Fall is by far my favorite season. Besides all my favorite holidays being in the fall, I just love fall flavors. A lot of people focus on pumpkin this time of year, and while pumpkin is great, my favorite is apple. This apple butter recipe is a great way to use up some of the apples you may have picked at an orchard.
Apple butter is delicious, but what if we told you there's a way to take this classic condiment to a whole new level? Enter bourbon apple butter – a rich, velvety spread that combines the sweetness of apples with the warmth of bourbon. Plus, with the help of a slow cooker, this gourmet recipe is incredibly easy to make.
This apple butter recipe is so easy, it's only a few minutes of work and you let the slow cooker do the rest. I don't even peel the apples first, I just cut them up and put them right in the slow cooker.
What is apple butter?
This actually isnt butter at all. It's a thick, delicious, smooth spread made from apples, sugar and warm spices. It is similar to applesauce in that it is cooked for a long time, but its coooked a lot longer than applsauce, which makes it thicker and richer.
What apples are best for apple butter?
While there are a lot of types of apples out there, I find the best are Mcintosh, Fuji, or Gala. They are easy to find in stores and very flavorful. I dont recommend using granny smith apples here, while I use them in pretty much everything else I make with apples, they are too tart for apple butter.
How to make apple butter
There are only a few steps in this recipe. Once the apples are cut up you place them into the slow cooker and turn it on low
Once its been cooking for 10 hours the apples will have broken down and become dark brown and thick. You have to use an immersion or regular blender to blend out the lumps, and then it is ready to use!
What do I do with apple butter?
There are so many things I like to do with bourbon apple butter. You can spread it on regular toast or english muffins. You can also put it on muffins or scones. You can put it on ice cream, pancakes or waffles. You can even use it as a dip for pretzels or crackers. Whatever you do with it will be absolutely delicious!
Bourbon Apple Butter
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 hours
- Total Time: 10 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 3 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 3 pounds apples
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons bourbon
Instructions
- Core and slice the apples, dice them into small pieces. You dont have to peel the apples.
- Add the diced apples into a slow cooker. Add in the brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, cinnamon and bourbon.
- Stir until the apples are coated in the mixture.
- Place the lid on the crock pot and cook on low for 10 hours.
- After 10 hours use an immersion blender to puree the apples in the slow cooker. If you dont have an immersion blender you can pour the whole mixture into a regular blender to puree.
- Let apple mixture cool. Then refrigerate in an airtiht container for up to 2 weeks.