An Addendum to my current Bon Appétit Apple Stack Cake Recipe:

Buying Apple Butter is soooo pre-pandemic ;)

We do maintain some good habits in the south and, by my estimation, one of our better habits is that we typically don’t buy what we can make. Some of this comes from our lack of wealth - Appalachian culture isn’t really known for living in high cotton. But, I think it mostly comes from our stubborn industrious and the certainty that we can do it better than anyone who might be selling it to us.

When I was working edits for the Apple Stack Cake recipe with my BonAp editors, I included my apple butter recipe in the recipe as part of the recipe because I would not dream of making that cake without also making the apple butter from scratch. Perhaps correctly, it was considered too time consuming and laborious for the available bandwidth of this particular magazine spread, so it was cut. The idea is to not intimidate the reader, and, I have to admit, omitting the apple butter recipe and replacing it with a purchased product likely does help turns a recipe you might like reading about into a recipe you might actually try, which is the goal. (But, c’mon! Aren’t we all pioneers now?)

These are the simple trade-offs you make for publication though and they are quite common. Also, the wonderful editor (S.O. Jen Choi) wanted to use that space for copy, which was a beautiful trade off, and I was afforded space to write about how my Aunt Ruby showed me, when she was nearly 100-years old, about our family’s apple drying and apple butter making traditions in Check, Virginia.

But, while the recipe is a bit time consuming, it is actually not altogether laborious and certainly not complicated. It is, actually, mostly just a lot of time spent leaving it the hell alone and simply enjoying your home filling with the smell of cooking apples and spices. I also spied, in the comment section of IG when the Apple Stack Cake was posted, complaints that the apple butter linked for purchase was too expensive. I have not looked to see which apple butter they linked to, but my estimation is that all purchased apple butter is going to be too expensive because it is simply too easy and cheap to make on your own.

So! In the spirit of all of those things, I thought it might be prudent to write a quick post sharing my apple butter recipe for anyone who might like to add it to their repertoire.

You should also make sure to pick up the beautiful current issue of Bon Appétit, which celebrates Appalachia in so many pages and ways - including some stunning recipes and and essays by and about the likes of Cherokee Chef Bradley Dry, Rick Bragg and Lora Smith.

Enjoy!

Love, L

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Apple butter

8 cups Dried Diced Apples

10 cups Water

2 cups Apple Cider

2 cups Pure Cane Granulated Sugar

½ cup Light Brown Sugar, packed

1t Ground Cinnamon

1t Ground Nutmeg

½ t Ground Ginger

½ t Ground Clove

1t Salt 

To prepare the apple butter / 

Add the apples, water and apple cider to a large stock pot and set to low. Cook the apples for about 4-6 hours until they are very soft. This is very low effort and minimum engagement so don’t get scared. Just visit it every once in a while to stir and enjoy how your house smells. 

Once your apples are soft and mushy, use an immersion blender straight in the pot to puree until very, very smooth. If you do not have an immersion blender, you can use a good, sturdy blender but take caution with the heat, making sure to always allow steam to be released so you don’t explode your kitchen. Whichever blending method you use, pass through a sieve for extra smoothness. 

Return to the pot and add the sugar, spices, and salt. Cook on low for another 8-10 hours. This steps slightly more interaction, but not much. You simply want to stir a bit more frequently to move the sugar around. It will turn a lovely deep brown and become very thick and this is how you know it is finally done. 

Transfer to a container and cool to room temperature. Cover cooled butter and refrigerate if not using right away. Tightly covered, the apple butter will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator. It can be frozen for up to 3 months; thaw in the refrigerator. It can also be canned by following your very careful/safe canning temps and techniques.