Chunky Apple Butter

Since I usually stick to the freezer to store the fall harvest, I’ve only canned twice in my life.


First time: sweet pickles last summer, right around the time I started that nauseous phase of pregnancy so delicately titled “morning sickness”, even though it’s not really a sickness and certainly not limited to morning. But I heard the pickles were good. I wouldn’t know, as I couldn’t stand the smell of pickles for a long time afterwards. But I digress.

Second time: this apple butter. My mom’s little apple tree produced an astounding amount of apples this year, bushels of perfection which she generously shared with us. And fortunately, this time around I can attest that I have tasted the resulting apple butter and it is indeed delicious – maybe more so just from the satisfaction a row of pretty little canning jars in the cellar gives me.

I know what you’re thinking. ‘Canning - ugh, what a pain. Are you going to churn your own butter next?’ It’s not that making apple butter is difficult; it’s actually pretty easy. It just takes some time. Ask friends or family to help, coercing them with promises of fresh apple crisp if needed.


I wanted to make apple butter for little holiday gifts since it’s something that most people like, but don’t really buy for themselves – the definition of a good gift, I think. I don’t have special canning equipment, but from my limited experience it appears that there’s no real secret to it. As long as you have mason jars and lids, you can can (ha, can can) with a regular pot of boiling water (check manufacturer instructions since some foods like meat may require a pressure cooker).

Ah, the sound of popping lids - music to my ears.

Chunky Apple Butter
Adapted from Epicurious - spread apple butter on toast, add it to your cheese sandwich, top your oatmeal with it, heat it up as a topping for cinnamon ice cream – or just dig in with a spoon. I like the rustic chunkiness of this, but if you like a smoother apple butter, just chop the apples finely – they’ll break down in cooking. Makes approx. eight 4-oz jars (I doubled this recipe).

4 pounds apples, peeled and cored (approx. 10 large apples or 25 small apples)
1 cup apple cider
2 cups granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp EACH ground allspice and ground cloves
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Roughly chop apples. Chop about half of the apples into a smaller dice. Combine apples and cider in a large stainless steel or enamel pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and boil gently for 20 minutes or until mixture is reduced by half.

Stir in sugar, spices, and lemon juice. Return to a boil, reduce heat, and boil gently for about 25 minutes or until mixture is very thick. There should still be some tender apple chunks remaining. Remove from heat.

Ladle into sterilized jars and process as directed on the instructions that come with your canning jars/lids, or click here for canning instructions.