Slow Cooked Apple Butter with No Added Sugar

Book Update:  I finished “Wonderstruck” … it was entertaining, but nothing I would recommend over age 12.  I thought “The Invention of Hugo Cabret” had more plot.  The characters were great as usual!

Recipe Update: So, now that I made Whole Wheat Greek Yogurt Biscuits I wanted to have some apple butter to go with them.  I used to get my apple butter from our local co-op.  The farm never used added sugar, but all the recipes I found online required massive amounts of refined sugar.  Instead, I went by the farm’s ingredient list on its apple butter and tried to make mine similar to theirs.  It worked!  Here is how to make it!  I know “apple juice” has sugar, but it is technically not labeled sugar and making the title of this post “with no added refined sugar” just seemed rather long.

Additionally, most recipes for apple butter use peeled apples.  A lot of the apple’s nutrients are found in the peel, so I made this to include unpeeled apples.

Uses for apple butter:  Apple Butter Banana Bread,  Apple Butter Pulled Pork, on biscuits, substitute for applesauce in recipes, substitute for oil in baked goods, on toast, an apple dip, or on crackers.

Slow Cooked Apple Butter
yields 5-6 cups/ about 2-3 pints

3 lbs of apples, cored and chopped into 1″ pieces
1 and 1/2 cups apple juice
1 Tb. apple cider vinegar
1 Tb. cinnamon (use 1-2 tsp. if you are not a huge cinnamon fan.  We LOVE cinnamon and this was a LOT.)
1/4 tsp. cloves or allspice
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt

1.  Throw everything into the slow cooker.  Cook for 15 hours on Low.

2.  In batches, remove the apples and juices from the slow cooker and process in a food processor (or blender) until you have the consistency of… apple butter!  Just a few pulses.  Add juices to thin out the apple butter if you like.

3.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge.  Other storage options:  freezer in a freezer jar.  Or can in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.