Rehfwitz Recipes

Submitted by Mandy Mills, who writes:  “Here is my pseudo-recipe for apple butter. I assume a certain level of proficiency with home canning procedures. This is what I like to do with extra apples that I always buy this time of year because they are so inexpensive and good in the fall, then I don’t eat them all and they get kind of soft and aren’t really good for eating anymore. They still make good apple butter, and the beauty of using the crock pot is that they don’t burn, and you don’t have to watch it all the time like you do on the stovetop (if you’ve ever made it, you know what I mean. If you haven’t, trust me, you have to watch the stuff like a hawk because of all the sugar in it!) Enjoy!”

• Approximately 5-6 lbs. apples, sliced (not peeled) – I use a variety (enough to fill a standard 5-quart crock pot to the top)
• Approximately 3 cups sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Place everything in the crock pot, stir, cover, and turn it on “high” for 1 hour. Turn the temperature down to “low” and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 hours.

At this point, the apples should be very soft, and there will be quite a lot of liquid. I puree everything using an immersion blender, and then continue to cook on “low” for another 3-4 hours or until it is as thick as you want it (remove a spoonful to a plate and let it cool to check consistency).

Meanwhile, wash your canning jars (I use ½ pint jelly jars) and lids, and place the lids in hot (not boiling) water. Fill a boiling-water bath canner with water and heat it up. Jars should be hot, so they don’t crack when you pour hot apple butter into them.

Fill jars to within ½” of rim, wipe rim and threads with a damp cloth or paper towel, put on lid and ring and hand tighten. Place in canner. Once all the jars are filled, make sure the water in the canner covers the jars by 1-2”, bring to a boil, and process for 10 minutes. Remove jars from canner and place them on a dry towel to cool. Refrigerate any that don’t seal and use those first. Sealed jars should keep for one year.

This recipe should make 8 half-pint jars of apple butter.