Slow Cooker Maple & Bourbon Apple Butter is such a wonderful - and easy - way to enjoy apples. Just prep the apples and let your slow cooker do all the work. While it cooks, your house will fill up with all of the beautiful aromas of Fall - apples, cinnamon, maple, and bourbon.
We love any chance to have apple pie, apple crisp, or applesauce and this apple butter tastes just like a flavorful bite of the delicious filling of a pie. Spread it on your favorite biscuits and have a nibble of apple pie for breakfast.
🥘 Ingredient Notes
- Sweet Apples - Gala, Honeycrisp, and Macintosh are best.
- Cinnamon (Optional cinnamon sticks as well.)
- Vanilla Extract
- Bourbon - I like to use Bulleit Bourbon and have also used Woodford Reserve, but you can use your favorite bourbon - whatever you have in the house. You can also use apple juice or apple cider if you do not consume alcohol.
- Maple Syrup
- Nutmeg
- Ground Cloves
- Kosher Salt
* Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredient amounts & instructions!
🍽 Equipment Needed
- A Slow Cooker or Large Pot
- A KitchenAid Spiralizer or Paring Knife/Cutting Board
- A Rubber Spatula
- An Immersion Blender, Regular Blender, or Food Processor
- Measuring Cups and Measuring Spoons
- Mason Jars for Storing
🥣 How to Make It
Apple butter is really easy to make - the time-consuming part is peeling and cutting up all of your apples. I like to use the spiralizer attachment for my KitchenAid Mixer - it makes little piles of apple rings, and then I just roughly slice the piles into quarters. It takes a LOT less time.
If you do not have the mixer attachment, use a sharp paring knife to remove the skin from the apples - if you leave a little on, it's okay. Next, cut the apples into quarters around the core, then roughly cut the meat of the apples into thin slices.
Once apples are peeled and cut up, just add all of your ingredients to your slow cooker and mix it all together. Top with a cinnamon stick if you want. (Pictures 1 - 5)
Cover and cook on low for 8 - 10 hours or on High for 4 - 5 hours, stirring halfway through the cooking process. (Picture 7) The apples will get a little softer and they will smell like boozy cider. (Picture 8)
When 8 hours (on low) or 4 hours (on high) has elapsed the apples should be really soft. (Picture 8) Use an immersion blender to puree the apples. (Picture 9) (If you do not have an immersion blender, transfer the apples to a blender or a food processor and carefully blend them up. Blending hot ingredients is dangerous, so be careful that you don't burn yourself.)
Return the blended apples to the hot crockpot. At this point, you will basically have thick applesauce (you can stop here if you want applesauce - it is REALLY yummy!) (Picture 10)
The last step is to turn the heat off but leave the lid on the crockpot and let it sit for one more hour. The residual heat will thicken the butter up and make it so good.
After an hour has passed, stir the butter and transfer to jars. Let the butter cool and store it in the refrigerator. It will keep for about three weeks or you can freeze it for 3 to 4 months (just make sure to leave room in your jars for expansion.)
🙋♀️ Frequently Asked Questions
Of course. If you don't want to use bourbon, replace it with apple juice or apple cider - just reduce the amount of maple that you use as the juice will add sugar and the apple butter will get very sweet.
Unfortunately, no. This recipe has not been tested for canning.
Contrary to what you might think, you want to use sweet apples for making apple butter, unlike baking, where you use more tart apples like Granny Smith. For apple butter, I like to use Gala, Honey Crisp (favorite), Macintosh, or Fuji. Red or Golden Delicious apples are sweet and flavorful as well - almost like honey, but I have noticed that they are a little juicier, so if you use these varieties, you might need to cook your apples longer to get them to fully thicken up into butter.
🍳 Serving Suggestions & Uses
I love apple butter spread onto homemade drop biscuits, banana bread, or even pancakes. I even like mixing apple butter INTO pancake batter or cookies - sometimes I even eat it off a spoon or use it to make apple butter pop-tarts.
🥫 Storage/Shelf Life/Reheating
Apple butter will keep in the fridge for 3 weeks or in the freezer for 3 to 4 months. If freezing, remember to leave a little bit of space in the jar. Also, remember that it is not shelf-stable, so if you give this apple butter as a gift, you must be sure that it is kept cold.
✏️ Helpful Tips
- Make apple butter early in the day so that it has plenty of time to cool before you need to put it away.
- You can prepare this apple butter long in advance of needing to use it and store it in the freezer, allowing 24 hours in the refrigerator to defrost. (Stir before serving as it might separate while defrosting.)
- If you taste the apples before blending them up - they are SO good. You can eat them as stewed apples, puree some as maple bourbon applesauce, or as the recipe suggests - continue cooking to make apple butter!
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Maple and Bourbon Apple Butter - Slow Cooker
Equipment
- a wide mouth mason jar
- paring knife
Ingredients
- 3 pounds apples, sliced Sweet Apples - Gala, Honeycrisp, or Macintosh - NOT Granny Smith
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup bourbon or substitute apple cider/juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ cup maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
Optional
- 1 - 2 cinnamon sticks
Instructions
Peel and Dice Your Apples
- Begin by peeling and cutting up all of the apples. I like to use the attachment for my KitchenAid Mixer - it makes little piles of apple rings, and then I just slice the piles into quarters. It takes a LOT less time.
- If you do not have the mixer attachment, use a sharp paring knife to remove the skin from the apples - if you leave a little on, it's okay.
- Next, cut the apples into quarters around the core, then roughly cut the meat of the apples into thin slices.
In a Slow Cooker
- Once apples are peeled and cut up, just add all of your ingredients to your slow cooker.
- Mix it all together and top with a cinnamon stick if you want.
- Cover and cook on low for 8 - 10 hours or on High for 4 - 5 hours, stirring halfway through the cooking process. The apples will get a little softer and they will smell like boozy cider.
- When 8 hours (on low) or 4 hours (on high) has elapsed the apples should be really soft.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the apples. (If you do not have an immersion blender, transfer the apples to a blender or a food processor and carefully blend them up. Blending hot ingredients is dangerous, so be careful that you don't burn yourself.)
- Return the blended apples to the hot crockpot. At this point, you will basically have thick applesauce (you can stop here if you want applesauce - it is REALLY yummy!)
- The last step is to turn the heat off but leave the lid on the crockpot and let it sit for one more hour. The residual heat will thicken the butter up and make it so good.
- After an hour has passed, stir the butter and transfer to jars. Let the butter cool and store it in the refrigerator. It will keep for about three weeks or you can freeze it for 3 to 4 months (just make sure to leave room in your jars for expansion.)
On the Stove
- Add all ingredients to a large pot or dutch oven and bring the heat to medium/medium-low. Once the liquids start to boil/bubble, stir and reduce heat to low.
- Let apples cook for 45 minutes - 1 hour, stirring every 15 - 20 minutes.
- After 1 hour, the apples should be really soft. If they are not, cook for another 30 minutes.
- Next, use an immersion blender to puree the apples. (If you do not have an immersion blender, transfer the apples to a blender or a food processor and carefully blend them up. Blending hot ingredients is dangerous, so be careful that you don't burn yourself.)
- Return the blended apples to the warm pot. At this point, you will basically have thick applesauce (you can stop here if you want applesauce - it is REALLY yummy!)
- Turn the heat off but leave the lid on the pot and let it sit on the burner for one more hour. The residual heat will thicken the butter up and make it so good.
- After an hour has passed, stir the butter and transfer to jars. Let the butter cool and store it in the refrigerator. It will keep for about three weeks or you can freeze it for 3 to 4 months (just make sure to leave room in your jars for expansion.)
Notes
- Make apple butter early in the day so that it has plenty of time to cool before you need to put it away.
- You can prepare this apple butter long in advance of needing to use it and store it in the freezer, allowing 24 hours in the refrigerator to defrost. (Stir before serving as it might separate while defrosting.)
- If you taste the apples before blending them up - they are SO good. You can eat them as stewed apples, puree some as maple bourbon applesauce, or as the recipe suggests - continue cooking to make apple butter!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is approximate and is automatically calculated, so should only be used as a guide.
Please let me know what you think about the recipe :)