Apple Butter

Total Time: 2 hrs 50 mins Preparation Time: 50 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 lbs apples (tart, cooking, cored and quartered, about 14 medium)
• 3 cups apple cider or 3 cups apple juice
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice, strained
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Recipe

• 1 in an 8- to 10-quart heavy pot combine apples and cider.
• 2 bring to boiling and reduce heat.
• 3 simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• 4 press apple mixture through a food mill or sieve until you have 7 1/2 cups. return pulp to pot.
• 5 stir in sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon.
• 6 bring to boiling and reduce heat.
• 7 cook, uncovered, over very low heat for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours or until very thick and mixture mounds on a spoon, stirring often.
• 8 ladle hot apple butter into hot, sterilized half-pint canning jars, leaving a 1/4 inch headspace.
• 9 wipe jar rims and adjust lids.
• 10 process filled jars in a boiling-water canner for 5 minutes (start timing when water returns to boiling).
• 11 remove jars from canner and cool on wire racks.

recipe

• 12 freezer directions: place pot of apple butter in a sink filled with ice water. stir mixture to cool. ladle into wide-mouth freezer containers, leaving a 1/2 inch head space. seal and label. freeze up to 10 months. apple butter might darken on freezing.