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October 16, 2020

Crockpot caramel apple butter {easy DIY gift idea}

In today’s post: Learn how to make a big batch of caramel apple butter in your crockpot, then divide it up into cute little jars for a delicious gift.

I’m not sure where apple butter has been all my life, but I recently discovered it and wow it’s amazing. I want to put it on everything: pancakes and English muffins and toast and ice cream. And graham crackers. Don’t get me wrong, I love homemade jam, but right now it’s apple butter all the way. Caramel apple butter, to be exact. I combined a few recipes to come up with an easy way to make apple butter in the slow cooker, adding in a hefty dose of melted caramel to take it from delicious to divine.

This caramel apple butter is easy to make in the crockpot and is delicious! It makes a beautiful DIY gift.

And then because it’s so pretty and yummy (and my big batch of apples made such a big batch of apple butter) I made a cute little label to put on jars of the stuff for an easy, inexpensive DIY Christmas gift.

This recipe for caramel apple butter is easy to make in the crockpot and tastes amazing! Wonderful DIY Christmas gift idea. Comes with free labels for the jars. Slow cooker recipe.

Caramel Apple Butter Video

This quick video shows how easy it is to make:

How to make caramel apple butter in the crockpot

You can use any kind of apples you like for this recipe, but different apples will yield slightly different results. The first time I made this recipe I used mostly Jazz apples, which are tart-sweet, and the end result was an extremely flavorful apple butter. The second time I made it I tried using Red Delicious apples, since they’re so inexpensive, and I tossed in a couple of Granny Smiths for good measure. That batch had a slightly mellow-er flavor, still very delicious, but I have to say I prefer the first batch. (If you do use Red Delicious apples, you can probably decrease the sugar amount from what’s listed in the recipe.)

This recipe for caramel apple butter is easy to make in the crockpot and tastes amazing! Wonderful DIY Christmas gift idea. Comes with free labels for the jars. Slow cooker recipe.

But both batches were fantastic and something I’d be proud to give as a gift (and I’m pretty picky about that). If you do use Red Delicious apples, you can make an entire batch for under $10.

This recipe for caramel apple butter is easy to make in the crockpot and tastes amazing! Wonderful DIY Christmas gift idea. Comes with free labels for the jars. Slow cooker recipe.

My batch yielded about 7 cups of apple butter. I split that up into 12 4-oz jars and 2 8-oz jars, so that makes a lot of gifts! You can see the different sizes of the jars in the photo below. Links to the jars I used:  4 oz jars  |  8 oz jars

This caramel apple butter is easy to make in the crockpot and is delicious! It makes a beautiful DIY gift.

Be aware that your yield may vary a little depending on how long you cook the apple butter. If you stop when it’s a medium caramel color, like you see here, it will be plenty thick to spread nicely. This is what you get if you cook the apple butter for 1 hour after blending (as directed in the recipe).

This recipe for caramel apple butter is easy to make in the crockpot and tastes amazing! Wonderful DIY Christmas gift idea. Comes with free labels for the jars. Slow cooker recipe.

But if you want it a deeper brown and even thicker (so that when you tip the jar upside down it won’t move from the bottom) you can cook it longer, which will reduce it further and give you a smaller yield. This would probably take 2+ hours of cooking time after blending. If you do decide to cook it longer, be sure to give it a stir every once in a while to make sure it doesn’t burn.

This recipe for caramel apple butter is easy to make in the crockpot and tastes amazing! Wonderful DIY Christmas gift idea. Comes with free labels for the jars. Slow cooker recipe.

One last note: I used the HIGH setting on my slow cooker to make this apple butter because I didn’t want it to take so long. However, you could also use the low setting and double the time listed (for example to let it cook overnight). If you are going to decrease the amounts to make a half batch, it will cook faster, so watch it to make sure it doesn’t burn.

Crockpot caramel apple butter recipe

This recipe for caramel apple butter is easy to make in the crockpot and tastes amazing! Wonderful DIY Christmas gift idea. Comes with free labels for the jars. Slow cooker recipe.
Print Recipe

Caramel Apple Butter

Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time2 hrs
Total Time2 hrs 15 mins
Course: Dessert
Keyword: Caramel

Ingredients

  • 15-16 Medium Sized Apples about 7-8 pounds
  • 1 cup Brown Sugar
  • 1.5 teaspoons Cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon Ginger
  • 3/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves
  • 2 teaspoons Vanilla
  • 30 Unwrapped Caramels most of an 11 oz bag

Instructions

  • Peel and dice the apples. You should have about 16 cups of apple.
  • Mix in the brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, then place apples in a slow cooker and cover with lid. Cook on high for 6 hours. 
  • Blend the apples until smooth, either using an immersion blender or by transferring apples into a blender.
  • Return apple mixture to slow cooker. Stir in vanilla.
  • Melt caramels by microwaving for 30 second intervals until they are soft enough to stir.
  • Pour melted caramels into apple mixture and stir or blend to combine.
  • Replace slow cooker lid, but pit it on crooked so air can vent.
  • Continue cooking on high for 1-2 more hours until mixture starts to thicken (it will get even thicker as it cools).
  • Transfer apple butter to airtight containers. Keep in the fridge for 2 weeks or freeze for up to 6 months.

Printable Tags for Apple Butter

And you can download the printable tags by clicking here. I recommend printing them on cardstock. If you print at 100% they will fit the jar lids for these jars: 4 oz jars  |  8 oz jars

 

Preserving the Apple Butter

This apple butter needs to be refrigerated. It will stay good in the fridge for 2 weeks or more, or can be frozen for about 6 months. Some readers have asked about hot water bath canning. I don’t have any experience with that so I cannot give information on how to do that or whether this recipe can safely be canned.

This recipe for caramel apple butter is easy to make in the crockpot and tastes amazing! Wonderful DIY Christmas gift idea. Comes with free labels for the jars. Slow cooker recipe.

This recipe for caramel apple butter is easy to make in the crockpot and tastes amazing! Wonderful DIY Christmas gift idea. Comes with free labels for the jars. Slow cooker recipe.

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Comments

  1. nadine donovan says

    December 8, 2016 at 7:30 am

    yummy! this is a perfect gift for loved ones! can’t wait to make it!

    Reply
  2. Jan says

    December 8, 2016 at 8:10 am

    Such a wonderful idea! I love it, and I thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  3. Amanda says

    December 8, 2016 at 8:24 am

    Do you think you can use apple sauce? My apples have already been turned into sauce, but this would be a delicious alternative.
    Could you also use caramel sauce instead of the candies? I have a lot of the sauce left from VBS Sundaes.

    Reply
  4. Christina says

    December 8, 2016 at 2:00 pm

    this looks delicious! I have two questions…. what kind of bread would you pair this with as a gift? and have you ever left the peels on and used a foley food mill? it makes it SUPER fast to make applesauce or butter and the color is deeper and richer too!

    Reply
    • Crystal says

      December 14, 2019 at 6:38 pm

      I missed the 6 hr cook before blending the apples. Can I put it into the slow cooker after pureed? And for how long??

      Reply
  5. Lara says

    December 22, 2016 at 6:00 am

    Thanks for the recipe! I love your blog. I just made this with my daughter. The taste is delicious, although I must say, mine isn’t quite as smooth as yours. It developed little flecks in it, of the caramel I believe. Not sure why it didn’t incorporate more into the mix. The appearance isn’t quite as appealing but the taste is great! I used a combination of Cortland and Granny smiths.

    Reply
  6. Donna SMith says

    August 9, 2017 at 12:43 pm

    Can you do water bath canning for shelf storage?

    Reply
    • Leanne says

      August 15, 2017 at 6:58 pm

      I was wondering the same.

      Reply
    • Susanne Johnson says

      July 28, 2019 at 6:46 pm

      I was also wondering this — has anyone tried it?

      Reply
  7. KATHY says

    August 23, 2017 at 6:06 am

    Can you do water bath canning

    Reply
  8. Jennifer says

    August 23, 2017 at 6:07 pm

    Can you do water bathing canning with this recipe?

    Reply
  9. Nancy says

    September 7, 2017 at 2:30 pm

    This sounds sublime…I’m gonna try making some…do you preserve it in a pressure cooker or hot bath and for how long? I was curious if it took longer because of the caramel…

    Reply
  10. Amanda says

    September 21, 2017 at 2:37 pm

    Can you can (hot water bath), these?

    Reply
    • Michelle says

      September 24, 2017 at 4:36 pm

      I would think HWB for 10 minutes would do it.

      Reply
  11. Sabrina says

    September 27, 2017 at 6:03 pm

    Can I do this in a regular stove?! How long would it take? Any idea? Tks!

    Reply
  12. Ivory says

    September 30, 2017 at 6:13 pm

    This look amazing, and I will be trying this, just hope it look and taste good.

    Reply
  13. Lynn Riddle says

    November 12, 2017 at 12:57 pm

    how did you attach the “labels” to the jar if you used cardstock?

    Reply
    • autumn says

      November 17, 2017 at 10:14 am

      Hi Lynn! The labels aren’t actually “attached”, they are just the same size as the flat lid of the jar, so when the screw top lid screws on over them it keeps them in place.

      Reply
      • Annette says

        November 27, 2017 at 12:24 pm

        I was wondering if anyone has water bath processed this? And if it was successful.

        Reply
      • autumn says

        October 31, 2018 at 11:39 am

        Hi Melissa! I have no experience with canning, so I’m no help there. Sorry!

        Reply
        • Brooke says

          November 29, 2018 at 11:56 am

          What type of ginger do you use? Is that considered a spice?

          Reply
  14. Katie C. says

    November 19, 2017 at 7:40 pm

    Wow! This is so good! I made it today and I can’t wait to give it to my family.

    Reply
  15. DONNA HARRISON says

    May 22, 2019 at 9:17 am

    Can you use caramel ice cream topping vs. melting individual caramels?

    Reply
  16. Melissa Alakaby says

    September 9, 2019 at 2:46 pm

    Fresh ginger or ground dry?

    Reply
    • autumn says

      September 10, 2019 at 9:26 am

      Ground dry!

      Reply
  17. Jeanita says

    October 16, 2019 at 8:05 am

    I am making this but accidentally put the vanilla in with the rest of the ingredients for 6hours on high. Should it affect the recipe ?

    Reply
    • autumn says

      October 17, 2019 at 5:24 pm

      Hi Jeanita – the vanilla may have evaporated during that cook time so you may want to add a little more. But it will likely be just fine.

      Reply

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I'm Autumn, a mom of five who loves ice cream, Masterpiece Theatre, and clothes that hide the fact that I eat so much ice cream. When I was 18 I got a job at a craft store and told everyone (regularly) how much I hated crafts. Well, things change! Read More…

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