Apple Butter

So I finally found the time to make one of my all time favorite things... apple butter. Can we say yum! I search for recipes and also listened to what other experience people had to say and morph my own recipe. Beware the sugar content is not for the faint of heart. The apples I use were very tart and needed the extra sweetness. So here is my recipe with some pictures to follow. Peel, core and slice as many apples that will fit into your crock pot. Mine is a Hamilton Beach Portfolio which I think holds 6.5 quarts. To this I added (now remember it was A LOT of tart apples) about 6c. of sugar (which obviously one can adjust to taste), 4 tsp of cinnamon, 2 tsp of apple pie spice, 1.5 tsp of ground cloves and last but not least a bag of red hots. This goes on high for 6-7 hours depending on your crock pot. Basically you let it go till you just about get the thickness you want. After 7 hours, I still wanted it thicker, I took the lid off and replaced it with a metal screen. Closer to the end, I did mash up what was still in there that was chunky and also did some stirring. When I got my desired consistency, I ladled it into 6 pint size hot canning jars and stuck them in the canner for 15 mins. Today, I have been enjoy the fruit of my work :)

Beginning Stage

Middle Stage

End Product!