This homemade apple butter is lovely spread on toast, exquisite on vanilla ice cream, and an excellent use for the fall’s excess apple bounty.
Yield:
Makes about 6 pints.Ingredients
10 pounds apples (use a mixture of varieties for good flavor)
1 cup water
2 cups cider
Sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Core but do not peel apples. Cut up apples and place them in a large kettle with the water and cider. Cook mixture until apples are soft, then put through a food mill. Place mixture in a pan and cook down for about 25 minutes, stirring to keep from scorching. Then measure the pulp, and for every 3 cups of pulp add 1 cup of sugar (or less for a tarter butter). Add spices and salt, and cook, stirring frequently, until butter is thick. Pour into hot sterilized canning jars and seal.
VARIATION: A quick way to make the butter without constant stirring is to cook the mixture uncovered in a roasting pan in a 250 degree F oven for about 3 hours. Stir a couple of times, and when the butter is at the desired consistency, spoon it into hot sterilized canning jars and seal.
