Slow-Cooker Cran-Apple Butter
Oct 08, 2012, Updated Sep 27, 2017
Smooth, spiced apple butter has become an integral part of autumn around here, with alternating flavorings such as vanilla bean, cinnamon, and cardamom taking turns jazzing up the fruit spread.
This year Iโve been obsessed with mixed fruit butters, like this blueberry-plum, and couldnโt get the thought of adding fresh cranberries to my apple butter out of my head. It turns out that the tangy, deep red preserve is one of the prettiest and most flavorful of them all.
My natural sweetener of choice for the cranberry-apple butter is maple syrup, but you could certainly use honey and still have it unprocessed. The recipe needs a sweetener, as it helps with the preservation of the finished produce, but it doesnโt need much, because weโve concentrated the natural sweetness of the apples by cooking the liquid out of them.
Fruit butters can be reduced on the stovetop or even in the oven, but the benefit of using a slow cooker is that you donโt have to stand over it, or even keep an eye on it, really. Mine steamed and slowly splattered away while I ran errands and picked up the kids from school.
If you donโt want to bother with the hot water bath, you can certainly freeze the cran-apple butter or store it for up to three weeks in the refrigerator.
As for me, weโre going apple picking on the weekend and Iโll be making another couple of batches. This fruit butter seems too festive not to give out as gifts for Christmas.
Slow-Cooker Cran-Apple Butter
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds fresh organic cranberries, about 7 cups, well washed
- 5 pounds organic Cortland apples, or other sauce apple such as Empire, Fuji, McIntosh, or Spartan
- 1 cup apple cider or unsweetened cranberry juice
- 1 cup pure maple syrup
- optional: 1 tablespoon cinnamon, or 2 vanilla beans, split
Instructions
- Wash apples well, then core them and cut into quarters. There's no need to peel them, we will sieve everything later, plus, the skins add color and pectin to the butter.
- Combine apples and cranberries in a large, heavy bottom pot. Donโt worry if they donโt quite fit and fill it to near overflowing; they will cook down in a few minutes.
- Add apple cider, then partially cover with a lid and place the pot over medium heat.
- After about 15 minutes, use a sturdy wooden spoon to stir up the softened apples at the bottom and distribute the heat. Be careful, as the cranberries like to jump out of the pot and roll away!
- After 15 more minutes, reduce the heat to medium-low and stir again. The contents will start looking like a bloody Halloween cauldron, but donโt worry.
- Continue to cook on medium low for about another 45 minutes (for a total of 1 hour and 15 minutes of cooking) Stir occasionally as the fruit breaks down, scraping the bottom of the pot to avoid scorching.
- Remove from heat and give one final big stir. Apples may still hold some of their shape, but the flesh will be soft. Place a sieve or chinoise (you can use fine-mesh if you like) over the bowl of your slow-cooker and, working in batches, press all the cooked fruit through the sieve with the back of a ladle. Discard the solids.
- What you have now is velvety, blush-colored cranberry applesauce. (Moms may want to reserve a little aside for any babies at this point before the sweeteners are added.)
- Now is when we will add sweeteners and flavors (if using), there is no point in sweetening the skins and materials that we will discard! Stir in the maple syrup and any spices such as cinnamon, green cardamom, or vanilla bean. Turn slow cooker onto low, cover with lid, and set for 8 hours.
- Once the butter begins to bubble, crack the lid open slightly so the steam can evaporate. This helps the fruit butter to reduce. Over the cooking time, you can give the butter an occasional stir.
- Once the cran-apple butter is a nice spreadable consistency (remember it will thicken more as it cools) it is ready to be preserved.
- Ladle the hot fruit butter into clean hot jars and wipe rims with a clean cloth. Apply sterilized lids and jar rings, and process in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes (starting the time when the water returns to a boil). (See Canning 101: The Basics for further instructions, if needed)
- When the time is up, remove the jars from the water and let them cool on a towel-lined countertop. When the jars are cool to the touch, check the seals by removing the rings and lifting the jars by the edges of the lid. A good seal means that the lid will hold fast.
- Label your jars and mark the date. Store in a cool, dark place for up to six months.
Which size of jars are you basing your boiling water processing time of 20 minutes on? (Sorry if I missed it, but I couldn’t find that detail in the recipe.)
This sounds amazing! And love that second shot. I can’t wait until cranberries are in the stores again. I’ve made loads of apple sauce lately but haven’t tried apple butter yet. Love the combination of flavors. ๐
I’m so excited. I’ve started collecting a few mason jars and I’m ready to jump into making some tasty treats. This look delicious!
looks so delicious Aimee! I wish I had some on toast right now!
Hi! Could I do this without the cranberries? Or do they provide pectin? I just don,t have any on hand and would love to make this today….
Thanks!
Hi Mika, Sure! You can rock this recipe with only apples. It will still be delicious, just more — brown. The cranberries give it a nice pink color.
This looks like the perfect companion to leftover turkey for a sandwich! A wonderful friend just delivered homemade apple butter this weekend…yeah!
I’m pulling my crock pot out tonight to make a batch this week! Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe. I love the addition of maple syrup and this butter will definitely be on our Thanksgiving menu.