Bourbon Chai Apple Butter
We are now well into the gloriousness that is fall; changing colors of leaves, cooler (sometimes downright brisk) air, and fall baking with the smell of yummy spices filling the house!
The kids and I came upon an apple tree that had fallen down when we were out on a morning walk a few weeks ago, so naturally we hurried home to get bags and went straight back to gather apples! Less than 30 minutes and 3 GIANT Costco cooler bags full later, we headed home with over 100 lbs of apples. I still have no idea for sure what variety they were; but they baked, cooked, and even ate fresh off the tree amazingly.
The next week was filled with baking apple pie and apple crisp cheesecake from the Honey, Let’s Make It! Favorite Treats Sweetened Only with Honey Cookbook, making and canning GALLONS of apple sauce, and making this delicious apple butter.
We have been eating it on toast and English Muffins, peanut butter and apple butter sandwiches, on top of pancakes and waffles, stirred into oatmeal……..it is sooooo tasty on everything!
So, if you find yourself with an abundance of apples OR need a GREAT Christmas gift idea to have on hand, give this apple butter a try!
Bourbon Chai Apple Butter Recipe:
~8 lbs apples
2 cups water
1 cup bourbon
1 cup honey
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon clove
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon anise
1/2 teaspoon fennel
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Wash, peel (or you can leave the skin on the apples, you just may have a few skin pieces visible in the finished butter), core, and slice apples.
Put sliced apples into a large stock pot, add water, bourbon, spices, and honey.
Place pot on the stovetop over medium to medium-high heat with the lid on, let cook until apples are soft. This can take from 10-25 minutes depending on the variety of apples used.
Once apples are really soft, carefully transfer to a blender and blend until smooth; this will probably have to be done in batches. You can also skip the blending and continue to mash apples down as they cook to break them up and smooth them, but the apple butter may end up on the “chunkier” side.
Return blended apples to pot, add vanilla; continue to cook for approximately 2 hours over low heat with the lid on, stirring every 10-15 minutes. You want to cook until the apple butter is very thick/creamy. Depending on apple variety it may take slightly longer than 2 hours.
Finished apple butter can be placed into canning jars and water bath canned to be shelf stable* (GREAT for Christmas gifts!!), or freeze in jars and take out as needed (make sure to leave extra room at the top of jar for expanding when frozen).
*verify proper times for water bath canning online