Apple Butter

Apple butter is effectively applesauce that has been cooked way, way down until it is deeply browned and as thick as a jam, usually about 1½ to 2 hours. You can add any of the warming spices if you want, but I like to use just apples. I also don’t add sugar; I just keep cooking the apples until they concentrate their own sugar. All of this said, I don’t make apple butter that often because I get irrationally angry when it sputters and spits on me during stirring. Some of the worst arm burns I’ve gotten have come from very hot, very sticky apple butter splatters. Because of that, I tend to cook it too fast and burn the bottom. A friend slow cooks it in the oven after the initial sauce making, but that can take up to 4 hours, and ugh, I don’t know, I prefer to do other stuff with apples.