Slow Cooker Apple Butter

I've trimmed down my apple endeavors for this year. Usually, I can apple pie filling, apple butter, apple sauce, and make a load of apple dumplings for friends, family, and our freezer. This year, I'm skipping the pie filling, cutting way down on the apple dumplings, and freezing the apple sauce. I have managed to get a batch of apple butter canned. I planned to make two batches, but with no less than seven neck pumpkins patiently waiting in the garage and the basil not-so-patiently waiting in the garden, I doubt that I'll get to batch number two. As promised, I'm sharing my slow cooker apple butter recipe. It's delicious and makes the house smell so amazing. It's heavy on sugar, but you could adjust it, depending on the sweetness of your apples. The hardest part is resisting the temptation to open the lid, just so you get a whoosh of that heavenly aroma:)

Slow Cooker Apple Butter

peeled, diced apples (to fill slow cooker)

4 cups sugar (I use evaporated cane juice crystals)

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 cup apple cider

{I love to use my Pampered Chef peeler for this. It peels, cores, and slices all at once. Plus, the slices are thin, so I can jam more apples in the pot:) I bought mine for $4 at a yard sale! My friend, Jill, knew I wanted one and called me when she spotted it. Friends rock.}

{Fill the Crock-Pot with apples. It will really cook down, so you want to get as many in there as possible.}

{Add the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and apple cider.}

{Cook on high 4 hours.}

{Turn it to low and cook for 8 hours longer. You can take the lid off during the last hour if you want to thicken the apple butter. It really cooks down!}

 {After cooking, ladle the apple butter (in small batches) into a food processor and pulse until smooth.}

 {Put in canning jars and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.}

Enjoy!

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