This sweet, spiced apple butter is a delectable condiment for breakfast pastries, dinner rolls, and even savory dishes. In less than an hour, you can make an irresistible small batch of apple butter right on your stovetop. You can also make larger batches and freeze this for later – but I don’t think leftovers will be an issue!
Many apple butter recipes I see take all day!
Whether 3 cups of apple butter counts as “small batch” might be up for debate, but at least this recipe will be quicker.
Whether you went apple picking and need to use up some of the bounty or just want a fall-themed spread for your breakfast table, apple butter is a winning recipe.
It’s a little bit like these southern fried apples, just blended up with an immersion blender!
This recipe uses a little bit of both cinnamon and pie spice (pumpkin or apple) but there are no rules if you want to add even more of these spices.
Perfect spread for rolls, topping on pancakes or waffles, or swirling into oatmeal.
No judgement if you want to just eat it out of the jar!
Stovetop Apple Butter
This sweet, spiced apple butter is a delectable condiment for breakfast pastries, dinner rolls, and even savory dishes. In about 30 minutes, you can make an irresistible small batch of apple butter right on your stovetop. You can even freeze this for later - but I don't think leftovers will be an issue!
Ingredients
- 10-12 medium sized apples (about 3 pounds), peeled and diced
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 4 tablespoons (¼ cup) salted butter
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice blend
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- Optional: 2-3 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Place the diced apples into a mixing bowl and evenly drizzle the lemon juice over top.
- Toss to coat and allow the apple chunks to rest for 5 minutes.
- Add the diced apples into a stove pot over medium heat and add in the butter. Stir to coat the apples in the butter as it melts.
- Cook for about 5 minutes, until the apples have softened a bit.
- Stir in the brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, and pie spice.
- Add the corn starch and stir well.
- Continue cooking over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, until the apples are very soft and a deep, caramel-colored sauce has formed.
- Lower the heat to medium-low, and use an immersion blender to blend the mixture into a smooth sauce.
- Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for 5-10 more minutes, until your apple butter is thick and bubbly. If it’s too thick, at this point you can thin it out with water, a tablespoon at a time.
- Allow the apple butter to cool, then spoon it into glass jars with lids.
- Serve on biscuits, pancakes, dinner rolls, etc.!
Notes
- You can peel the apples before cooking for a smoother texture, but it is not required.
- I like using pumpkin pie spice as it's something I normally have on hand, but you can also use apple pie spice as it is a similar blends of spices!
- You may want to make a slurry with the cornstarch by mixing it with a small amount of water before adding it to the mixture if you’re worried about lumps. I’ve found that the immersion blender takes care of any excess lumps, but you can also sift the cornstarch beforehand if preferred, as well.
- Apple butter will last up to 3 weeks in the fridge stored in a mason jar or airtight container.
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