No, it’s not really butter. It’s a cross between compote and a jam.

It doesn’t really need a recipe and it takes about 5 minutes to throw together and another 10 minutes to cook. So if you like apples, there’s really no reason to shy away from it. The bonus for me is that the whole house smells like apple pie!!

Ingredients:

1 large cooking apple

2-3 sweet apples (medium sized ones)

1 heaped tablespoon caster sugar

2 tablespoons salted butter

1/2-3/4 teaspoon mixed spice

Method:

1. Core, peel and dice the apples. Retain some of the peels.

2. In a pan, melt the butter and add the sugar. Swirl it together. Then throw in the apple chunks along with 2-3 pieces of the peel.

3. Cover and cook till soft on medium heat. Add the mixed spice and stir well. When the apples are cooked, lower the heat and leave on the hob for about 2-3 minutes till the bottom is slightly caramelised.

4. Take off the heat and cool.

You can enjoy this in a number of ways – spread on a hot piece of toast or muffin, smother your pancakes with it, or top your morning bowl of oatmeal.

The best way, of course, is to enjoy it with a spoon, slowly, savouring every tiny bit of it.

Notes:

1. The apple peels add a bit of warm, autumnal colour to the apple butter. You could omit them if you want a lighter, golden apple butter.

2. I used a combination of cooking apples and eating apples to balance the tartness and to reduce the sugar I needed to use.

Filed under: Compotes and Preserves Tagged: apple butter, apple compote, apple pie without the crust, autumn comfort foods, autumn delights, epicurious, quick apple jam