosh and Honeycrisp); 1 cup granulated sugar; ½ cup packed brown sugar; 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon; ½ teaspoon ground cloves; ½ teaspoon ground allspice; ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg; 1 tablespoon vanilla extract; 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar; Pinch of salt

About 4 pint jars

Yield

12 to 14 hours (slow cooker, mostly unattended)

Time

Refrigerate for up to 3 weeks. For shelf-stable canning, process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes (half-pints) or 15 minutes (pints). Properly canned, it keeps for a year.

Keeps

Apple butter is what happens when applesauce decides to get serious. It cooks low and slow until it reduces to a thick, dark, spreadable butter that tastes like concentrated fall. The slow cooker does most of the work — you just need patience and a good supply of apples.

Ingredients

5 pounds apples (a mix of sweet and tart — Fuji and Granny Smith, McIntosh and Honeycrisp)
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Pinch of salt

Method

Peel, core, and slice the apples. This is the only labor-intensive part. Put on some music.
Place the apples in a large slow cooker. Add both sugars, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and salt. Stir to combine.
Cover and cook on LOW for 10 hours (or HIGH for 6 hours). The apples will break down completely into a thick sauce.
Blend until smooth using an immersion blender (or mash with a potato masher for a chunkier texture).
Remove the lid. Continue cooking on LOW, uncovered or with the lid propped open, for 2 to 4 more hours. Stir every 30 minutes. The apple butter is done when it's thick, dark, and holds its shape on a spoon. A spoonful dropped on a plate should not weep liquid.
Stir in the vanilla and apple cider vinegar.
Ladle into clean, hot jars.
*Storage:** Refrigerate for up to 3 weeks. For shelf-stable canning, process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes (half-pints) or 15 minutes (pints). Properly canned, it keeps for a year.
*Seasonal note:** The mix of apple varieties matters. Sweet apples (Fuji, Gala) give body and sugar. Tart apples (Granny Smith, Northern Spy) add complexity and balance. If you only use sweet apples, the result will be flat. If you visit an orchard, ask which varieties they recommend for cooking — farmers know their apples.