Oct 22, 2024

From Orchard To Apple Butter

One of my favorite fall traditions with the boys is heading out to the local farms and going apple picking. I started this with Sterling during the pandemic as one of the few outdoor activities that was actually still open. He was able to run freely through the rows, climb the ladders, pick and eat to his heart's content. It was such a needed day in nature, sans restrictions and boundaries. Though our lives are back to normal now, we return to the orchard each year for the same footloose and fancy free time together.

Last year, we decided to take our maternity photos during the annual apple picking outing. We have the prettiest early fall season here in Washington and what resulted are some of my all time favorite family pictures. (thank you, Matthew Land Studios!)

After picking, we always return home with such an abundance of fruit. We love apples, but have a hard time simply 'eating' alllllll of them. I had to figure out a way to get through the bounty. I found a recipe for apple butter in a memoire journal Matt's grandmother had written for the family (it's a gold mine for simple recipes that focus on using what you have in the kitchen and making things at home, the way it used to be done).

I have my doubts about the process every time I make it. Will the apples cook through? Will it be too runny? Should I add more water? But after a day of cooking, we always get a stock pot full of the most amazing apple butter.

Grandma Rasmus' Apple Butter

4 pounds of quartered and cored apples (I like to mix up the varieties and include some green apples for tartness)
3 cups of water
1 cup of apple cider vinegar
5 cups of sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp allspice
2 tsp ground cloves

Cook apples in water until soft. Add remaining ingredients except the vinegar. Cook on low for eight hours, stirring every half hour. Add the vinegar after four hours of cooking. After eight hours, allow to cool and blend with an immersion blender

(If you don't have one, a traditional blender would work as well) Pour into sterilized canning jars and seal.

Makes 8 six ounce jars.

I've made some adjustments to the recipe over the years (Sorry Grandma!)

Her original recipe was to bake the apple butter in the oven. I found with little kids always running through the kitchen. it was easier for me to cook it on the stove top for stirring and monitoring. It called for a colander to remove the peels after the apples are cooked and soft. Personally, I prefer just keeping it all in there and making it smooth with an immersion blender. I also doubled the spices and halved the vinegar. (the recipe above is my preferred version, adjusted from her original)

There are tons of variation options with the recipe too! I was out of apple cider vinegar when I made the recipe this year, so I subbed white vinegar. To provide some depth of flavor that the white vinegar would be lacking, I added 1/4 cup of bourbon and substituted some brown sugar in lieu of all white sugar. (Once the mixture is boiling, the alcohol will cook out) Matt's cousin gifted us some cranberry apple butter when we were in Iowa, which was also amazing!

This recipe could be easily adapted for pumpkin butter too!