You’re about to learn just how easy it is to make your own apple butter from fresh picked apples and all of the ways to use it in your favorite dishes and desserts. If you don’t have a backyard apple tree or a neighbor who does, store-bought apples will work too. But, if you’re looking for the best apple picking experience, as we head into the holiday season, you need to make a day trip (or longer) out to Julian, a small mountain town just east of San Diego, during apple season. Known for having the best apples, apple cider, hard cider and apple pies, Julian is a destination location for San Diegans and travelers from outside of San Diego county. Apple season usually runs from early October to late November, but always call ahead before making the trip to check on how the apple trees are doing that year.

Just the other day, my dad showed up at my house with about 30 pounds of apples from his backyard in Julian, and my mind ran wild with ideas about what to make with them. So, I set the basket down on my kitchen floor with all kinds of ideas for apple recipes swirling through my head.

I thought about making raw apple pies, but there was nowhere near enough room to store them in my tiny fridge. Then I considered coming up with a recipe for gluten-free, apple crisp, but that would have been a lot of work, and I was in the mood for something much more simple, but the idea of making plain, apple sauce just felt too… boring. Finally, I decided on a seasonally inspired recipe for apple butter that I’ll enjoy a variety of ways this time of year.

First, What is Apple Butter?

Apple butter is a thick, smooth, and spiced fruit spread made by slow-cooking apples until they reach a concentrated, velvety consistency. It can be made in a slow cooker, dutch oven, or even a crock pot. Despite its name, apple butter does not typically contain any actual butter. The “butter” in the name refers to its smooth and spreadable texture.

The basic ingredients in apple butter include apples, brown sugar (though I chose to use maple syrup in my recipe), and spices. Common spices used in apple butter recipes include cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, though variations may include other spices such as allspice or ginger. For the best results, you should combine a variety of apples. Some of the best choices include granny smith, fuji and golden delicious.

In this recipe, I combine Garam Masala spice blend (which loosely translates to “warm spices” and includes cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, cumin seeds, coriander, peppercorn and bay leaves), plus additional cinnamon for a sweet, woody tone and vanilla for a slightly sweet, floral note. I’ve had no difficulty finding Garam Masala at regular grocery stores, but you should definitely be able to find it in Indian grocery stores. The nice thing about buying the premade spice blend is that it’s really convenient and saves prep time, but some people do like to buy the whole spices and grind them with a mortar and pestle, spice grinder or coffee grinder for more flavor.

Why You’ll Love Making This Apple Butter

It’s 100% Homemade Goodness:

Creating apple butter from scratch allows you to control the quality of ingredients, ensuring a fresh and wholesome product. Homemade apple butter often has a richer flavor compared to store-bought varieties. Plus, with all of the coatings that are sprayed on apples and other fruits and vegetables, I’m sticking with locally grown.

Versatile Culinary Uses:

Beyond being a delicious spread, homemade apple butter can be used as a topping for pancakes, waffles, ice cream or your morning toast, or incorporated into desserts like apple butter bars, cakes, or even as a filling for pastries. Or you can slather it over pork chops for a variation on traditional “pork chops and apple sauce.” And am I the only one that hears Peter Brady imitating Humphry Bogart on the Brady Bunch when I say, “pork chops and apple sauce?” Anyway, the versatility of apple butter adds a delightful twist to your favorite holiday recipes.

The Aroma is a Dream:

Did you know that the olfactory senses (sense of smell) are intertwined with the emotional center in the brain? The process of simmering apples with spices is a great way to fill your kitchen with a warm, dreamy aroma that just can’t be reproduced by holiday candles or synthetic fragrance. Cooking up this apple butter is a sensory experience that not only adds to the joy of cooking, but boosts the mood of your entire household and brings on the holiday cheer.

A Few Tips for You

Depending on how many apples you have, peeling and coring them is going to take the most effort, but once that’s done, it’s really easy from there. Just make sure you have a large enough work surface for your cutting board, one bowl for your skins and cores, and another bowl for your peeled and cored apple pieces.

On a side note, some people make homemade apple cider vinegar from their apple scraps. I just tried making my own fresh apple cider vinegar from the skins and cores for the first time, but was not as successful as I had hoped, since I didn’t have a weight to hold the fruit scraps under water, so they molded. If you decide to make your own homemade apple cider vinegar, make sure you have the correct instructions, equipment (including a weight) and also an air lock to prevent spoilage.

This recipe is for the stovetop, so you’ll need a large, heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven for cooking. I used a stainless steel pan, only because I’ve noticed that my cast iron pot often discolors or darkens my food, and I wanted my apple butter to turn out a nice, golden brown color.

It’ll also help for you to have an immersion blender for this recipe, instead of blending the hot apples and apple juice in a regular blender or even a high powered blender, because you run the risk of pressure from the heat blowing the lid off and causing a mess or even injury. I also recommend a steel immersion blender, if you have one, since the apple mixture is going to be piping hot when you blend it, which makes using plastic not ideal. Another option is to use a food processor, which has a much more secure lid and gives you a little more control over the hot food. Lastly. make sure you have a clean, damp cloth ready to wipe the rims of your canning jars, in order to allow for a solid seal. (More on canning, below)

Final Notes:

Because of the warming, Garam Masala spices, I didn’t add lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to the recipe, which is commonly used in canning to help preserve the food and prevent foodborne illness. I did find an apple butter recipe on the official Ball website here that didn’t contain any lemon or apple cider vinegar. I also found other websites that reported no need for lemon juice or vinegar, because apples are acidic enough on their own. And then I found other forums that couldn’t seem to agree on anything. So, since I’m not down with the potential risk of causing botulism, I haven’t included canning instructions and won’t until I feel confident enough to stand behind them. If you choose to can the apple butter, do your research and can at your own risk. Otherwise, if you don’t can the apple butter, then you can keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for a few weeks to a month. In this case, making small quantities is a good idea.