October, 2014 by Annick Hupperetz
More and more recipes call for expensive specialty products, one being the apple butter. If you would like to save money on your grocery bill on a yearly basis, canning is the solution. Where I live, a jar of apple butter will cost you about 7$ to 8$. If I calculate the cost of the 24 apples that I had the pleasure to pick directly from the trees and every other product included in this recipe, this apple butter recipe comes out to $1.60 per jar. Canning is the way to go if you live in an area where fruits and vegetables cost a small fortune during winter months.
If you want to go further into savings, you can keep the peels and cores of your apples and make your own healthy, chemical free pectin that you can use when making your own apple jelly.
You can use this apple butter recipe to put on your toasts in the morning, drip it on ice cream or use it in a cider pork braised recipe. There are no limits to what you can do with apple butter. It’s thick and velvety taste is outstanding.
Apple Butter Recipe
For canning purposes, it’s important to follow instructions when sterilizing your jars and your apple butter recipe will need to be canned hot. Fill each jar and leave about an inch of space and shut them tightly. Leave them sitting on your counter for 24 hours before storing and make sure that all lids have popped.
Ingredients
- 24 McIntosh Apples
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
- 1 cup unsalted butter
Preparation
- Peel and remove the apple cores and you can reserve them if you would like to make your own natural pectin. Dice the apples and put them is cold water, add some lemon juice to prevent them from darkening.
- Empty water and rinse apples with cold water. In a large saucepan on medium heat, reduce apples and if they do not render enough juices, you can add between 1/2 a cup to a 1 cup of cold water. It will take about 30 minutes of cooking and make sure to stir often.
- · Around the end of the cooking period, you can add the pure vanilla extract and the cinnamon.
- · Using your blender, purée the apples and it’s juice. Set aside in a bowl and add the unsalted butter and blend until all melted.