Table Scraps - Apple Butter

This is one of my very favorite things about fall. I love apple butter. I also love the way my house smells when I make it. I'm pretty sure Heaven smells like apple butter. The good news about apple butter - it is easy to make and oh so delicious.

The bad news about apple butter - it takes a while to make it.

But it is worth giving up a whole afternoon for this sugary sweet cinnamon apple goodness. You will be glad when you spread a little on your biscuit at breakfast.

Start by washing, coring, and slicing apples. I used Jonathan utility apples. I sliced enough to fill two large stock pots. Add 1/4 cup water to each pot and start cooking over medium heat. Turn heat down as apples start cooking and stir frequently to prevent burning them. Once they are cooked down and very mushy, run them through a food strainer (See my applesauce post for more info on my Norpro Sauce Master.) Measure out 16 cups of apple pulp. Add 1/2 cup cider vinegar to pulp.Add 8 cups of sugar. Yes, you read that right EIGHT cups of sugar. Some people get all in a tizzy over that much sugar. The apples are tart. It is necessary. Don't worry. It's not like you are going to eat a whole jar of apple butter in one sitting. Well...ok...you might. Just don't tell anyone if you do.Add 4 tsp. cinnamon and 1 tsp. ground nutmeg.Stir it all up. Do not resist the urge to stick your finger in there and taste it.
Pour it all into a large, oven-safe stock pot. Put a splatter screen over the pot and bake at 350 degrees for at least 2 hours, stirring the apple butter every 30 minutes. Depending on how dark you like your apple butter, you can bake it longer. The longer you bake it, the darker the color. I baked mine for 2 1/2 hours.
Sterilize your jars and flat lids in boiling water. Ladle hot apple butter into hot jars. Adjust two piece lids and set aside.

Here is the beauty of this recipe...are you ready for this?

You do NOT have to process this in a pressure canner or a hot water bath! The hot apple butter combined with the hot jars causes the lids to seal themselves. I am not making this up! I had jars sealing before I even finished ladling out the last jar of apple butter. Just store in a cool, dry place, away from light. I have two jars left from a batch I made in 2009, and it is just as good as the day I made it.

This recipe makes about 10 pints of apple butter. I put mine in 12 oz. quilted jelly jars, and ended up with 14 of those.

Apple Butter

16 cups apple pulp
1/2 cup cider vinegar
8 cups sugar
4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients and transfer to a large, oven-safe stock pot. Place a splatter screen over the pot. Bake at 350 degrees for at least 2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Bake longer if you prefer a darker color. Ladle hot apple butter into hot, sterilized jars. Adjust two-piece caps and set aside. Makes 10 pints.