If you are from an area of the country/world that doesn’t have apple butter, and you’ve never heard of it/don’t know what it is, allow me to please explain to you the beauty of this delicious item.
Apple butter. There’s actually no butter, but “butter” is in the title because of the smooth, velvety spreadability of the final, pureed, slow cooked apple product. It’s like jam in the way that you often times put it on toast or a biscuit, but I also love putting apple butter on waffles, pancakes, muffins, and even certain cuts of meat like a pork chop.
It is ridiculously smooth, sweet, has a deep, caramelized apple flavor + spiced flavor from the cinnamon and other things that you add, and it is pretty dang challenging not to go to TOWN as if you’re looking at a jar of applesauce and eat straight up spoonful after spoonful. My favorite way to eat apple butter is on a warm biscuit – comfort food at its finest, people!
BUT – what we are dealing with here departs from the apple butter norm. This fall magic is pumpkin apple butter. Did I think it was possible for the traditional apple butter to get even more delicious? No. Was I wrong? So, so wrong.
This recipe takes traditional apple butter and ups the fall factor, which is already pretty high when we’re talkin’ apple butter. But we say, “Apple butter? I raise you PUMPKIN apple butter,” and automatically win every fall award that’s ever existed. Instead of adding all apples, we add a bunch of apples and a few cans of pumpkin. And instead of adding just cinnamon, we add pumpkin pie spice instead.
Thank you, pumpkin apple butter, for helping us celebrate fall even harder. You da real MVP.
The only tedious part of this recipe is peeling and chopping your apples. I enlist my husband’s help with this – he peels and I chop or vice versa. We knock it out pretty quick! And from there, all that’s required is a little bit of stirring. After that you literally go to bed and wake up with your house smelling of pumpkin apple goodness.
The pumpkin and apples caramelize and become a deep brown color overnight in the crock pot, the flavors all melt together into each other, and it is just begging to be pureed and spread all over any baked good in sight!
When you wake up in the morning, blend everything together with an immersion blender (or stick blender) and that’s literally it. Spoon it into jars and either be selfless and give some (**SOME**) of it away to other people orrrr keep the extra jars/tupperwares in your freezer and have pumpkin apple butter alllllll season long.
I’ll let you decide for yourself which avenue I chose. I say nothing.
Happy Pumpkin Apple Butter Day everyone! (<<< That should legit be a thing, am I right??)
PrintOvernight Crock-Pot Pumpkin Apple Butter
- Yield: 6 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 3 pounds apples (use a mix of sweet and tart – we used half honeycrisp and half granny smith)
- 2 15 oz cans pumpkin puree (make sure to get the pure pumpkin puree, not the pumpkin pie filling)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
- A few pinches salt
Instructions
- Peel and dice your apples
- Add the apples + all other ingredients to your crock pot. Stir together until everything is evenly combined
- Cook on low for 11 hours (we make it at night and let it cook while we sleep!)
- When the 11 hours are up, remove the lid and puree until completely and totally smooth with an immersion blender (stick blender)
- Spoon into jars or tupperwares and you’re all done!
Notes
If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can spoon this into a regular blender or food processor and puree in batches
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 cup
- Calories: 95
- Sugar: 20 g
- Sodium: 60 mg
- Fat: 1 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 23 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!
Want more apple butter? Check out this traditional apple butter (sans pumpkin) recipe!
In the mood for more condiments/spreadable goodness in general? Check these out:
Creamy Vegan Cashew Curry Sauce
Leave a Reply