I know I've missed a few weeks, but instead of getting bogged down in trying to catch up (and getting overwhelmed in the process), I've decided to post this (past) entry, then just start from today. If I get enough time to post from past days/events, I'll do that as I get the chance.
Caleb and I made apple butter a few weeks ago and I'm just getting around to posting about it. I had looked up a crock pot apple butter recipe that turned out to be amazing. We used Golden Delicious apples (we had them on hand), and we used this thingamajig to peel/core/slice the apples and it saved us a lot of work!
Caleb then used his kid-friendly knife (thank you Pampered Chef!) to chop up the apples. In hindsight, a finer chop would have been better.
"Mom, my hands are all sticky!"
Loading the apples. This cooks for 8-10 hours...so the comment was made on the original recipe "Great to do overnight!", so I opted to. However, later on in the recipe comments, she says that you need to "stir often to prevent the burning of the apples". So, that meant that I had to get up every couple of hours during the night to stir it. Next time, I'll do it during the day!
Layering the apples with the sugar and spices! Again, these chunks were WAY too huge!
Eric caught this picture of me instructing Caleb.
I love the deep brown color it is starting to get. I didn't get a final picture, but it actually looks like apple butter (not just brownish applesauce). I added a little bit of caramel flavoring (get it? caramel apples?) and loved it! The sugar needed to be decreased a little, so in the recipe below, I included my new measurements! Enjoy!
Caramel Apple Butter
5 lbs whole apples, peeled and finely chopped
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar-free caramel flavoring*
Place apples in slow cooker (sprayed with nonstick cooking spray) in thirds, layering sugar between each layer. Add rest of ingredients on top and pack them down as well as you can. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low. Open and give it a stir. Keep covered and cook 8 hours or until thick and dark brown, stirring occasionally. Uncover and cook for the last hour on low. If a smoother apple butter is desired, you may puree in blender or food processor. Place in sterile jars with lids and process for 10 minutes in hot water bath or you can freeze.
*I use DaVinci (or Torani) Sugar-Free Caramel Syrup, used to flavor coffee. See image below!
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