A is for Apple Butter!

Fall is officially here in New York, which means that ir's apple season! Apples, in my opinion, are one of nature's super fruits. They're sweet, tart, crisp and soft. Plus, you can make a multitude of deliciousness from them: applesauce, apple cider (both hard and 'soft'), apple slaw, apples and pork, apple pie and one of my favorites...

APPLE BUTTER

Ingredients:

• 15 apples (or however many your crockpot will hold – mine caps off at 15)
• 1/4 cup honey (remember, the darker, the higher in nutrition)
• 3 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

Method

• Peel and core apples and cut up into chunks. Place them in your slow cooker.
• Distribute the rest of the ingredients onto the tops of the apples in the slow cooker. Don’t worry about mixing it all up yet. As the apples heat up and soften, you can begin mixing and mashing everything.
• Set the slow cooker on low for 8 hours.
• At about 6 hours, mash the apples, inside the pot.
• Once they are finished, at 8 hours, throw everything in the food processor and process for a couple minutes until it is smooth.
• Let cool in jars and store in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

I got this recipe from here: http://morethanpaleo.com/paleo-apple-butter/. The only thing I did to change the recipe was to add the ground ginger, as I love the flavor it adds to the apples. This makes a lot too, so be prepared to share (or keep it all and put some in the freezer for later use).  The butter is creamy, sweet and little spicy from the ginger.... I can't wait to try this on top of some pancakes or ice cream!

The original creator of this recipe said that you'll have to resist eating it by the spoonful; however, I like to think, "A spoonful of apple butter a day keeps the doctor away!" SO SPOON IT UP!