This is a super delicious apple butter that is easy to make, and you don’t have to stand over the stove and stir for hours.
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Save Money by Canning Food at Home
Honey Apple Butter Recipe
12 cups peeled, cored and sliced apples (I really like the McIntosh and Gala apples for apple butter because they have a bolder flavor. I do not recommend Red Delicious unless they are locally grown because the flavor is very bland and the texture can be mealy.)
1 1/2 cups water
4 cups white sugar
1 cup honey (locally raised, if possible)
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
In large pot (like a stockpot), cook apples in water until tender, stirring often to prevent sticking. This usually takes 10 to 15 minutes. Either run cooked apples (do not drain) through a blender, or use a hand mixer and blend apples while still in stockpot.
Next, put all ingredients into large slow cooker and stir to combine. Cover with lid. Cook on high for 5 to 6 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove lid for last hour to thicken. Don’t stop cooking the apple butter too soon, as the darker it is, the richer the flavor! I like mine to be a rich, dark brown. The butter is done if it remains mounded in a spoon, or if a teaspoon of butter placed on a plate (wait at least a minute) does not have liquid rimmed around the edge.
In the meantime, clean jars and lids.
Ladle hot apple butter into hot jars, either pint or half-pint, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe rims with clean, damp paper towel, put hot lids on that have been boiled, and tighten bands fully.
Pressure can at 7 pounds of pressure for 8 minutes for pints and half-pints, or process in water-bath canner (using sterilized jars) for 20 minutes for pints and half-pints. Yields 8 cups.
Note: Check the instructions with your pressure canner. Many experts say apple butter is high enough in acid that it doesn’t require pressure canning; a water-bath process will suffice. But since no additional acid is added to this recipe, the pressure canner is a safer way to go.
