I'm trying to make a dent in the medium-sized pile of apples I have in my kitchen. I have a peeler-corer-slicer which is great for some things like dried apple slices, but for this batch of apple butter I decided to try something even easier. All the vitamins are in the peels, right?
First I cut up the apples. My "lazy" way of doing this is to cut off one side, avoiding the core. Then cut off 3 more slices, leaving a rectangular core. I took a few bites off each core and then fed the rest to the chickens.
Next I blended up these chunks in the Vitamix blender. I had about 10 cups of the blended mixture.
I added 1/2 c. of sugar, 2 teaspoons of vanilla, 1 Tablespoon of cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves. Then I turned the crock pot on high and placed the lid on sideways so steam could escape.
My kitchen smells amazing and I've snooped a few spoonfuls that tasted great. I will update tomorrow with the finished results!
Finished product: I left the crock pot on high for about 4 hours, and then on low for about 4 hours, stirring occasionally. By this time it was about half the volume of when I started. I plan to freeze some and keep some in the fridge. Maybe next time I will try making a larger batch and canning it!
Now to keep at that pile of apples...we are about to eat German Apple Pancake for breakfast!
