Overnight Apple Butter

Original post date October 3, 2021

I met my dear friend Charlyene on the first day of first grade. Well, not the first day of my first grade but the first day of our daughters' first grade. We had just moved from a town about an hour away and my biggest concern was getting the kids acclimated and introducing them to new friends. My worries soon dissipated as Charlyene’s daughter, Jacalyn, and my daughter, Morgan, quickly became close friends. It wasn’t long before Charlyene and I were hosting play dates and circulating through the same group of first-grade moms from our elementary school.

Our families got more acquainted through Morgan and Jacalyn’s connection and so we decided to get together for dinner one night. I will never forget the apple pie that Charlyene brought to our house. It was piled over with fresh delicious apples and a beautiful golden crust. I asked her where she got the apples and she said from her neighbor's apple tree. She went on to tell me about the tree that grew on the edge of her neighbor's property and dangled over her fence. She said they had always been gracious in sharing their apples and so with their apples, she loved to make pies and apple butter.

Charlyene and I grew closer. She knew that we had been looking for quite some time to buy a home and get out of our rental. My husband, Rob, and I could not believe it when she called one day and said, "Hey, my next-door neighbors are selling their house. I know you guys are looking - maybe there's a fit?" The rest is history and there’s a lot more that went into us buying the house. But now 10 years later, we are still next-door neighbors and share that apple tree that sits on our fence line. Charlyene is one of my dearest friends and Jacalyn and Morgan, while now 19, remain inseparable.

The apples are still abundant and so on this fine fall weekend, we decided to make Charlyene‘s apple butter. I’m not sure what kind of apples are on our apple tree. They are small but very tasty. We started with about 25 pounds of apples and then went through the process of peeling, coring, and slicing them. Three hours later we had a lot of apples! Enough to fill both of our crock pots till they were almost overflowing. It was a great way to spend an afternoon with a great friend.

We finished our apple butter overnight, each adding a different variation of sugar and spices. Apple butter is so forgiving. You really can add any combination of sweetness and spice that you like. For my version, I chose a combination of brown and white sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. You can also swirl in vanilla at the end of the cooking process to mellow out the spiciness a bit.

For me, fall is not fall without apple butter and our neighborhood would not be the same without Charlyene, Jacalyn, and their entire family!

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Overnight Apple Butter

The work put into peeling and slicing all those apples will pay off the next morning with this sweet treat.

Course condiment, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword Apple Butter, Apples, Crock Pot, Jam, Slow Cooker

Prep Time 2 hours hours

Cook Time 12 hours hours

Servings 10 pints

Equipment

• 1 Slow Cooker
• 1 Peeler
• 1 Sharp knife
• 10 Pint Size Glass Jars with Canning Lids

Ingredients

• 6 ¾ - 7 pounds of peeled and thinly sliced apples any variety
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. white sugar
• 1 T. cinnamon
• ½ t. nutmeg
• ½ t. allspice
• ¼ t. cloves
• 1 t. salt
• 2 t. vanilla

Instructions

• Mix spices and sugars in a bowl then toss with the sliced apples and mound into a large crock pot and turn on low. Be sure to really pack them it. It is amazing how much they will cook down. I turned mine on at about 8 pm so they would be ready for the final stages when I got up in the morning.
• After about 10 hours, use a potato masher to break up the apples and swirl in the vanilla if you are using it. Allow it to cook for two more hours. It should be a nice rich golden brown. Remove the lid and blend with an immersion blender until creamy. At this point, you may can the apple butter using any reliable hot water canning method. The National Center for Home Food Preservation Site is an excellent resource for this. I followed their instructions for canning apple butter and it worked perfectly. Alternatively, apple butter can be stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks. Apple butter is delicious slathered on toast, as the J in a P, B & J, on pancakes or waffles, and heated as a delicious ice cream topping.