Apple Butter

It was my goal this fall to make Apple Butter, just like it was my goal to make homemade jam this past summer.  (It never happened.)  Now, I have never even tasted apple butter before but for some reason I knew I had to make it.  So, yesterday, I was nursing a rather bad sinus infection (ewz) and was unable to tackle the many assignments, essays and test preparations I had set aside for this weekend.  So, I decided to accomplish something and made apple butter.

Now, this apple butter was not without its slight mishaps.  As I said, I was in a rather dazed state and when I went to the store for the needed ingredients, I bought figs instead of prunes that the recipe called for.  What was I thinking?!  But I had some dates at home so I decided to use them instead.  And, I forgot the apple cider but no worries I made a very quick, half-assed (I used mostly ground versions of the spices called for) and small batch using this recipe.

I found the original recipe over at the ppk forums.

 

 Apple Butter
yields 2 pints

3 lbs cookin apples
1 c. pitted dates (the original recipe called for prunes)
3 c. apple cider
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
2 tsp ground cloves

1.  Peel, core, and quarter apples.  Place apple slices, dates and apple cider in a large pot and bring to a boil. 
2.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or so, until soft.
3.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
4.  Process apple/date mixture and spices in a food processor and blender until smooth.
5.  Pour and spread the mixture evenly into a 9 x 13 baking dish.
6.  Bake in centre of the oven for about an hour, stirring every so often, making sure to scrape down the sides.
7.  Once done (you can test for doneness by seeing if the butter is thick enough that it will stick to a plate or something upside down), ladle the butter into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace, seal with lids and place in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.
8.  Enjoy the fruits of your labour by slathering some apple butter on a piece of toast and savour the wonderful flavours of autumn.