Apple Butter
Why You’ll Love This Apple Butter
A great way to use imperfect apples: Buggy, bruised, or slightly mealy apples can still become something delicious.
Deeply spiced: Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves give this apple butter the coziest fall flavors.
Slow-cooked flavor: Cooking the apples down concentrates their natural sweetness and turns them into a rich, spreadable butter.
Made for gifting: Spoon it into jars and share a little taste of fall with friends and family.
This tuna pasta salad is creamy, tangy, fresh, and packed with little bits of celery, carrot, red onion, dill pickle, basil, and celery greens.
I mince most of the vegetables pretty small, so you get a taste of each flavor in every bite, while the quartered cherry tomatoes stay a little bigger for juicy pops of freshness.
The dressing is simple: mayo and yogurt with Dijon, garlic, salt, and pepper. The pickles bring a little tang, the tomatoes add brightness, and the tuna makes it hearty enough to be a meal.
And yes, there’s a little knife work involved. But once everything is chopped, the rest comes together quickly.
Ingredients
12 pounds apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
2 cups (about 400g) lightly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Makes approximately 5 pints
1. Prep the apples: Peel, core, and slice the apples. If you're using apples that are past their prime, trim away any bruised, buggy, or damaged spots.
2. Add everything to the Instant Pot: Add the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt to the Instant Pot. Stir to combine. The apples will look like a lot, but they cook down considerably.
3. Pressure cook: Secure the lid and cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally, then carefully open the lid.
4. Blend: Use an immersion blender to blend the cooked apples until completely smooth.
5. Cook it down: If the apple butter is thinner than you'd like, use the Instant Pot's Sauté function with the lid off to cook it down, stirring frequently, until it reaches your desired consistency. (My batch did not need this, but it depends on the apples.)
6. Add the vanilla: Stir in the vanilla extract once the apple butter has finished cooking.
Canning & Storage
7. Prepare for canning: While the apple butter is cooking, prepare your jars, lids, and canning equipment according to a tested water-bath canning method.
8. Fill the jars: Ladle the hot apple butter into hot, sterilized jars, leaving the recommended headspace for your canning method. Wipe the rims clean, then apply the lids and bands.
9. Process the jars: Process the filled jars in a boiling-water bath using the processing time specified by your tested apple-butter canning recipe, adjusting for altitude as needed.
10. Cool and check the seal: Remove the jars and let them cool undisturbed. Check that each jar has sealed properly before labeling and storing.
11. Store and share: Store sealed jars in a cool, dark place and use within the timeframe recommended by your canning method. Once opened, refrigerate.
Canning note: If you're planning to gift or store your apple butter at room temperature, use a tested canning recipe and the processing time and altitude adjustments. Follow instructions carefully for shelf-stable food storage.
Slow Cooker Method
Prefer to let it cook while you sleep? Add everything except the vanilla to a slow cooker and cook on low for about 8 hours, or until the apples are completely soft and deeply caramelized. Blend until smooth, then stir in the vanilla.
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