Homemade Crockpot Apple Butter

Halloween again. I bought candy. I carved a pumpkin. I sat on the porch and gave Snickers bars to tiny superheroes and princesses and one very committed seven-year-old dressed as a hot dog. I did these things because traditions are scaffolding, and when your life has been demolished, scaffolding is what holds you up while you rebuild.

I thought about Michael. Halloween 1989 — he was eight years old, and he went as a refrigerator. A cardboard box, painted white, with magazine pictures of food glued to the "shelves" inside. He walked around the neighborhood with the box over his body, his legs sticking out the bottom, his face visible through a cutout where the freezer door would be. He could barely see. He tripped over everything. He was the happiest child on the street. That was Michael — creative, ridiculous, fully committed to whatever absurd idea he'd had. I miss him with a sharpness that has not dulled in twenty-one years. Time does not heal all wounds. Time just teaches you how to carry them without limping.

Third cooking class this week: Frogmore stew. Essentially a small-scale Lowcountry boil, which means I was in my element. I told the students about the origin — Frogmore is a community on St. Helena Island, and the stew is just what the fishermen ate: whatever they caught plus whatever they grew plus Old Bay. Democracy in a pot. I showed them the timing — potatoes first, corn and sausage next, shrimp last — and I showed them the seasoning, everything except the secret splash of apple cider vinegar, which I added when nobody was looking because some secrets are worth keeping.

Made caramel apples for the trick-or-treaters, same as every year. The smell of caramel in October is the smell of being alive at a time of year when the world is dying, and that contradiction is the whole point of fall.

Now go on and feed somebody.

The caramel apples I made for the trick-or-treaters every year started something I couldn’t stop — once October arrives and apples are piled up on the counter, the slow cooker comes out too, and I fill the house with something that smells like every good fall I’ve ever lived. This crockpot apple butter is what happens after the candy is gone and the carved pumpkin has done its job: a jar of October you can hold in your hands, spread on toast in January, and remember what it felt like to be alive at the right time of year.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 10 hours | Total Time: 10 hours 20 minutes | Servings: 48 (makes about 3 pints)

Ingredients

5 1/2 lbs apples (about 16 medium), peeled, cored, and roughly chopped — a mix of tart and sweet varieties works best
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Instructions

Load the slow cooker. Place the chopped apples into a 6-quart slow cooker. Add both sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and salt. Stir to coat the apples evenly.
Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours, or until the apples are completely soft and have darkened to a deep amber color. Stir once or twice if you happen to walk by, but it doesn’t require much attention.
Blend until smooth. Use an immersion blender directly in the slow cooker to puree the mixture until completely smooth. Alternatively, transfer in batches to a blender — be careful with the hot liquid.
Finish and thicken. Stir in the vanilla extract and apple cider vinegar. Leave the lid slightly ajar (prop it with a wooden spoon) and continue cooking on LOW for another 1 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the butter has thickened to a spreadable consistency that mounds on a spoon.
Test for doneness. Spoon a small amount onto a chilled plate. If no liquid ring forms around the edges after a minute, the apple butter is ready. If it still seems loose, cook uncovered for another 30 minutes and test again.
Jar and store. Ladle into clean jars. Let cool completely before sealing. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks, or process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes to preserve shelf-stable jars for up to one year.

Nutrition (per serving, approximately 2 tablespoons)

Homemade Crockpot Apple Butter — The Smell of October, Preserved