Caramel Apple Butter

If you’re looking for a twist on tradition, this caramel apple butter is an easy, yummy fix. 

I don’t know about you, but as much as love pumpkin spice, what I live for in the fall is apples. 

I’ve done my fair share of canning apple pie filling, and I highly recommend it. It’s so awesome to see your pantry shelves filling up with homemade food! 

And this recipe is another way to fill them up. 

Jams, jellies, and butters are some of my favorite things, because it’s easy to get creative, and make something unique to share with friends. Peach butter is fun to make in the summer, and the peach + cloves combo is hard to beat. So is peach and raspberry jam. 

In the early fall, we usually make some cinnamon pear jam, and the warm, spicy flavor is so good on biscuits in the winter. 

But this is a sweet treat. 

I’m pretty well known for reducing sugar in canning recipes, but whereas homemade pear butter is delicious even if you add zero sugar, caramel apple butter is inherently sugary. 

Not a ton of sugar, but you just can’t make caramel without it. 

So. There you go. 

Caramel Apple Butter

The first step to making apple butter, is making apple sauce. While this – and most other – recipe details how to make your apple butter from whole apples, making and canning applesauce is very easy, and you can definitely make apple butter from pre-made apple sauce. 

All you need to do is peel, core, and slice your apples. In my previously mentioned apple sauce recipe, I go over several different ways from Victorio strainer to potato masher of taking your apples from whole to sauce, so I won’t reiterate them here, you can read that article. 

Suffice to say, you can make a lot of apple butter in a short amount of time with the right tools. 

However you do it, once you get your apples cored, peeled, and sliced, you’ll add your spices and cook the apples until they’re soft enough to mash/pureed. 

Once they’re mashed, your spiced sauce goes back on the stove to simmer until it thickens. If you’re using pre-made applesauce, you’ll skip directly to this step, stirring in your spices while the sauce heats. 

While the sauce simmers, make your caramel. 

I also have a great recipe for making homemade caramel sauce. In this recipe, we’re essentially making the same sauce, but adding less cream. 

You’ll dissolve white sugar into a small amount of water, and heat it until it caramelizes, turning a nice, rich brown. 

The next step is to take it off the stove and add butter and cream. Sometimes your caramelized sugar will seize a little bit when the cold cream hits it. If it doesn’t stir out, heat it back up until the sugar melts. 

Once your apple butter is sufficiently cooked down, stir in the caramel sauce. 

And that’s it! 

Now you’re ready to jar it. 

This caramel apple butter will keep for two weeks in the refrigerator – in tightly lidded containers of course. 

Or you can can it. 

Pour it into sterilized jars, and waterbath can it. To do this, put your jars in a large kettle or water bath canner with a rack in the bottom of it to keep your jars from directly touching the heat source.

Fill the kettle with water to at least an inch above the jars, and bring to a rolling boil. 

Process pint jars for 25 minutes, or half pints for 20 minutes. 

Done! 

You’ll find the more detailed printable recipe card below. 

 

Print