Honey Sweetened Apple Butter in the Crockpot
I love this recipe for easy honey apple butter. It is made in the crockpot with fresh apples, warm spices and honey for extra sweetness and flavor. The slow cooker does most of the work, no need to stand over the stove for hours. Full of fiber, vitamins and minerals this is one of the tastiest spreads around! Spread it on toast or biscuits, stir it into oatmeal, or tuck a few jars away for later.
Personally, I love fruit and apples are near the top of the list. As a beekeeper, I am always looking for delicious ways to use honey—and this apple butter recipe with honey is one of my fall favorite honey recipes.
Easy Apple Butter Recipe With Honey
Making apple butter in the crockpot is an easy way to turn fresh apples into a thick, flavorful spread. In this version, honey adds sweetness and its own special flavor while cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves provide the warm spices we expect in a good homemade apple butter.
Ingredients You’ll Need
In addition to some spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves), vanilla flavoring, brown sugar and water – you will need:
- apples
- honey
Best Apples to Use
Use a combination of sweet and tart apples when possible. Fuji, Jonagold, McIntosh and Liberty are all good choices.
But don’t let the “perfect” apple stop you—I often make apple butter when I realize a few apples on my counter need to be used before they become chicken food.
Choosing the Honey
You can use any variety or type of honey in this apple butter recipe. I also recommend raw honey – yes even in cooking-but use what you have. The common wildflower honey will work just fine.
There is really no need to search for expensive varieties of honey. It is providing a natural sweetness to the apple butter – but is not the main ingredient.
Equipment
- crockpot
This recipe is designed for the crockpot but of course you can use any method to cook and soften your apples. A crockpot or slow cooker takes a bit longer but doesn’t require as much over-sight as other cooking methods.
Making Apple Butter in the Crockpot
1. Prepare the apples: Wash the apples and let them dry. Leave the peel on for extra fiber (but you can cut them off if you prefer). Cut them into chunks – discard the seeds.
Then, dump them in your slow cooker and add the spices, honey and water. Stir well to combine and coat the apple chunks.
2. Place the top on your cooker and let them cook on 8-9 hours (on med – high). Check them every few hours – you will have to be the judge of whether or not to add more water. The juicier the apples – the less water you may need.
3. When everything is soft and ready, your ingredients will look much different – don’t worry. We are not done yet.
4. The best way to get a good smooth honey apple butter spread is to use a food processor to puree the mixture.
The goal is the mix all the ingredients into fine particles – you can use any type of mixer to accomplish this. (Also, depending on how long you cook them and whether or not you leave the peels in – you may not need to puree.)
Lastly, its time to jar it up and consider how you plan to store your crockpot honey apple butter.
Getting the Right Consistency
Apples vary quite a bit in moisture, so start with only 1/2 cup of water. Juicy apples may not need any more, while a drier mixture may need a little extra during cooking.
Your recipe will thicken after cooking when it cools.
However, even at 1/2 cup of water, I wanted my honey apple butter to be a bit thicker. I transferred it to a saucepan and heated it on the stove for just a bit to thicken it.
For the smoothest texture, use an immersion blender right in the crockpot. A food processor or regular blender works too—just use caution when handling the hot mixture.
Storage
Your fresh apple butter will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks in a tight sealing container – if you don’t eat it up sooner.
One way to store your special apple spread is to freeze it in small containers. Then, you can remove small portions at a time.
The other option is to preserve the apple butter using the boiling water canning method. This is a great option if you would like to give small jars of homemade honey apple butter for gifts!
This is what I do when I make this recipe. Those canned jar come in really handy (especially around Christmas) and it is not hard to do.
Caution: Canning note: For shelf-stable apple butter, use a tested canning recipe and follow current USDA/National Center for Home Food Preservation recommendations. Do not assume that changes in sweetener or ingredient amounts are safe for canning.
Ways to Use It
- spread on toast, biscuits or English muffins
- spoon over pancakes or waffles
- stir into oatmeal
- swirl into yogurt
- serve with pork
- add to a fall cheese board
- spread on your honey blueberry scones
- give refrigerated jars as homemade gifts
My Family Tradition
As a child, I always loved the time of year when my Granny made apple butter. Living near the South Carolina mountains, several trips to the apple orchards near Hendersonville, NC were annual events.
The scent of cinnamon, nutmeg and apples permeated the whole house. And, Granny would spend hours stirring that large pot of cooking apples.
She didn’t have a crockpot or slow cooker but thankfully today we have that option. I still think of her and her old wood stove anytime I make this apple spread.
FAQs
No, apple butter does not contain any butter. Instead this term is used to refer to the buttery consistency of the spread. In fact there are many different fruits you can use to make butter spreads.
The texture and taste is different. Apple butter is like a concentrate apple sauce. It is thicker and generally has more spices.
Yes. Honey adds sweetness as well as its own flavor. This recipe combines honey with apples and warm spices and cooks everything slowly in the crockpot.
No. You can leave the peels on and blend the cooked mixture until smooth, or peel the apples first if you prefer.
Apple varieties contain different amounts of moisture. Cook it longer to evaporate excess liquid, keeping in mind that the mixture will also thicken as it cools.
More Ways to Cook with Honey
Using honey in cooking is really easy. It is a great base for this recipe for homemade teriyaki sauce (flavorful but not too sweet).
Or, if you love flavored coffee drinks, whip up this honey bee latte that is sweetened with honey..
Other great ideas include honey glazed nuts such as : roasted honey almonds or glazed honey cashews.
And, if you have never tried cinnamon honey butter – well, you really should.
If baking is your thing, try this pumpkin pie sweetened with honey, it is so easy even I can do it. (And, I am a better beekeeper than cook. But hey – a woman needs to be versatile.
While working with your apple theme – don’t forget to consider homemade honey caramel apples.
Final Thoughts
I find this recipe not too sweet (but it could be sweeter). However, my husband loves it just like this as he says the flavor of the apples is not overwhelmed.
Making honey apple butter is a great way to use up apples that you may have on hand-before they spoil. And, what a tasty way to be frugal. Know any honey lovers that need a gift? Yes, please.
Honey Apple Butter (Crockpot Recipe)
The wonderful aroma will make you want to hurry the process but don't. The sweet spicy apple butter will be worth the wait.
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Read my disclosure.Equipment
Ingredients
- 5 pounds apples any type but mix of sweet and tart is good
- 2/3 cup honey
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoons nutmeg
- 3/4 teaspoons cloves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla flavoring
- 1/2 – 1 cup water
Instructions
- Wash apples and peel if desired (you can leave the peel on if you wish). Cut apples into large chunks – discarding the seeds.
- Place apples in a large crockpot with all of the other ingredients. Use a large spoon to stir well and coat the apples with the other ingredients. Start with 1/2 cup of water only.
- Add more water during cooking if the apple butter is too thick. Cook on low for 8-9 hours stirring occasionally.
- Once finished cooking, allow the mixture to cool for a short while then add to a food processor or use a blender. OR, if you have an immersion blender you can blend the ingredients right in the crock pot. Blend until smooth.
- Store your finished honey apple butter in a tight sealing container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.