Crock-Pot Apple Butter

Move aside, avocado toast—once fall rolls around, homemade apple butter is our new go-to breakfast enhancer. Packed with apple flavor and warming spices, this spread is the perfect way to add a boost of fall flavor to almost any breakfast. While you can make apple butter on the stovetop, using your slow cooker is the easiest way to create this spread at home. Simply toss all of your ingredients in and let them break down for several hours, creating a smooth, caramelized spread—no extra stirring or careful watching of the pot required! Here’s everything you need to know:

Apple butter vs. applesauce.
Apple butter is essentially a further reduced applesauce. The apples are cooked for longer with apple butter than with applesauce—this gets rid of more moisture, allowing the apples to almost caramelize. After they turn deeply golden and begin to fall apart, the mixture is blended until very smooth, creating a thick spread made for topping bread, dipping, and more!

The best apples to use for apple butter:
Any of your favorite types of apples will work to make apple butter. Sweeter apples will make a sweeter butter, but we love mixing sweet and tart apples together. Red delicious apples are one of our go-to picks—they’re not very crisp, so they break down particularly well, making them an ideal pick alongside sweeter apples like Fuji, Gala, or Red Delicious.

How to make smooth apple butter:
While it will be tempting to cook your apple butter on high for a shorter amount of time, we don't recommend it. Cooking it on low for a much longer time is what allows the butter to thicken to that desired consistency. If you are in a pinch and need a shorter cook time, you can cook it on high for 6 hours, but expect a thinner apple butter. 

Serving ideas.
We love slathering apple butter over our sourdough toast, but your options don’t stop there. Spread it on your French toast, fluffy potato rolls and biscuits, or dip graham crackers in for the ultimate fall dip. The bottom line? Use it anytime you want to add a fall boost to your meal.

Storage.
Once made, this apple butter should be kept in an airtight container in the fridge, where it will stay good for around a week. Want to enjoy it even longer? You can also freeze your apple butter for up to 8 months! 

Have you made this yet? Let us know what you think in the comments below!