It’s hard to find any apple butter, let alone good apple butter in the grocery store these days. Making apple butter is a great way to preserve the fruits of an apple harvest. Apple butter is delicious on buttered toast. Although apple butter takes time to make, the upfront part is easy!
Ingredients
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3 pounds assorted apples (peeled, cored and cut into quarters)
2 cups apple cider
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Directions
In a dutch oven over medium heat, melt butter and add apples. Cook apples until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add cider, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to a simmer. Let simmer, partially covered and stirring occasionally, until soft, about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Mash softened apples with a potato masher. Remove from heat and add lemon juice, lemon zest and cinnamon. Using an immersion blender, puree mixture until smooth.
Pour apple mixture evenly into a baking dish. Transfer to oven and bake, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced, about 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Let cool before serving. Apple butter may be kept, refrigerated in an airtight container, up to 5 days.