Best Homemade Apple Butter

Name: Best Homemade Apple Butter
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 6 large apples; Enough sugar to lightly coat the diced apples or according to your sweetness preference (you do need SOME, though); Light sprinkle of cinnamon; Half teaspoon or so of vanilla, depending on the size of the batch (I used a splash for the pictured batch)

Hilary @LadyHeyoka

A lot of people have never heard of apple butter before, so let me tell you it's super easy to make, a great way to use apples, and can be used in a million ways; on toast/English muffins, on pancakes/waffles, topping for ice cream, even a lower-sugar alternative for PB&Js.. or dip crackers in it for a snack!
Sky's the limit!
This can be made small or big batches, you can adjust the sugar to your taste.. so feel free to modify the recipe to your liking. I'm going to share the amounts of ingredients that I used for a small batch as pictured. I don't recommend freezing it but it'll last in the fridge up to a week.
I recommend using a crock pot because this needs to cook for at least 8 hours, but it CAN be done on stovetop, just be careful to monitor it.
Enjoy!

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Ingredients

6 large apples
Enough sugar to lightly coat the diced apples or according to your sweetness preference (you do need SOME, though)
Light sprinkle of cinnamon
Half teaspoonor so of vanilla, depending on the size of the batch (I used a splash for the pictured batch)

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Steps

1

Notes: Apples; I prefer red bcuz to me they're sweeter than green.. I used 6 large apples that yielded a generous cup's worth as pictured
Cinnamon intensifies with cooking, so start lightly, you can always add more later
2
3

Core, peel and dice your apples; the size of dice isn't important but I recommend 1-inch cubes
4

In a large bowl, place the diced apples and sprinkle with enough sugar to coat, then sprinkle the cinnamon very lightly
5

Stir to coat the apples, then add the splash of vanilla, stir again... then pour them into the crockpot, then put the lid on.. it's okay to completely fill the crockpot
6

Turn the crock's temperature to high, then walk away and watch tv or go to work or go to bed.. you have an 8-hour window
7

After about 8 hours, check on your crock.. stir if you want but it's not necessary; you'll know the batch is done when it's reduced to half its size and the apples are mushy (see picture)..notice how dark it is, that's not from the cinnamon, it's from the apples being so cooked down as seen from the residue ring
8

Let the mixture cool a little before puréing (either with a potato masher, an immersion blender or food processor/blender).. and this can be eaten warm or cold; it may get a little liquidy as it sits in the fridge overnight but it's fine, it's because it's not stuffed with additives that keep it thick.. just stir it
Hope you enjoy!