Tea-Infused Apple Butter

While it doesn’t actually contain any butter, apple butter is still an insanely delicious treat for fall – creamy and smooth, and loaded with fresh apple taste.

The traditional spice mix lends itself really well to the addition of a strong, malty tea, deepening the flavor and making this totally irresistible. Instead of slaving over the stove for hours, try making this in a slow cooker for great taste with less work!

Makes approximately 4 pints

Ingredients

• 6 pounds of apples (try a mix of Granny Smith, Empires, and Galas)
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 6 tablespoons loose-leaf Assam tea
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon bourbon (can substitute vanilla extract)
• Juice of 1 lemon

Preparation

1. Peel, core, and chop the apples. This doesn’t have to be perfect – just make sure that you’ve roughly chopped them up into pieces.
2. Mix together the apple cider vinegar, water, and Assam tea in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for 3-5 minutes or until boiling. Let steep for 5 minutes.
3. Strain the tea out of the mixture.
4. Place the apples in a slow cooker. In a medium bowl, combine sugars, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Sprinkle the mixture over the apples and mix well.
5. Pour the tea-infused vinegar over the apples and sugar.
6. Cook in slow cooker on low for about 10 hours, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thickened and dark brown.
7. Uncover, stir in bourbon, and continue cooking uncovered on low for about 2 hours.
8. Stir in lemon juice.
9. Remove from heat. Use an immersion blender to puree the apple butter until smooth.
10. At this point, you can either can the apple butter in pint jars to preserve it, or you can just pour it into clean, sterile containers and refrigerate or freeze. It’ll last a few weeks in the fridge and a few months in the freezer.
11. Try spreading this on bread or muffins, using it as a glaze for pork chops or chicken, or thinning it with more apple cider vinegar to make a sweet and tangy salad dressing!