It’s a beautiful morning in the mountains of Kentucky! I love taking early morning walks and listening to the sounds of the mountains waking up! To me, there’s nothing more inviting than hearing our roosters crowing their early morning wake up calls, listening to the doves gently cooing a peaceful call from the tree-tops, and hearing the creek water flowing over the time-worn stones. This type of morning was especially inviting and therapeutic today after a long day of working in fresh picked apples yesterday!

Entrance to Haney’s Apple Farm in Nancy, Kentucky

A couple of days ago, we decided to visit Haney’s Apple Farm located in Nancy Kentucky. I want to take a few minutes to give a shout out to this exceptional family owned and run business. The grounds were beautiful, clean, had a nice large variety of ready to pick apples, already picked apples, and many more apple related products, and treats. The prices were affordable and they had a friendly and informative staff on hand to answer all of our questions. After we picked three bushels of apples, we enjoyed eating a delicious homemade fried apple pie in a quainte little café located at the entrance of the farm. All in all, it was a memorable day of picking apples in preparation of making and canning apple butter, as well as a few other family favorites. I’ll share those favorite recipes in future posts, but for now…let’s make apple butter!

Beautiful crisp Molly apples at Haney’s Apple Farm

My family enjoying a day of picking apples

You will need the following ingredients & tools to make and can your apple butter.

Ingredients

One half bushel Apples of choice (I’ve used a variety of apples. Most work well, but I didn’t like using the Granny Smith apples for apple butter)
3 cups of white sugar
1 cup of brown sugar
3 tablespoons of ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons of ground all spice
2 tablespoons of ground cloves
2 tablespoons of Real Fruit (I use the little or no sugar and pectin type)
the juice of two lemons
3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
Keep in mind that you can season to suit your own taste. After adding these ingredients taste and add additional spice if necessary.
Tools

One dozen pint jars with bands and flats
Large stock pot
Crock pot
Food processor
Water Bath stove top canner

1.) Wash and rinse jars, bands, and flats in warm soapy water. Next you will need to sterilize jars, flats, and bands. This can either be done by using the dishwasher with hot water, placed in the oven for ten minutes on medium-high heat, or boiling for ten minutes.

2.) While your jars are sterilizing, peel and slice one half bushel of apples. Place apple slices in the stock pot and add water. Cook over medium-high heat until apples are tender, not soggy. The apples will swell up and rise when ready, so allow room for expansion.

3.) Turn off apples and transfer softened apples to a food processor. This might take several attempts to work through all of the apples. Process the still warm apples in the food processor by pulsing a few times. The apples will look similar to apple sauce.

If you don’t have a food processor you can use a blender or any other kitchen gadget that chops, such as a ninja or bullet.

4.) Transfer each container of warm diced apples to a clean crock pot. Turn the crock pot on high.

5.) Now you are ready to add your spices. Remember, you can add additional spices to suit your own taste. Some people prefer more cinnamon, while others like more all spice. That’s totally up to you. Once your spices have been added, stir well and cover with a lid. You will need to stir frequently while cooking for four hours. Your apple butter will get darker each time you stir it. Again, add extra seasoning after taste-testing your apple butter if necessary. I always start with the amount I have listed above and sprinkle or add as the apple mixture cooks until I reach the taste that I prefer.

The apple butter will become darker  as you add spices and cook it.

6.) After the apples have been seasoned to taste and cooked for four hours, turn the crock pot off. Next, you will transfer your apples back to the food processor. I prefer using my Ninja for this stage, simply because the apple butter pours out into the jars easier. Either device will produce the same results. You will pulse the warm seasoned apples a couple of times to achieve the desired smoothness. It will not take very long as the apples are soft and easily processed.

7.) Once the desired consistency is achieved transfer the warm apple butter to jars and wipe the rim. Place flats and bands on the jars. Now your are ready to process your apple butter in a water bath in your canner. (My daughter doesn’t have a canner, so she uses a large stock pot to can in. She places a dish towel on the bottom of the canner and rolled up wash clothes between the jars to prevent the jars from bumping. It works just as well.)

8.) Process the jars in boiling water for twenty minutes. Remember the water must be over top of the jars. After processing carefully remove jars with a jar lifter and place them on a bath towel to cool. You will immediately begin to hear the beautiful popping sound that we love to hear! Once the jars have cooled add dates to the flats and check bands to ensure tightness.

Now you are ready for the job of cleaning up, and a little rest and relax with a good book! You deserve it! I hope you and your family enjoy this delicious apple butter as much as my family does. I can’t wait to share more canning recipes with you soon. I also have a few dried fruit recipes, and much more to share with you. Feel free to share my blog site and recipes with others. I also welcome your comments! Remember you can follow me on twitter, facebook, pinterest, or follow me at http://ahealthiermesimpleandclean.com

I look forward to hearing from each of you! I love feedback!