When I realized how easy it is to make this apple butter recipe, and I was a little embarrassed that it took me so long to start making my own. Apples come in so many varieties with subtle differences in taste that you can combine varieties to create your own perfect signature combo. A personal favorite is the Granny Smith apples.
It’s easy to make homemade apple butter on the stovetop! Enjoy the recipe any time of the year. Once you taste the homemade small-batch apple butter, store-bought is seriously not worth a trip to the store. Sure, it takes a couple of hours to cook, but the hands-on time is minimal.
Recipe Ingredients
Recipe Directions
- Add the apples to a 3-quart Dutch oven and pour the apple cider vinegar, water, and salt over the apples.
- Cook over medium heat for about 1 hour. Stir occasionally to keep apples from burning.
- When the apples are mushy and soft, remove the Dutch oven from the heat and use an immersion blender to smooth the sauce.
- Return to heat and add the brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Stir to mix well and cook on low-medium heat for about 45 minutes or until the apples have reduced to the desired consistency.
- Pour apple butter into prepared mason jars. Let cool down, place lids on the mason jars, and refrigerate or freeze.
Best Apples for Apple Butter
Peel, core, and cut the apples into quarters. If you can, use organic apples. The apples will cook down considerably, and the aroma of the apple cider vinegar will dissipate during cooking. Bring the apples to a rolling boil and lower the heat to a simmer. Stir the mixture occasionally to avoid the apples sticking to the bottom and burning.
Easy Way to Peel and Core an Apple from Real Simple
After about an hour and a half, remove the Dutch oven from the heat and cream the apples using an immersion blender, blending until you have a smooth, creamy texture. Return the Dutch oven to the heat and add the brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon.
Mix it all together and continue cooking for another hour or so to meld the flavors. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking and burning on the bottom of the pan.
Apple Butter
Ingredients
- 2 fuji apples peeled, cored, and quartered
- 1 gala apples. peeled. cored and quartered
- 1 granny smith apple peeled, cored and quartered
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup water
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add the apples to a 3-quart dutch oven and pour the apple cider vinegar, water, and salt over the apples.
- Cook over medium heat for about 1 hour. Stir occasionally to keep apples from burning.
- When the apples are getting mushy and soft remove the dutch oven from the heat and use an immersion blender to smooth the sauce.
- Return to heat and add the brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Stir to mix well and cook on low-medium heat for about 45 minutes or until the apples have reduced to the desired consistency.
- Pour apple butter into prepared mason jars. Let cool down, then place lids on the mason jars and refrigerate or freeze.
