Spiced Apple Butter
Apple butter is basically what happens when you take applesauce… and keep going! Hours of low-and-slow cooking turn spiced apple puree into a dark, glossy, thick butter that’s perfect for toast, waffles, pancakes, cheese boards, and more.
This spiced apple butter is made with cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cardamom, nutmeg, a little clove, and vanilla! It tastes like October in a jar.
It’s built on Ball’s tested apple butter recipe, which means it’s safe for water bath canning and perfect for making a few batches now to enjoy later (and for gifting!).
See below for step-by-step tips and how to water bath can it, or head to the full recipe below.
Why I love this recipe
It’s not Fall unless we’ve been apple picking! Aside from eating them whole, we use apples in my canned applesauce, apple pie bars, and freeze a few apple pies for the upcoming holidays.
The spice blend is what takes the basic apple butter and sets it over the top, especially the addition of cardamom, which is floral and a little citrusy and makes the whole jar taste a bit warmer. I also add vanilla to the butter, so it stays bright and very fragrant!
It’s such a good gift, especially with a loaf of no-knead bread or my apple scones.
Ingredient Notes
- Apples: I like a mix of apples; I like Granny Smith for brightness, along with a little Gala or Honeycrisp for sweetness. Any apple variety will work!
- Sugar: Sugar is needed for this recipe, as it changes how thick the apple butter gets, and the thickness changes how fast the heat reaches the center of the jar when canned. This recipe has no pectin, so you need sugar to set the apple butter properly. I don’t recommend omitting it, both for texture and for canning safety.
- Bottled Lemon Juice: Use bottled lemon juice, not fresh lemon juice, because a fresh lemon’s acidity varies with variety, ripeness, growing conditions, and storage. You need bottled lemon juice to ensure enough acidity for canning safety.
- Spices: I use a good mix here for a really yummy apple butter: cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, cardamom, nutmeg, and vanilla! Since the spices don’t affect pH, you can adjust them to your taste.
How to Make Apple Butter
Step 1: Prep the Apples
Core the apples and cut them into quarters. Peeling is optional, especially if you use a food mill or food strainer, which removes the skins for you and saves a lot of time on four pounds of apples.
Step 2: Cook the Apples
Add the apples and water to a large saucepan. It will seem like there isn’t enough water, but there is! Don’t be tempted to add more, or your apple butter will take a lot longer to cook and may be too thin. Simmer until the apples are completely soft.
Step 3: Puree
Run the apple mixture through an electric food strainer, a food mill, or an immersion blender. Measure 2 quarts of apple pulp and put it back in the saucepan. The lemon and the sugar are proportioned to 2 quarts of pulp, so it’s important to measure. Because the apples may have released more water, you want to make sure to measure the 2 quarts and then either enjoy the rest or freeze it!
Step 4: Add the sugar, lemon juice and spices
Stir in the sugar, bottled lemon juice, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, cardamom, and nutmeg. Stir until the sugar is dissolves and then cook over medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent it from sticking or burning at the bottom. The apple butter will sputter and splatter as it thickens, but that’s normal. If you have a splatter screen, use it here!
It’s ready when it’s thick enough to mound onto a spoon. The National Center for Home Food Preservation gives two good ways to check:
- Spoon test: Lift out a spoonful and hold it away from the steam for 2 minutes. It’s done if the butter stays mounded on the spoon.
- Plate test: Spoon a little onto a plate. It’s ready when no rim of liquid separates around the edge.
If it gets too thick, stir in a small amount of water or apple juice to bring it back to a spreadable consistency. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
How to Can Using a Water Bath Canner
Have your canner hot and your jars warm before the apple butter is done.
Ladle the hot apple butter into a hot jar, leaving ¼-inch headspace. The apple butter should be thick, but that also means it will trap air, so slide a bubble remover or thin spatula around the inside of the jar a few times and recheck your headspace. Wipe the rim clean, center the lid, and apply the band fingertip tight. Place the jar in the canner and repeat until all jars are filled.
Process half-pints or pints for 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off the heat, remove the canner lid, and let the jars stand 5 minutes. Remove the jars and cool 12 to 24 hours. Check the seals. You can remove the band to check or press in the center as a sealed lid won’t flex when you press the center.
If you have any jars that didn’t seal, then reprocess them or just place them in the fridge to enjoy right away.
| Altitude | Process Time (half-pints or pints) |
|---|---|
| 0-1,000 feet | 15 minutes |
| 1,001 – 3,000 feet | 20 minutes |
| 3,001-6,000 feet | 25 minutes |
| 6,001-8,000 feet | 30 minutes |
| 8,001-10,000 feet | 35 minutes |
Expert Tips for Success
- Measure the pulp, not the apples: The recipe is built on 2 quarts of purée, which you’ll get from 4 pounds of apples, but because the moisture of apples varies, you need to measure after you puree them.
- Stir often: As the apple butter thickens, it will scorch easily on the bottom of the pan. If that happens, lower the heat and make sure to stir the apple butter often.
- Check for doneness: When your apple butter is done, spoon a little of the apple butter onto a plate; it’s ready when there isn’t a rim of liquid on the edge.
- Add the vanilla last: Stir the vanilla right before canning to help keep as much flavor as possible.
- Remove the air: Thick apple butter can trap bubbles. Take an extra pass with the bubble remover or a knife/thin spatula to remove any air bubbles
- Use pints or half pints: This recipe is tested for both pints and half pints; I like half pints for gifting, but you can use either size.
Safe Substitutions
When it comes to water bath canning, there are some things that are safe to change, and some that aren’t. For the full framework, see my guide to safe substitutions in canning.
Safe to change
- The spice blend: The types and amounts of dried spices can be changed in this tested recipe. You can add more cinnamon, skip the cloves, try star anise or mace. It’s really up to you! As with most recipes, I recommend trying this as written and then adjusting the next batch based on preference.
- Vanilla or other extracts: Oregon State Extension’s guidance is that dried spices, herbs, extracts, and oils are safe in the amounts you’d use in a fruit spread.
- Apple variety: Ball’s recipe calls for apples without specifying a variety, so any mix you like is within the recipe as written.
- Peeled or unpeeled: Peeling the apples is optional. I left them on as I used a food mill to puree the apples, but a little apple peel is also great for a little more fiber!
- Half-pints or pints. Both are tested at the same time for safe processing.
Not Safe to change
- Don’t reduce the sugar: The sugar is needed yes for taste, but also for density and heat penetration.
- Don’t swap fresh lemon juice for bottled: The recipe was built around a known quantity of acid, which is found in bottled lemon juice, as fresh lemon juice can vary.
- Don’t use quart jars: You can use half-pints and pints, but it’s not safe to size up, and don’t add minutes to compensate.
- Don’t add butter, cream, oil, or thickeners: Despite the name, apple butter contains no butter, and fats and thickeners change heat penetration and can make this apple butter unsafe for canning if added.
- Don’t add fresh ginger or fresh herbs: If you want ginger, then use dried as those are safe to add instead of fresh.
Ways to Enjoy Apple Butter
If you’ve got a jar of apple butter, then you’ll find so many ways to enjoy it! It’s great anywhere you want a little sweet and spiced. On toast, biscuits, or English muffins. Swirled into oatmeal or yogurt. Or try it on a grilled cheese with sharp cheddar, especially with sliced apples. It’s soooo good!
Apple butter can also be stirred into a vinaigrette for a fall salad, or brushed on roasted squash.
Equipment
As with most canning recipes, you’ll need a water bath canner with a rack, six half-pint or three-pint jars with new lids and bands, a jar lifter, a funnel, and a bubble remover.
If you have it, a long-handled wooden spoon and a splatter screen will help reduce any sputtering from the apple butter as it cooks down.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between apple butter and applesauce?
Apple butter is applesauce cooked much longer, with sugar and spices, until most of the moisture has evaporated. It’s darker, thicker, sweeter, and more concentrated. If you want applesauce, I recommend my canning applesauce recipe
How do I know when apple butter is done?
Use the spoon test or the plate test. Hold a spoonful away from the steam for 2 minutes; the apple butter is done if it stays mounded. Or spoon a little onto a plate; it’s ready when no rim of liquid separates around the edge.
Can I make apple butter with less sugar?
Sugar affects the thickness of apple butter, and thickness affects how heat penetrates the jar during processing. I don’t recommend reducing it for safety.
Why is there lemon juice in apple butter?
This tested recipe calls for bottled lemon juice, so keep it in, and use bottled rather than fresh for a consistent pH acid level.
Can I make this in a slow cooker?
For canning, I make this recipe on the stovetop, which is how it was written and tested. I haven’t found extension guidance validating a slow cooker method for this recipe, so I don’t recommend it for canned apple butter. If you’re making apple butter to keep in the refrigerator or freezer rather than canning it, a slow cooker is fine.
Can I use quart jars?
No, it’s tested for half-pints and pints only.
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and tag your Instagram photos with #delishknowledge. I absolutely love seeing your creations. Happy cooking!
Spiced Apple Butter
IngredientsÂ
- 4 lbs apples, about 12 to 16 medium, a mix of tart and sweet such as Granny Smith with Gala or Honeycrisp
- 2 cups water
- 4 cups sugar
- ¼ cup bottled lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- â…› teaspoon ground cloves
- â…› teaspoon ground allspice
- â…› teaspoon ground cardamom
- â…› teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prep the apples: Core and peel the apples, if desired. Cut into quarters.
- Cook the apples: Combine the apples and water in a large saucepan. Cook at a simmer until soft.
- Purée: Purée the mixture using an electric food strainer or food mill. Measure 2 quarts of apple pulp and return the pulp to the saucepan.
- Add sugar and spices: Add the sugar, bottled lemon juice, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, cardamom, and nutmeg, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- Cook until thick: Cook at a gentle boil over medium heat until the apple mixture is thick enough to mound on a spoon, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. If the mixture becomes too thick, add a small amount of water or apple juice for desired consistency. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Fill the jars: Ladle hot apple butter into a hot jar, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe the jar rim. Center the lid on the jar and apply the band, adjusting to fingertip tight. Place the jar in the boiling water canner. Repeat until all jars are filled.
- Process: Process half-pints or pints for 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off the heat, remove the lid, and let the jars stand 5 minutes.
- Cool and check: Remove the jars and cool 12 to 24 hours. Check the lids for a seal– they should not flex when the center is pressed.