Crock Pot Apple Butter

 Finally getting around to sharing this recipe for the easiest, no-fail yet insanely amazing apple butter.  My 7 year old daughter helped me through the entire process, down to the final stages of making the jars pretty and sending them out to teachers and friends.  Of course, when a person doesn't like the item given, they will rarely tell the gifter, but if they don't like it, they certainly don't ask for the recipe (unless they have issues).  I was asked for this recipe several times, so I'm definitely sharing it with you all.  I promise it won't let you down...however, eating Smuckers apple butter will never, ever work for you for the rest of your life.  Oh, and your house will smell divine for a couple days!

Here it is!

Crock Pot Apple Butter

5 lbs. apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped (this is where the peeler/corer and Cuisanart came in VERY handy)
3 cups sugar - I use cane sugar
2-3 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. salt

1) Mix the sugar with all the spices and salt.
2) Place 1/3 of the apples in slow cooker, then sprinkle 1/3 of sugar mix on top.  Repeat two more times.  Pack down and cover.
3) Cook on high for 1 hour.  Stir and reduce heat to low.  Cover, cook for at least 8 hours (uncovering for the last hour) until thick, dark brown and spreadable consistency. (I puree it in the Cuisinart for a more buttery consistency, otherwise it's almost too chunky.)
4) Either put it in freezable containers (no way for me, that's weird to have frozen apple butter in the wintertime!) or can.
5) If canning ladle the butter into hot, sterile canning jars (a dishwasher is handy here, too).  Cover with lids and hand tighten.  In a large pot add enough water to cover the jars and bring to a boil.  Let the water come to a boil first and then lower in the jars of butter and bring to a boil again.  Let them sit for 10 minutes.  Voila you are done!

This stuff tastes fantastic not only on toast but as an ice cream sauce (or so I've been told), as a dip with different cookies (gingerbread, shortbread), scones (my personal fave), let your imagination take you away.  I have a really hard time not scooping it out of the jar and eating it plain.  That might have happened once.  Or twice.

After it was all done, I took a basic muslin fabric and used holiday stamps to cover the lids.  So easy but looked nicer than plain lids with a label.