Autumn is for Apples!
We’re back…and just in time for fall! We took a little break from posting new recipes – for good reason, as we have a new little Skandibaker among us 🥰 – but we wanted to get going again so we could share new recipes during our favorite time of year. That’s right, we love autumn. It’s the ideal time for warm and cozy bakes, like cinnamon buns, apple tarts, spiced loaf cakes, and the list goes on and on. Any gloomy weather outside only adds to the atmosphere of baking indoors, aka what we Danes like to call “hygge.” And if you want to read more about how to experience “hygge” in the autumn, we have a blog post here! One classic flavor combination during this season is apples because they’re in season and because they’re absolutely delicious.
Warming Spices for the Chilly Season
That brings us to today’s recipe, which combines the best autumn fruit, apples, with the warming spices that are so characteristic of this time of year. Cinnamon is the stand-out, but we love the others too: cardamom, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and ginger. They combine to give you the perfect balance of warmth and sweetness, and somehow this spice blend is a fantastic complement to apples. This is also the season for having too many apples, if you’re blessed with apple trees or access to an orchard nearby. Why not cook them down into a delicious apple butter that you can use in lots and lots of recipes?
So Much Recipe Potential
The best part about apple butter is the taste, hands down. But the second best part is that you can use it in so many recipes for cakes, pastries, breads, and other desserts. We love using it to fill thumbprint cookies for a tasty autumnal twist on a classic raspberry cookie. You could easily use it in an apple-cinnamon roll, although our version uses chunks of apple which we also love. Use it to fill crescent rolls as a delicious breakfast treat! Or, you can always slather it on a piece of toast as a snack and that will make the whole process of making it 100% worth it. Read on to learn how to make smooth and spiced apple butter at home this fall!
Ingredients
What do you need to make our recipe for apple butter? Unsurprisingly, apples! We use 500 grams to make 1 cup of apple butter – it cooks down a lot – so make sure you adjust this quantity based on how much apple butter you need. We don’t peel our apples, as we blend the mixture, but you can peel them if you don’t want to blend it. Then, you’ll need brown sugar and granulated sugar, as well as spices: cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger. We add lemon juice to cut through the sweetness and add a lovely balance. Finally, you need salt for flavor and vanilla extract to add a beautiful vanilla note to the apple butter. Keep some water on hand in case you need to loosen up the mixture while it cooks. Now you’re ready to make the apple butter!
How to Make Apple Butter
The process is simple and honestly, not as time-consuming as most apple butter recipes out there. Add the chopped apples, sugars, spices, salt, and vanilla extract to a small pot and heat over a medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the apples start to release liquid. Turn the heat to low and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure it isn’t burning, as there’s plenty of sugar in the recipe. After this, you can blend the mixture until smooth and return it to the heat for another 20 to 25 minutes to cook down into a lovely dark brown and thick consistency. Enjoy in any of the recipes mentioned, or just enjoy on toast or in oatmeal!
Apple Butter
Ingredients
- 500 grams apples, cut into cubes (we don't peel ours, since we blend the mixture, but if you don't want to blend it, we would recommend peeling the apples!)
- 50 grams brown sugar
- 20 grams granulated sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Water (if needed)
Instructions
- Combine chopped apples, sugars, spices, a pinch of salt, and vanilla extract in a small pot on the stove.
- Heat over medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves and the apples start to release liquid.
- Once the apples start to break down, turn the heat to low and cook for 20-25 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure nothing is burning. If the mixture seems too dry, add a little water to help the cooking process. You'll cook out most of the liquid later after blending!
- Once the apples have softened, you can either mash up the apples or blend the mixture – we recommend blending for the smoothest texture!
- Once blended, keep on the heat and stir occasionally for another 20-25 minutes, until the mixture has darkened in color to a deep brown, and a lot of the liquid has cooled off, leaving a thick consistency.
- Transfer to a container and let cool. Keep in the fridge and use within a week!
