Apple butter

Wow, all I can say is that being pregnant really changed things. Would you believe that now that I have a 3 week old, I get a lot more sleep and have a lot more energy to do the things that I love? Now, I haven't had to do much cooking since friends and family have generously stocked our fridge. However, I'm kind of at a loss of what to do now that I'm on maternity leave for three months. So, I've decided that Christmas is coming early in the form of Santa's workshop! Justin is, umm, thrilled. So thrilled in fact that I have attempted to hide my plans from him, i.e. I disguised the apple butter as applesauce. He has now figured things out. I mean, there is only so much you can do/tv to watch while at home with a newborn.

So, for this week I've decided to make apple butter. It's actually strange to make anything with apples while living in NC, since I can't just hop in the car and visit the local apple mill, like those in mid-Michigan.  (And of course that means cider and donuts too!)

Ingredients

1 peck Mcintosh apples
1 peck Fuji apples
2 tbsp cinnamon (divided)
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
1-2 cups sugar (I used two cups, which was pretty sweet. Alter based on the apples you use)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
Juice of 2 lemons

Instructions

 1 - Make applesauce. Chop and core apples, leaving skins on the apple. Place 1 inch of water in bottom of pot (I needed two pots) and add apples. Bring to boiling and reduce to medium, stirring often until apples are soft. Let apples cool and strain, using the back of a spoon to push applesauce through strainer. (Once you're done you should only have apple skins left in the strainer.) Add 1 tbsp cinnamon.
2 - Make apple butter. Fill your crockpot with the applesauce from step one. Add 1 cup sugar, 1 tbsp cinnamon, cloves, allspice, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Turn medium or high, depending on your crock pot, and cook down with the lid removed until desired thickness is reached. (I cooked it for ~8 hours and reduced it by about 60%.) Taste the applebutter and add extra sugar if desired. Cook a bit more if adding extra sugar (I gave it another 30 minutes). Blend with immersion blender to ensure smooth texture.
3 - Can apple butter. See my earlier posts for pepper jelly or pickles if you need advice on canning.