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Cinnamon Crockpot Apple Butter

Posted on by in Alisa's Recipes, Condiments and Salad Dressings, Cream and Butter Subs, Dairy-Free Recipes with 8 Comments

Alisa Fleming ~ For our last fall CSA delivery we received 2 bushels (that’s a heck of a lot more than 2 pounds people!) of little organic apples. Some were good for snacking, but I can only eat so many apples out of hand. Since many of them were pint-sized, peeling for pies wasn’t a great option. But I wondered, how would they fare, peels and all, with a long, slow cooking throughout the day? And thus, this recipe for crockpot apple butter was born.

Cinnamon Crockpot Apple Butter Recipe

As it turned out, the peels practically melted into the apple butter, providing extra nutrition and preventing a ton of work. At first, I referenced some crockpot apple butter recipes online, but they all called for boat loads of sugar. Why in the world would such a naturally sweet fruit need so much added sweetener? So I winged it.

I ended up adding a wee dose of sweet, just a touch really, to balance the flavors. You can go sans sugars altogether and enjoy some truly pure crockpot apple butter, or increase the sweetener to taste, if desired. I also discoverd that apple cider vinegar works deliciously when you don’t have any lemon juice on hand,

This crockpot apple butter is excellent for using in recipes (apple butter muffins anyone?), slathering on toast (I liked it with a little swirled with nut butter, too!), using as a partial substitute for dairy butter in baked goodies, or even, canning and giving as a holiday gift!

Cinnamon Crockpot Apple Butter Recipe

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Cinnamon CrockPot Apple Butter

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 hours

Total Time: 5 hours, 10 minutes

Yield: about 2 cups

Cinnamon CrockPot Apple Butter

Feel free to experiment with the apples that you use in this recipe. A mixture of sweet and tart is always nice.

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs chopped apple*
  • 2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Place the chopped apples in your crockpot (for a mini-crockpot, halve the recipe). Add the remaining ingredients and stir to coat.
  2. Place the crockpot setting on low, cover and allow the apples to cook for 4 to 6 hours.
  3. Pour the apples into your blender (you may need to do this in two batches), let them cool for 10 minutes, and then puree.
  4. Return the pureed apple to your crockpot, turn the setting up to high, and cook uncovered for about 1 hour, checking in to stir every 10 minutes.
  5. Let the apple butter cool, then place it in your blender for a second puree. This should make it nice and creamy.
  6. It will keep in the refrigerator for several days, you can freeze it for later use, or can it for storage or gift-giving.

Notes

I start with a little more than 2 lbs of apples to account for the loss of the core. But there is no need to peel them! The apple skins melt right in and add to the flavor and nutrition.

http://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/cinnamon-crockpot-apple-butter

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About Alisa Fleming

Alisa is the founder of GoDairyFree.org, Senior Editor for Allergic Living magazine, and author of the best-selling dairy-free book, Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook for Milk Allergies, Lactose Intolerance, and Casein-Free Living. Alisa is also a professional recipe creator and product ambassador for the natural food industry.

View all posts by Alisa Fleming →

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8 Comments

  1. Hallie @ Daily BitesDecember 9, 2012 at 8:04 amReply

    Oh, this looks SO good, Alisa! I could probably eat the whole batch straight up with a spoon. :)

    • Alisa FlemingDecember 9, 2012 at 8:23 amReplyAuthor

      I totally thought of you when making this Hallie – all of the nutritious peels in there and all!

  2. RickiDecember 9, 2012 at 8:11 amReply

    Looks FABULOUS. I love, love apple butter!

  3. KatieDecember 9, 2012 at 7:48 pmReply

    I never peel apples when I make applesauce, because my grandma never did. :D

  4. NancyDecember 10, 2012 at 4:16 amReply

    I’ve never made apple butter, but want to try this as it seems easy enough and I love my crock pot!! Anything in a crock pot is for me!! Thank you for this delicious recipe without all the added sugar!

  5. HannahDecember 11, 2012 at 6:57 pmReply

    Apple butter is definitely my favorite way to deal with a surplus. It’s just so easy, keeps well, and goes with/on practically everything! Plus, it also makes great holiday gifts. Otherwise, apple chips are a top snack pick. It just takes up a whole lot of space in the dehydrator, so I can only get through 2 – 3 big apples that way.

    • Alisa FlemingDecember 11, 2012 at 7:24 pmReplyAuthor

      I made a batch of apple chips, too! I used the oven, but they turned out pretty tasty :)

  6. JoanneDecember 18, 2012 at 4:03 amReply

    I bet this almost tastes like pie filling!! Looks fabulous.

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