Hello everyone!

I know the Apple Butter Recipe was posted in or around the Christmas gifts thread but, I have searched and cannot find it now. That's the way it is when you need something!!

Can someone direct me in the right direction for this recipe? I am interested in trying it before committing myself to making it for gifts.

Thanks!!!

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Amanda

bump......

I would LOVE to have this recipe too!

Is it this one?

I also made Caramel Apple Butter for gifts for teachers and office staff at school. Even some of the family received this too. It's very easy and made in the crockpot. Peel, core, slice apples (I fill my crockpot), sprinkle cinnamon and ginger on top, cook on low all day. After the apples cook down and are mushy I blend them with a stick blender in the crockpot, add an entire bag of caramels and turn cp to high and cook with the lid off. After the caramels have melted into the apples I put it into 1/2 pint jars and process on the top of the stove. It can be used either cold on toast, ets or served warmed over ice cream. Yummmmmm.......

Otherwise there is a stickly in the frugal living, money saving ideas forum. It's the first thread.

Chris

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Here is the crockpot caramel apple butter reciepe I used. Buy plenty of apples. I made two batches and each time I had to go out and get more apples...
http://www.thatsmyhome.com/general/c...ple-butter.htm

I also made this Pumpkin Butter one. I'm not a pumpkin person, but this ended up great. It is very sweet, but good. I may reduce the sugar next time, or I may not
http://www.thatsmyhome.com/general/pumpkin-butter.htm

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Mom to Kaylee (10/2006)
Waiting on our second bundle of joy to arrive January 2009!

I made regular apple butter last week (one of DH's coworkers sent home 40 lbs of apples with him!!). It was really easy- very similar to the caramel apple butter. I just peeled and cored the apples and put them in my crockpot with sugar, cinnamon and a little nutmeg. I put it on low setting for 10 hours overnight. When I got up the next morning, I used a mixer to get rid of all the chunks and then put them in the jars and did a water bath process. With the sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon, I didnt really measure it out; after I was done mixing it, I tasted it to see what it needed more of and added it until it tasted right.

Question...what is a water bath process? I think I might try making the apple butter for my kids teachers this year. What kind of apples are the best to use?
Thanks.

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Heather
Mom to three dd 14, ds 8, dd 5

YUM!!! YUM!!! I just went to this site and they had so many choices of "butters" and marmalades, etc. to make, and they all looked so good!!! p

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bump.........I just bought a pressure canner this summer, and haven't even taken it out of the box yet. I bought it to try to make spaghetti sauce from my garden, but didn't find the time to.

Please explain, becasue i would love to make this for teachers gifts this year.

I used granny smith apples- most ot the recipies I have call for either granny smith, mcintosh, courtland, empire or beacon for best results.

A water bath is a canning method used to seal the jars. A traditional water bath pot is huge- I'm not sure exactly how big, but I would say at least 8 gallons of water. The water has to be boiling before you put the jars in. Theres a rack in the inside that keeps the jars from touching the bottom of the pot and handles attached to the rack so that when you're done processing the jars, you can just putt the rack out with the jars on it. It taks forever to get it to boil.

I have found an easier alternative- I have a 12qt pasta pot that has the long strainer in it. The strainer keeps the jars from touching the bottom and its still easy to pull out- and its uses a LOT less water and boils a lot faster. If you dont have a water bath or a pasta pot like this, you can use stockpot with a baking rack in the bottom and use tongs to get the jars out when they're done. The main thing is that the jars dont touch the bottom of the pot and that they're completely covered by the water. For the apple butter, they have to be in the boiling water for 20 minutes. Once they're pulled out of the water, they'll usually seal within 30 minutes at the very most. If they dont seal, you have to reprocess them.

A water bath canner is different from a pressure canner. They both have the same result in the end, but a pressure canner can be very dangerous if its not used right or if theres even the slightest thing wrong with the seals and gaskets. I have both and have never even touched the pressure canner. I've heard too many bad things that have happened that I just stick w/ my water bath method.