Homemade Spiced Apple Butter
Spiced apple butter is one of the easiest homemade preserves you can make. It's the essence of fall, caramel apple flavor in a jar with sweet spices. It's heaven on a hot biscuit, flapjacks, or toast, or try it with roast pork or chicken! This is based on a tested USDA canning recipe with only safe modifications made, so can with confidence!
Equipment
- 1 heavy-bottomed jam or sauce pot At least 3 quarts in volume
- 1 immersion blender, blender, or food processor
- colander, sieve, or food mill
- water bath canner or large stockpot with rack
- glass canning jars, rings, and new lids quarter pint (4 oz), half pint (8 oz), or pint (16 oz)
- jar lifters or tongs or jar rack with handles
- canning jar funnel (optional but helpful for filling the jars)
- silicone or other heat-resistant spatula (optional but helpful)
Ingredients
simmer together:
- 8 pounds apples (pre-processing weight)
- 2 cups apple cider
- 2 cups apple cider vinegar (bottled for standardized 5% acidity)
- ½ tsp Himalayan pink salt or sea salt (substitute 1 tsp kosher salt)
add to apple sauce:
- 2 ¼ cups white sugar
- 2 ¼ cups packed brown sugar
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp ground allspice
- 1 ½ tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
Instructions
Cook apple puree:
- Wash the apples, core them, and trim any bruised spots. Chop them roughly into large chunks but leave the peels on.
- Combine prepared apples, cider or apple juice, apple cider, and salt in an 8 quart Instant Pot or a large heavy bottomed jam pot or saucepan.
- Bring to a simmer over med-high heat (use the Saute function on your Instant Pot), stirring frequently, then reduce heat to low, cover, and stir often to prevent scorching. Simmer until the apples are soft (this will vary depending on the ripeness and varieties of fruit, but at least 30-45 minutes).
- Simmer until the apples are soft. This will vary depending on the ripeness and varieties of fruit, but at least 45 minutes. You can also let the apples cook, covered, overnight using the slow cooker setting on medium or low.
Strain apples & make apple butter:
- Remove from heat. Process the apple mixture with a food mill, or press the puree through a wire sieve or metal strainer to remove the peels and make a smooth puree.
- Return apple puree to cooking pot. Add the remaining ingredients- brown sugar, white sugar, and spices- and return to medium-low heat. Return to a simmer and stir often.
- Let the apple butter simmer uncovered until it is quite thick, glossy, and caramel colored- this should take several hours. As the mixture reduces, lower the heat and stir more often to prevent scorching. Your spatula or spoon should leave a clear trail as you stir when the butter is finished.
- You can cool and freeze in appropriate containers for 6-12 months, refrigerate in clean jars for a few weeks, or can the spiced apple butter for longer shelf life (recommended).
Water-Bath Canning Instructions for Apple Butter:
- When your apple butter is almost finished cooking, fill your water bath canner with water to a height that will cover your jars by several inches with room to boil vigorously.
- Wash your jars and lids with hot soapy water, rinse, and place the jars (but not the lids) in the canner as you bring the water up to a low simmer, or at least 180℉.
- Protect your work surface- I like to use a baking sheet pan lined with an old kitchen towel. Remove your canning jars from the canner (carefully, with tongs or jar lifters, tilting them out of the hot water) just before filling and place them on the sheet pan or counter lined with a towel. This helps protect the jars from temperature shocks and also makes for easier clean-up!
- Using a jar funnel if you have one, ladle the hot spiced apple butter into the hot jars. Leave between ¼-½" of headspace at the top of the jars (slightly more if you are using reusable-style lids with gaskets like Weck or Tattler).
- Debubble the jars with a thin spatula, spoon, or debubbling tool, and wipe the tops of the jars with a clean paper towel or lint-free cloth that has been dipped in hot water or vinegar.
- Place the canning lids on the clean jar tops and screw down the rings- don't overtighten, just snug. Using your jar lifter, tongs, or the canning jar rack, carefully place the hot filled jars in the hot canner.
- Make sure you have adequate water covering the jars (at least 2" over the tops of the jars). Top up with water from a hot kettle if needed.
- Start the timer for your water bath after the water is at a rolling boil and all jars are in the canner. Process pint and smaller jars for 5 minutes, and quart jars for 10 minutes (adjust for altitude if applicable, see notes below for chart) and then turn off the heat. Leave the jars in the canner, and set another timer for 5 minutes.
- Using jar tongs or a lifting rack, remove jars from the canner after 5 minutes, and place them back on the towel-covered sheet pan or counter (put down a fresh towel if you spilled while filling the jars).
- Leave jars to cool slowly in a draft-free place. Do not touch rings until the jars are completely cool and sealed and do not stack jars. I cover the jars with a kitchen towel if the kitchen is cold or drafty so that they cool slowly - this helps prevent siphoning.
- After jars are cooled and seals are set (I leave them at least overnight but no more than 24 hours), check that all jars are sealed, carefully wash jars, label them, and remove rings before storing.
- Sealed jars with metal lids will not flex when the seal is pressed, and the lid has a firm vacuum seal with the jar. Any jars that did not seal can be reprocessed the same day with new lids (check the jar tops again for chips and the ring for dents), or immediately refrigerated and used first.
Notes
Altitude adjustments for canning:
| Process Time at Elevations of | ||||
| Style of Pack | Jar Size | 0 - 1,000 ft | 1,001 - 6,000 ft | Above 6,000 ft |
| Hot | Half-Pints or Pints | 5 min | 10 | 15 |
| Quarts | 10 min | 15 | 20 | |
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