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Homemade Small Batch Apple Butter in a jar with apples and bread

Small Batch Apple Butter

This Small Batch Apple Butter is made with just one 3-pound bag of apples and slowly baked in a Dutch oven for rich, concentrated flavor. Finished with warm spices, fresh lemon juice, and vanilla bean, it's smooth, perfectly balanced, and ideal for fall.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 50 minutes
Course: Condiment
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 pounds apples about 7 to 8 medium apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
  • ½ cup apple cider
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup light brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon apple pie spice
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • ½ vanilla bean scraped (or 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract)

Method
 

  1. Preheat your oven to 325°F.
  2. Peel, core, and chop the apples into roughly 1-inch pieces. Don't worry about making them perfectly uniform since they'll be blended later.
  3. Place the chopped apples in a Dutch oven and pour the apple cider over top.
  4. Cover the Dutch oven with its lid and bake for 1½ to 2 hours, or until the apples are extremely soft.
    The apples are ready when they mash easily with the back of a spoon.
  5. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, apple pie spice, and salt to the softened apples. Use an immersion blender to blend the mixture until completely smooth.
  6. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.
  7. Return the Dutch oven to the oven uncovered and bake for 1 to 1½ hours, stirring every 30 minutes.
  8. As the apple butter cooks, it will slowly darken in color and thicken.
  9. When the apple butter has thickened and become a rich caramel-brown color, stir in the fresh lemon juice and the scraped vanilla bean (or vanilla extract).
  10. Return it to the oven for 30 more minutes so the flavors can meld together.
  11. Taste and adjust the sweetness if needed. Depending on the apples you use, you may want to add an extra tablespoon or two of sugar.
  12. Allow the apple butter to cool slightly before serving. As it cools, it will continue to thicken into a smooth, spreadable consistency.
    Enjoy it on toast, biscuits, English muffins, pancakes, waffles, or stirred into oatmeal and yogurt.
    Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you're ready to enjoy more.

Notes

  • Apple varieties vary in sweetness, so taste before the final 30 minutes of baking and adjust the sugar if needed.
  • Apple butter will continue to thicken as it cools.
  • Fresh apple cider is recommended, but unsweetened apple juice works well too.
  • For the smoothest texture, blend the apples until completely silky before returning them to the oven.