Apple Butter

I made this, and much to my amazement, didn't blow my kitchen up, light anything on fire, or injure any small animals in the process. I'm the most non-domestic person, and I was so pleased with how easy this was! It turned out beautifully, and the pennies work great! Can't wait to try the pear butter next. :D

This was my first time canning, and my first time making apple butter. I was given a bunch of apples from the neighbor's tree and needed to use them up. It sure was exciting to can for the first time!! However, as I was making the butter, it seemed so tart, even after adding the right amount of sugar (I had about 4 qt of pulp/double recipe, so I used 8c sugar). I asked on forums, and someone said usually sweet apples are used for butter, not tart. Well, I followed the suggestion to evaporate some apple juice, and add that and more sugar. It worked, and the butter tastes great. I also didn't know how long it would take to cook the butter, or at what temp. I was afraid of scorching, b/c I didn't have enough pennies. I used one of those doo-hickies that go under your pot that increases air circulation and slows chances of burning. It worked well, but at the lowest temp, my butter didn't cook down very fast. Since this was my first time, I didn't realize it at first, but then I started wondering when it would ever cling to that wooden spoon! I turned the heat up to med-low, and found that stirring helped the evaporation to take place, so I just stayed and stirred every 10 minutes or so. By midnight, I was too tired, so just covered the pot, turned it off, and hit the hay. In the AM, I put it on Med heat (still with the circulator underneath), and stirred every 2 minutes or so. Finally, after about 3 more hours, it was ready! My gallon of pulp was reduced to just enough butter to fill 12 8 oz jelly jars, with 1/2 c leftover. Only 1 didn't seal! This was rewarding, but on the other hand, it did seem like a whole lot of work!!

This is great! I added about 2 tbsps of honey & some nutmeg & it turned out perfect!

Absolutely wonderful flavor, just could not get this to thicken up and stick to a spoon, after 5 hours of cooking. It did cook down about 3 inches in my pan. But it doe taste great!!!!

I Love this recipe!! I had never made apple butter before making this, so I was very delighted with the outcome. The only thing that I did different was eliminate the pennies, and I used a large nonstick pot to prevent any sticking. I also accidently put in 1/4 teaspoon of Nutmeg in with the remainging ingredients. It still turned out awesome. My neighbors absolutely loved it, and wanted more.