GUEST POST / APPLE BUTTER

Hi Friends, my name is Hannah and I'm filling in for the day while Taylor is off romping around Scandinavia! I usually post over at Whiskey Shores, where I share my work in textiles and some film photos. Today I thought I'd share one of my favorite things to make - Apple Butter! I know summer is in full swing, and apples won't be plentiful until the fall, but I just cracked open my last jar of apple butter, so making more has been on my mind.

Last fall I was gifted a whole bag of apples a family friend picked off her trees, there were so many I knew I couldn't eat them all before they went bad so I got started making butter.

First step is to peel, core and chop the apples into smaller pieces and throw them in a pot with enough water so they're just covered. Cook them until the apples are soft enough to mash, and at this point I put them in batches into my blender - you've got yourself some applesauce!

Once pureed I put everything back into the pots, added cinnamon and a little sugar. With the stove on a low heat I let the apples cook down, fair warning: once the butter gets going it really bubbles and pops, and makes a total mess.

Apple butter was literally flying across the kitchen, all over the floor, most of the way up the wall and beyond. Near the end I was dodging splatters and getting little burns all over, including in my hair.

I cooked it for somewhere near 12 hours? Something close to that, and when I was satisfied with the thickness of it I readied some jars and preserved the apple butter in a hot water bath.

This year I'm going to exclude the sugar all together, as mine was really sweet (but delicious, it's like apple pie in a jar) and maybe I'll try to vary the spice selection, throw in some cloves? And I'll definitely be using my crock-pot to minimize the mess.

Approximate recipe:

26 apples - peeled, cored, chopped

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cinnamon

yields about 6 pints

There you have it, how to make apple butter. A big thank you to Taylor for letting me share!