Red Hot Apple Butter

Ingredients

• 5 pounds Sweet Apples, Peeled And Cored
• 2-½ cups Water (or Apple Juice)
• 2 cups Granulated Sugar
• ½ cups Brown Sugar
• 1-½ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• ½ teaspoons Ground Nutmeg
• ½ teaspoons Ground Allspice
• 1 pinch Salt
• ½ cups Red Hot Candies
• 2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar

Preparation Instructions

Place the apples, water, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, salt, and red hots in your slow cooker.

Put the lid on and cook on high for 2 hours, until apples soften. Puree the apples until smooth. I like to use my immersion blender for easy, mess free blending. Add the 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar and cook on low for another 8-10 hours, stirring occasionally until mixture becomes thick and turns dark brown.

Depending on how sweet your apples are, you may need to use more or less sugar. The general rule is 1/2 cup sugar for every 1 cup of apple sauce. If your apple butter becomes thicker than you’d like, add a little water or apple juice to thin it out as desired.

Makes enough to fill 4 half-pint mason jars.