How to: Grandmere's Baked Apple Butter

Wash your apples first!

Remember the apples I picked? Many of them were made into Baked Apple Butter, the recipe from my grandmother, who we call Grandmere. Grandmere made this recipe for many years until a few years ago. Then my mom and my sister started taking over the task. This year was the first year I tried it. I attempted three batches, but my last batch turned out the best!

Let me share the steps with you.

Ingredients you will need:

- 12 lbs. of apples: Jonathan or Winesap (these are the kinds Grandmere prefers, I used Jonathan this time, but almost any kind will do)
- Sugar
- Grated rind and juice of 2 lemons
- 3 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1 cup port, claret, or dry white wine (I use whatever I have, in this case chardonnay)

I had more apples than fit in this pot. I had to do this step twice.

First, remove cores and cut apples into quarters. Place in a large pot and nearly cover with water. Cook gently until soft.

Garage sale find food mill.

Now you must turn the cooked apple quarters into pulp. A chinois strainer (such as these) is perhaps the easiest way to do this. I almost bought one from an antique store, but I had this manual food mill that had the same size holes, so I used it instead. It is frustrating to use sometimes, but it got the job done.

Processing through the strainer separates the "meat" of the apple from the peel. Your pulp will be similar to the consistency of apple sauce.

Next, measure the amount of pulp you have. For every cup of pulp, add 1/2 cup of sugar:

Time to add the spices.

To the whole recipe, add the amounts listed above.

Stir it in. This recipe is spicier than most store bought apple butters I've ever tried. I've grown up with spicy apple butter, so I prefer it this way.

Add the rind and juice of the lemons.

The next step I do not have a photograph for. Once you have mixed up all the above, add it back to a large pot and bring to a boiling point. (BE EXTRA CAREFUL NOT TO LET IT BURN ON THE BOTTOM! I still have not managed to remove the crust of burnt sugars from the bottom of my dutch oven from the LAST time I did this. DO NOT REPEAT THIS MISTAKE!)

After bringing to a boiling point, chill the whole thing. I don't know what purpose this serves, but it's written in the recipe so that's the way I do it.

Once chilled, stir in the cup of wine. Place 3/4 of the puree in a large heat proof pot. Keep the rest in reserve. Place the pot in a cold oven, set oven at 300 degrees F.

I borrowed this aluminum pot from the church.

Alternatively, you can skip the oven and use a slow cooker. But you must leave the lid cracked so moisture can escape, because you want to puree to cook down and thicken. My sister uses this method with great success. I was unhappy with how my first tries turned out in the crock pot, so I just stick with the old oven method.

Traditionally, all the steps above until this point are done in the afternoon and the baking is done overnight. This will require you to get up every few hours to stir.

Permit the apple butter to bake until it thickens. As the puree shrinks, fill the pot with the reserve apple puree.

When butter is thick but still moist, you are done!

Put into sterile jars. The family method is to top with paraffin. You may also can with a hot water bath. If you don't wish to can, freezing is an alternative method.

Grandmere's written recipe says this makes about five quarts. I did not get five quarts. I got 5 and 3/4 pints. My sister says that's about what she gets, too, so I'd say expect between two and three quarts.

What do we do with this delicious apple butter? Most commonly Jonathan and I enjoy it in the same way we do jelly--on peanut butter sandwiches. It is very delicious on homemade biscuits! Also, when I have pie crust scraps, I like to roll it out, spread some apple butter in the center, roll it up and bake it.

Feel free to ask me any questions. I had to ask my sister and my mom lots and lots of questions!

Enjoy!