Gluten-Free Slow Cooking – Sweet Apple Butter

8 cups peeled, chopped apples (about 3 pounds, we used McIntosh)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg or 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves

1. Stir together all ingredients in the slow cooker crock. Cover and cook 4 hours on HIGH.

2. Stir well. Use an immersion blender to process the apple butter until smooth. Alternatively, the apple butter can be processed in a blender or food processor (be careful, it’s very hot) and returned to the slow cooker crock.

3. Prop lid open with a wood spoon and cook another 2 hours on HIGH. Remove lid and allow apple butter to cool in the crock.

4. Transfer apple butter to containers and refrigerate up to 1 month (or can or freeze to extend the shelf life).

Dairy Free

Cook’s Tip – Using an immersion blender, or stick blender, makes it easy to puree ingredients right in the cooking pot—no transferring hot food to a blender and back, risking messy (not to mention painfully hot) splatters. These handy little appliances are moderately priced, and often go on special sale around the holidays.

Ready for jars!
And the whole house smells like apple pie!