Spiced Whiskey Apple Butter

Name: Spiced Whiskey Apple Butter
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 10 h
Total time: 10 h 30 min
Yield: Makes about 10-12 1/2 pint jars of apple butter
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 8 lb red apples; 1/2 c brown sugar, firmly packed; 1/2 c sugar; 1/2 c whiskey; 1 Tbsp cinnamon, ground; 1/4 tsp cloves; 1/4 tsp nutmeg; 1 pinch salt

By Naomi Nakashima
@Fanaile

This apple butter is warm and spicy and enhanced with the flavor of your favorite whiskey. (Bourbon works just fine, too). Of course, it's great on toast, muffins, and bagels and anywhere else that you would use apple butter. But I have found that I love this recipe so much that I use it as my streusel base for things like cinnamon rolls and cinnamon swirly bread (in place of the butter those recipes call for in the fillings).

Blue Ribbon Recipe

The hardest part of this fabulous apple butter recipe is peeling all the apples... but the end product makes it so worth it. Do not be scared of the whiskey. The harsh alcohol flavor is cooked out before it goes into the slow cooker. Whiskey (or bourbon if you want to use that) pairs really well with the sweet apples. Add in the cinnamon and spices flavor and this is apple butter brilliance. After blending, we could eat this by the spoonful it was that good. Perfect on biscuits, toast, oatmeal or even to use in baking.

Note: It does take a while for the apples to cook down. We suggest stirring it a few times through cooking to make sure the apples cook evenly. The Test Kitchen

Rating:

★★★★★ 3 votes5

Comments:

14 Comments

Serves:

Makes about 10-12 1/2 pint jars of apple butter

Prep:

30 Min

Cook:

10 Hr

Method:

Slow Cooker Crock Pot

Ingredients

8 lb

red apples
1/2 c

brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 c

sugar
1/2 c

whiskey
1 Tbsp

cinnamon, ground
1/4 tsp

cloves
1/4 tsp

nutmeg
1 pinch

salt
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How to Make Spiced Whiskey Apple Butter

Step-by-Step

Peel, core, and cut your apples into chunks.
In a separate bowl, mix together everything but the apples and the whiskey.
In a small saucepan, bring the whiskey up to a boil over medium heat. Continue to boil while stirring until its volume is reduced by almost half.
In your slow cooker, layer the apple chunks with the spices (like a spicy apple lasagna).
After the last layer of apples, pour in the reduced whiskey.
Sprinkle the remaining sugar and spice mixture over the apples.
Cover and cook on low for 10 hours.
Once done, transfer all the apples to your blender. The amount of leftover juice that you transfer with the apples will depend on how thick or thin you would like the apple butter to be.
Once the apple butter is blended thoroughly, you can store or can it.
Make sure you follow your canner's safety instructions if canning.