Easy Spiced Apple Butter for Canning

Apple butter is what an orchard trip turns into when you come home with more apples than any family can eat out of hand. It is not butter at all — it is apples cooked down slowly with sugar and warm spices until the mixture turns deep mahogany, thick enough to mound on a spoon, and concentrated enough that a spoonful on toast tastes like the best part of apple pie. A morning of gentle simmering gives you jars that keep for a year.

It sits in our Canning and Preserving collection alongside other pantry staples like our Canned Apple Pie Filling, and it follows the same house rules: tested jar sizes, stated headspace, and processing times written out in full. Always confirm the processing time for your altitude against current USDA guidance before you start, because altitude is the one variable no recipe can know for you.

The method below cooks the apples twice — first soft, then pureed and reduced — because that is how you get a smooth, spreadable butter instead of a chunky sauce. The spices go in during the reduction, when the mixture is thick enough to carry them, and the finished butter is ladled into hot half-pint jars. Half-pints are the right size here: a jar gets used up while it is at its best, and they make the gifts people actually thank you for.

Choose apples for flavor, not just sweetness

A single variety makes a flat butter. A mix — half sweet apples like Gala or Fuji and half tart ones like Granny Smith or Braeburn — gives you depth without extra sugar, and a few soft, aromatic apples like Golden Delicious round it out. Avoid very mealy fruit, which can turn grainy after the long cook. You do not need perfect fruit; you need sound fruit. Cut away any bruised or damaged spots, because off flavors concentrate along with everything else during the reduction.

How to tell when the butter is thick enough

Undercooked apple butter looks glossy and fine in the pot, then weeps liquid in the jar and runs off toast. Use the spoon test: chill a small plate in the freezer, drop a spoonful of hot butter onto it, wait one minute, and draw a line through it with your finger. If the line holds and no liquid pools at the edges, the butter is ready. If it floods back, simmer for fifteen minutes more and test again. The butter also thickens slightly as it cools, so stop at a slow mound, not a stiff paste.

Ingredients

• 6 lb mixed apples (2.7 kg), peeled, cored and sliced
• 2 cups apple cider (480 ml), unsweetened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (300 g)
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (100 g)
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (6 g)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (1.5 g)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice (0.75 g)
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (1.5 g)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (15 ml), bottled, plus more as directed

Amounts are for the yield below. US customary measures first, grams in brackets for scale users.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Soften the apples. Combine the sliced apples and apple cider in a large, heavy pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then cover, lower the heat, and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring now and then, until the apples are completely soft and collapsing. Soft fruit purees smoothly; firm pieces leave lumps no amount of later stirring will fix.
2. Puree until silky. Puree the hot apples with an immersion blender until completely smooth, or pass them through a food mill for the silkiest result. A food mill also catches any stray peel or seed the knife missed. Return the puree to the pot if you milled it separately. The mixture will look like thick applesauce at this point — that is correct.
3. Season and reduce slowly. Stir in both sugars, the cinnamon, cloves, allspice, salt and lemon juice. Simmer uncovered over low heat for 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes and scraping the bottom, until the butter is dark, glossy and thick enough to pass the chilled-plate test. Low heat matters: a hard boil scorches the sugars and spatters badly as the butter thickens.
4. Prepare jars and water bath. While the butter finishes, wash 6 half-pint (240 ml) jars and lids in hot soapy water, keep the jars hot, and bring a water-bath canner to a simmer. Hot butter must go into hot jars — cold glass and a boiling fill are how jars crack. Set a folded towel beside the canner for the finished jars.
5. Fill with correct headspace. Ladle the hot butter into the hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch (6 mm) of headspace. Remove air bubbles with a clean utensil, wipe the rims with a damp cloth, centre the lids, and screw the bands on until fingertip tight — snug, not forced. Sugar residue on a rim is a failed seal waiting to happen, so wipe carefully.
6. Process, cool and check seals. Lower the jars into the canner, ensuring they are covered by at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water. Bring to a full rolling boil and process half-pints for 10 minutes at altitudes up to 1,000 feet (305 m) — adjust upward for your altitude using current USDA guidance. Turn off the heat, wait 5 minutes, then lift the jars onto the towel and leave them undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. Check that every lid is sealed and concave before labelling and storing.

Nutrition estimate

Nutrition figures are estimates calculated from standard ingredient data for the yield stated. Your actual values will vary with brands, substitutions and portion sizes — treat them as a guide, not a guarantee.

Storage & reheating

Sealed jars keep for up to 12 months in a cool, dark cupboard. Once opened, refrigerate and use within 3 weeks. Any jar that fails to seal should be refrigerated and used first, within the same 3 weeks. If you prefer not to process jars, the butter keeps for 3 weeks in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer in airtight containers. Nutrition figures are estimates per 2 tablespoons (about 32 g) from standard ingredient data and vary with apple varieties and substitutions.

Canning safety — read first

Home canning must follow tested processes exactly. The times on this page follow the structure of current USDA guidance for the stated jar size at 0-1,000 feet elevation; always confirm processing times and altitude adjustments in the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning or the National Center for Home Food Preservation before you start. Never taste food from a jar with a failed seal, bulging lid or off odor — discard it.

Easy Spiced Apple Butter for Canning

Recipe by Ahsan ul Haq, FryDaily editor · Published 19 October 2026

Slow-cooked, warmly spiced, pantry-ready — fall in a jar.

Yield: 6 half-pint jars  ·  Scale: 1x2x3x

Prep25 minutes

Cook2 hours 30 minutes

Total2 hours 55 minutes

Servings6 half-pint jars

Calories42 kcal

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Ingredients

• 6 lb mixed apples (2.7 kg), peeled, cored and sliced
• 2 cups apple cider (480 ml), unsweetened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (300 g)
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (100 g)
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (6 g)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (1.5 g)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice (0.75 g)
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (1.5 g)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (15 ml), bottled, plus more as directed

Tick ingredients off as you prep, and tap a step below to mark it done as you cook. Scaling adjusts the listed amounts - seasoning to taste stays your call.

Instructions

1. Soften the apples. Combine the sliced apples and apple cider in a large, heavy pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then cover, lower the heat, and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring now and then, until the apples are completely soft and collapsing. Soft fruit purees smoothly; firm pieces leave lumps no amount of later stirring will fix.
2. Puree until silky. Puree the hot apples with an immersion blender until completely smooth, or pass them through a food mill for the silkiest result. A food mill also catches any stray peel or seed the knife missed. Return the puree to the pot if you milled it separately. The mixture will look like thick applesauce at this point — that is correct.
3. Season and reduce slowly. Stir in both sugars, the cinnamon, cloves, allspice, salt and lemon juice. Simmer uncovered over low heat for 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes and scraping the bottom, until the butter is dark, glossy and thick enough to pass the chilled-plate test. Low heat matters: a hard boil scorches the sugars and spatters badly as the butter thickens.
4. Prepare jars and water bath. While the butter finishes, wash 6 half-pint (240 ml) jars and lids in hot soapy water, keep the jars hot, and bring a water-bath canner to a simmer. Hot butter must go into hot jars — cold glass and a boiling fill are how jars crack. Set a folded towel beside the canner for the finished jars.
5. Fill with correct headspace. Ladle the hot butter into the hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch (6 mm) of headspace. Remove air bubbles with a clean utensil, wipe the rims with a damp cloth, centre the lids, and screw the bands on until fingertip tight — snug, not forced. Sugar residue on a rim is a failed seal waiting to happen, so wipe carefully.
6. Process, cool and check seals. Lower the jars into the canner, ensuring they are covered by at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water. Bring to a full rolling boil and process half-pints for 10 minutes at altitudes up to 1,000 feet (305 m) — adjust upward for your altitude using current USDA guidance. Turn off the heat, wait 5 minutes, then lift the jars onto the towel and leave them undisturbed for 12 to 24 hours. Check that every lid is sealed and concave before labelling and storing.

Calories: 42 kcalProtein: 0 gCarbohydrates: 11 gFat: 0 gSaturated fat: 0 gSodium: 12 mgFiber: 1 gSugar: 10 g

Recipe by Ahsan ul Haq · FryDaily. Printing? This card is designed to print cleanly on its own.

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