Step 1

Peel and chop your apples into semi-uniform pieces.

Step 2

Add the apples, sugar, and spices to your slow cooker. I use my Instant Pot with the slow cooker lid. Set your slow cooker for six hours on low. After the time is up, blend your apples. I use an immersion blender, but you could also transfer in batches to a blender or food processor.

Step 3

It is no longer necessary to sterilize jars before canning (hurray!) but you should make sure they are preheated enough to not crack when placed in hot water. You can put them in a clean dishwasher and run them through a quick wash cycle, or place them in a large pan with some water in a low heat oven (my lowest temp is 170 degrees) until you need them. I’ve even just put hot tap water in them before and left them on the counter.

Step 4

Wash your lids with hot soapy water and place them in a clean bowl for now.

Step 5

Place a canning rack in your canner and fill it with water with enough water to cover your jars by 1 inch. Set it on the stove on high to start boiling.

Step 6

Ladle in the warm apple butter (I like using a canning funnel), leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Headspace is defined as the space between the top of the food and the top of the jar. Remove the bubbles from the jar (I use a chopstick).

Step 7

Use a wet clean rag and wipe the rim of the jars to make sure they are free of any delicious apple butter.

Step 8

Place a clean lid on the jar and tighten the ring to fingertip tight (tight enough that it won’t come off, but not so tight that a normal person couldn’t budge it).

Step 9

Lower your jars into the canner. Secure the lid and set the timer for 10 minutes.

Step 10

Let the jars sit for 5 minutes in the canner and then lift them out with canning tongs. Place on a towel where they can sit undisturbed for 12 hours.

Step 11

After a few hours, to check for sealing, gently press down in the middle of the lid. If the lid has no give, it’s sealed. If you can press the lid in and it pops a bit, your jars are not sealed. You can reprocess them or store them in the fridge or freezer (only freeze jars that are wide mouth).