Have you tried apple butter? Y’all…yum! But first, do you have a Crockpot? It is the bombdiggety!! Amazon sells them easily, and they are so wonderful and so reasonable. Mine is a six quart very basic one (manual on and off), and I love it! Grab one here! I’ve also linked some digital options below!
We received one as a wedding gift waaaaayy back when. I used it once, burned our meal, and packed it away deciding that I was a Crockpot failure. About three years ago, my new mom friends were waxing poetic about their Crockpots, and I decided to give it another try. Win!! So many recipes…and no, they do not all have to involve cream and cream of mushroom soup (not that I won’t eat that…yum!!). But they smells they give your house, and the joy of supper being done at the end of the day with little effort. Wow! So great!!
Over the summer, my older son and I started eating less sugar. He has an undiagnosed respiratory/gastric/cough thing that has been haunting us since he was a wee babe. It sounds like croup, and steroids, inhalers, acid reflux medicines, etc. seem pretty ineffective. Man, he can clear a playground when he starts coughing!! And it was so frustrating to keep throwing medicine at the problem that over the summer during his minor coughing season, we decided to try a Naturopathic Doctor and look for internal healing instead of reactive medicine. (Side bar: I believe in medicine. I believe it has a place. I believe it is life saving. It just wasn’t working for my sweet kiddo, and it was interfering with his life so we sought alternative treatments!) We have really worked on gut health: dairy free, gluten free, and low sugar. Wow! The results have been amazing. He hasn’t been sick…period…end of story! This time for the past four years we would have been two rounds deep in antibiotics and steroids…not to mention the inhalers and Singulair! We use vitamins and supplements now….a lot of digestive enzymes! And it has been awesome! He is a very happy, fully functioning little guy!
As a kid though, sweets are awesome, and I get that! Eat them while you can enjoy them without all of the weight gain. And they just taste great! Well, it’s not so great if it sends you into a coughing fit which keeps you home from school. So, we’ve sought out substitutes, but I hated to do the aspartames and fake sugars of the world. It just felt like we would be trading one beast for another. So, how do you find sweets naturally? We turned to fruit. My kids now ask for fruit after school instead of goldfish and granola bars. It feels amazing. We are all finding that if we keep our diet more whole that we function and feel great! That’s where the apple butter recipe came into play. My son wanted to be able to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and I thought apple butter would be perfect! And it is so simple!
My recipe is super basic, but soooo full of flavor! And for the win….no added sugar! All you need is a bag of apples, water, and cinnamon. And that amazing Crockpot! 🙂
Start by washing your apples and cutting them into chunks. Be sure to keep the skin on. See! I told you…so easy! Toss them all into your Crockpot, and add about one tablespoon of cinnamon with a half cup of water. Turn your Crockpot to low, and stir about every one to two hours. After seven to eight hours, your house smells so delicious and warm, and you have this delightful apple mush. Next, you put it all in a blender (forgot to mention that!) and puree until smooth! I have a Cuisinart one. 
This Cuisinart SPB-600FR SmartPower Deluxe Die Cast Blender, Stainless (Certified Refurbished)
Scoop and store in airtight containers. I usually make enough to freeze some for later! 
We also make a bit of pear butter, too! My kids are hooked. I’ll post that recipe another time!
6 quart Digital Crock Pot + Little Dipper (great value!)
