Slow Cooker Apple Butter

I love Apple Butter. Yum. What's even better? Making it yourself =D
For the first time ever, I made Apple Butter AND water bath canned it!
Honestly I was kind of reluctant to try such an endeavor. With no canning supplies at all, except the jars and lids my sweet Mother In-Law gave me, and MUCH research, I set out on the adventure of making Apple Butter - in a slow cooker - and then canned it =D
Here are the results!

Here's how I made mine in pictures =)
Makes ~ 4 & 1/2 pints

Supplies:

• Jars and lids
• Large pot
• Dishtowel
• 6qt Slow Cooker
• Ladle
• Spatula
• Apple-Peeler-Corer-Slicer (optional, but an incredible time saver)
• Large Bowls
• Whisk

Ingredients:

• Apples; enough to fill your slow cooker very full
• 2 cups Sugar (more or less depending on your tastes)
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
• 1/4 tsp Salt

Peel, core and slice your apples (this is where the Apple-Peeler-Corer-Slicer comes in handy!). Fill the cooker VERY full. The apples almost touched the lid. In a bowl combine the sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt, mix well and then spread over top of the apples. Cover and cook on low for about 10 hours. I put mine in about 7pm, stirred it once at 12am and once before I went to bed about 4am and by 12pm the next day they were ready to can. If the mixture is too watery, leave the lid ajar for an hour or two.

Prepping the jars. I sterilized them for 10 minutes in boiling water. Yes, that is a dishtowel in the bottom of the pot =P

After Sterilizing I placed them upside down to keep warm until I was ready to fill them.

Warming up the lids. I brought the water just up to a boil and then turned off the burner and let them sit there in water until I was ready to use them.

My work space =)

Fill the jars leaving a 1/4 inch head space. Remove the air bubbles, wipe the tops of the jars off with a damp towel or paper towel. Place the seals on and finger tighten the rings on the jars.

Place the jars in the warm water and cover the jars with about 1-2 inches of water. Boil for 10 minutes.
Remove the jars and place on dish towel to cool. Once you hear that wonderful *ping* sound you know you've done your job well =D All that's left to do is enjoy the fruits of your labor!

For more detailed instructions on canning please visit: http://www.simplycanning.com
And at this LINK you can find more detailed instructions on the Apple Butter process.

Have a great weekend! Happy Labor Day =)

~E