I don't know about you guys, but when the weather gets cooler I love apple butter on just about everything. My mom made apple butter when I was growing up and I've always loved it! When I made my first batch last year I used her recipe, adding my own twists here and there. Making it is super easy and the recipe is definitely adjustable to each persons own taste. Aside from its tastiness, it fills the whole house with the most wonderful smell. Also, tie a bow on them and these little jars make super cute gifts.
Slow Cooker Apple Butter
Apples- I used about 3.5 pounds
Water- 1.5 cups
Sugar- Around 2 cups
Cinnamon
Cloves
Whether or not you choose to peel your apples is completely up to you. Last year I peeled mine, but this year I gave up about halfway through and thought that the end product turned out just as great. I like to cut my apples up into smaller pieces because I feel like this helps them cook faster, but I'm sure it would turn out just fine with larger pieces also.
Once your apples are ready, just throw them into your slow cooker with your water, sugar and spices. You can adjust the sugar and spices as it cooks, so I wouldn't go too crazy starting out. It's always easy to add more. Cook on high for an hour or two, then switch to low and cook for another 8-10 hours or so. I usually check in here and there, sampling so that I can adjust the sugar and spices (That's what I tell myself anyways, maybe I just love tasting it, haha.)
After everything is cooked, combined and smelling delicious, you can choose whether or not to blend your apple butter. I like mine smoother, but I know that some people like to leave some of the bigger apple pieces which is super tasty as well. For a smoother consistency just stick it in the blender for a few seconds.
At this point just throw it in a can and you're good to go! If your jar is sealed and truly canned, it can last years, but otherwise it lasts a few months in the fridge ( I had to ask my mom about this part since mine is usually gone within like five minutes, ha. Thanks momma.:])
Hope some of y'all get the chance to try out this recipe and that you love it as much as I do!
As many of you know, today was Super Bowl Sunday! I have never been a huge football fan but have always loved the Super Bowl for its commercials, excitement and food. Christian is a huge Panthers fan, so this year was particularly exciting for us. In lieu of all this, I decided to cook up some festive cupcakes for the big day.
Those of you who know me know that I don't always feel particularly comfortable in the kitchen. I wouldn't call myself a bad cook, just a cook in training :)Typically I would have used a box cake mix and called it a day, but instead I chose to do some research and make my own cupcakes from scratch. Overall I was very happy with how they turned out! About halfway through filling my cupcake pans I ran out of cupcake batter and ended up using a mix for the rest. I know, I know. Old habits die hard. I chose to go with a homemade electric blue cream cheese icing and to top them off I garnished with a few pearl candies. Below I have included the link to the Food Network vanilla cupcake recipe that I used, as well as my recipe for homemade cream cheese icing (super easy, y'all).
Vanilla Cupcakes
Cream Cheese Icing
- 1 packet of cream cheese
- Roughly 2 cups of powdered sugar
- Desired Amount of Vanilla Extract
- Food Coloring (if desired)
Using a mixer or hand mixer blend powdered sugar into cream cheese. I would reccomend doing this 1/2 cup at a time and adding until you feel that the icing is sweet enough, as this can be subjective. Add vanilla and food coloring.
Told you it was easy.
