What kind of apples are best for this recipe?

The recipe calls for 5 1/2 pounds of peeled, cored, and sliced apples, which will break down beautifully during the long, slow cooking process to create a smooth butter.

How do I know when the apple date butter is done cooking?

The butter is ready when it reaches a thick, dark brown, spreadable consistency after cooking on low for 9-11 hours, stirring occasionally.

What if the apple date butter is too thin after 11 hours?

If it's too liquid, remove the lid and cook on high in the slow cooker until thickened, stirring to prevent burning, or transfer to a pot on the stove to reduce.

How should I store this Slow Cooker Apple Date Butter?

Transfer the finished apple date butter to canning jars and store it in the refrigerator or freeze it for longer preservation.

12.6K Views 12 years ago

Slow Cooker Apple Date Butter
[Vegan]

JS By: Jennifer Strohmeyer

Author Bio

Pure Thyme is a blog where Jennifer shares her passion for pure food, simple and... Read More

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A rustic canning jar filled with dark brown Slow Cooker Apple Date Butter, garnished with a cinnamon stick and fresh apple slices, ready for spreading.

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Discover more recipes with these ingredients

Apple
Dates

Slow Cooker Apple Date Butter [Vegan]

I’ve always wanted to make apple butter and found out by looking at several recipes online that it is not as healthy as I thought it was. Some recipes called for 2 cups of sugar – yes, 2 CUPS OF SUGAR! Apples are naturally sweet, so why do you even... Read More

Ingredients You Need for Slow Cooker Apple Date Butter [Vegan]

5 ½ pounds apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 cup chopped dates, pitted
1 cup unsweetened apple juice, fresh is best
1 cup water
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

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How to Prepare Slow Cooker Apple Date Butter [Vegan]

Fill slow cooker with peeled, cored and sliced apples. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until combined.
Cover and cook on low setting for 9-11 hours or until the butter is a thick, dark brown, spreadable consistency. Stir occasionally.
If there is too much liquid, remove lid and cook on high until thickened. Keep an eye on it and stir it occasionally to prevent burning (this all depends on your slow cooker). You can also transfer to a pot and heat on the stove until it reduces if the slow cooker isn’t doing its job.
Transfer to canning jars and store in the refrigerator or freeze.
Enjoy!

Notes

Some changes I would make to this recipe would be to reduce the amount of dates by half or increase the amount of apples. If you don’t want to add the dates at all, just use 2 cups of unsweetened apple juice – preferably fresh – instead. However, I thought I would end up with at least 4 pints, but only ended up with 2 1/2 pints.