Apple Butter
| Christy Rost- 6 pounds medium Jonathan or other tart apple (about 18)
- 5 cups tart apple cider
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
Slice apples in quarters; remove cores. Place apples in a large stockpot or dutch oven; pour in cider. Cover and bring apple mixture to boil; reduce heat to low and cook apples until they are very soft and lose their shape, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes.
Process apple mixture through a food mill or strainer into a large saucepan or dutch oven to remove apple peels and any remaining cores. Stir in sugar, cinnamon and cloves.
Cook strained apple mixture in covered saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally. After 5 hours, adjust lid slightly to allow steam to escape. Continue cooking an additional 2-3 hours, stirring frequently, until apple butter is thick and mounds in a spoon.
Wash and sterilize canning jars, lids and screw tops. Ladle hot apple butter into hot jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace. Wipe rim of jars with a clean cloth, apply lids and screw tops, and process jars in a hot water bath 10 minutes. Remove processed jars and place on a towel to cool. Processed apple butter jars may be stored several months.
Recipe fills 8-10 half-pint jars.