Seventeen years ago we built our house on the property we lovingly call the Newcomb Farm. In the late summer, some apple trees went on sale. Clay bought them and planted them in our field right in front of where our barn now stands. Arkansas’ August heat was too much for some of them and they died. So we replaced them the next summer. At the time, the orchard was so far from our house that a water hose wouldn’t reach them. So Clay and the kids watered them with 5-gallon buckets of water. For about a decade, they didn’t produce anything. Eventually, they produced teeny tiny apples that were only worthwhile for the mules. But in 2021 we got a huge harvest after Clay pruned them. And then again in 2022 and 2023. This year we recorded the biggest harvest with the biggest apples we’ve ever had. With each harvest, we perfected our recipe for apple butter–a favorite around here. And this year, our friends told us it was perfect. But if you have a day to spend soaking in what can only be described as the smell of fall, you ought to make some. Can some for your friends. They’ll love you for it.
Ingredients
- 15 lbs apples
- 5 c brown sugar
- 4 c white sugar
- 1/4 c cinnamon
- 3t nutmeg
- 3t cloves
- 2t salt
- 1/4 c vanilla
- 1/2 c lemon juice
Steps
- Cover the bottom of a large stock pot with a little bit of water. You don’t need a lot. Most of the water will come from the apples themselves.
- Peel and core the apples (picture 1). This feels like it takes seven years. The lemon juice is to keep the apples from turning brown as you core them. So just mix a little bit on the apples as you put them in the pot.
- As you get them peeled and cored, add them to the stockpot and start simmering the pot. Once you get all the apples in there, keep it simmering and stir every now and then. It should be so low that there’s no chance of burning, but it’s still heating things up.
- As the apples soften, it will start to become mushy. When it starts to look like applesauce (picture 2), you’re in the chips. It’s time to add everything else. You could probably add less sugar, but I wouldn’t drop it to less than 5 cups because it is supposed to serve as a preservative for canning.
- Let it simmer for as long as you can keep an eye on it. I recommend making this an all day event. It should turn pretty dark (picture 3). We have simmered for as little as four hours and as much as 8. It gets better with time.
- You can either can it using the water bath method or put it in the fridge and throw a big party so you can eat it with friends…But honestly, you need to water bath can it if you make this much.
Notes
You need time more than anything. This is an all-day affair. One year we made it in a crockpot and in our opinion, it was not as good. But it can be done. The sugar is excessive. The cinammon is perfect. Do not use less.
