Apple Butter in the Oven

I went apple picking and knew I wanted to make apple butter, but I also knew I didn’t want to stir it for hours on the stove. I was glad to find recipes for baking it at a low temperature instead. I adapted one I found to make this spiced, not-too-sweet treat! I like it on toast or over oatmeal. Keep refrigerated for a few days, or freeze for later use.

Step: 1

Combine apples, apple cider, brown sugar, and salt in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add cinnamon, star anise, cloves, and allspice. Bring to a simmer. Cover partially and cook until apples are soft, 20 to 25 minutes.

Step: 2

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).

Step: 3

Remove whole spices from the pot with a slotted spoon. Reserve cinnamon and star anise; discard cloves and allspice. Puree apples with an immersion blender until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and return cinnamon and star anise to the pot.

Step: 4

Bake uncovered in the preheated oven, stirring every 30 minutes, until apple butter thickens and deepens in color, about 3 hours. Let cool completely. Discard cinnamon and star anise before transferring to airtight containers.

Per Serving: 47 calories; protein 0.1g; carbohydrates 12.2g; fat 0.1g; sodium 13.2mg.

The most clear way to choose a side dish is to look at your main dish (pasta, chicken, seared tofu) and choose more different. When you’re cooking pasta, make sure for a simple vegetable . Making steak? Go for something light. If you’re making stir-fry with rice, it must not a best idea to adjust with make a rice salad.

This also can apply to cooking process . You don’t want to push more often your oven by scheduling three dishes at once in there, or be rounding four pans on the cooking items . But often you can make a dish do double-duty .