Cranberry Apple Butter
User Reviews
3.8
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slow cooker
6 hrs
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Total Time
6 hrs
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Servings
3 cups
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Calories
16 kcal
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Course
Condiments
-
Cuisine
American
Cranberry Apple Butter
Description
Cranberry Apple Butter uses large chunks of apples combined with fresh or thawed cranberries, cooked slowly until softened. After pureeing and straining the mixture to remove solids, it is returned to the pot with a cinnamon stick and reduced uncovered until thick and spreadable. The finished butter has a deep red color and a balanced sweet-tart flavor accented by warm cinnamon.
Its texture is smooth and creamy, suited for spreading on breads, muffins, or toast, and can also be used to enrich savory dishes or sauces. The natural pectin in the apples and cranberries helps with thickening during the reduction.
The recipe highlights adjusting tartness by varying fruit proportions, using more apples for sweetness or fewer for tartness. The slow cooker method allows for low-maintenance cooking, suitable for busy kitchen schedules.
Leftover apple butter should be stored in clean glass jars and refrigerated after bottling to maximize shelf life and safety.
Ingredients
- 5-6 apple
- 12 ounce cranberries they can be frozen and thawed, fresh, bag of
- 1 cinnamon stick or powdered cinnamon to taste
- honey optional
Instructions
- Wash the apples well, and cut them into large chunks, discarding the core and seeds. Add to the crock pot.
- Rinse the cranberries and add them to the crock pot. Give the fruit a stir and then cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours. Give the pot a stir every once in a while to prevent sticking. If the mixture is sticking you can add a bit of water, but I didn't have to, the natural juices of the fruit should be sufficient.
- Puree the softened fruit in a high speed blender or food processor, working in 2 batches.
- Push the puree through a mesh strainer with the back of a large spoon, Force the puree through, you should be left with just a light layer of solids. Rinse out the strainer between batches.
- Rinse out the crock pot and return the strained puree to the pot. Bury a stick of cinnamon into the puree. Cook on HIGH, uncovered, for another 2 hours, or until thick and spreadable, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. When the fruit has thickened, spoon it into clean glass jars. Let cool, and then cap and refrigerate. The butter will keep for 4 weeks in the refrigerator, or up to a year in the freezer. (If you plan to freeze, leave a little space at the top of each jar to allow for expansion.)
- Makes 2 1/2 cups
Notes
- To reduce tartness without adding sweeteners, increase the number of apples relative to cranberries, for example using 8 apples with half a bag of cranberries.
- If a very tart flavor is preferred, consider making pure cranberry butter alone.
- Using a crock pot simplifies the cooking process and helps prevent burning; affordable basic models work well for this recipe.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 3cups
Amount Per Serving
Calories 16 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 1Tbsp | |
| Calories | 16kcal | 1% |
| Carbohydrates | 4g | 1% |
| Protein | 0.1g | 0% |
| Fat | 0.05g | 0% |
| Saturated Fat | 0.01g | 0% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 0.02g | 0% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 0.003g | 0% |
| Sodium | 0.4mg | 0% |
| Potassium | 31mg | 1% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 3g | 6% |
| Vitamin A | 17IU | 0% |
| Vitamin C | 2mg | 2% |
| Calcium | 2mg | 0% |
| Iron | 0.05mg | 0% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
3.8
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