Slow Cooker Apple Cranberry Butter

I love all the seasons up here in the northland.  Every season has it's wonderful produce to make delectable recipes for your family and friends.  Apples are at their peak right now.  You have to wait until it gets really cold outside so those apples take on their wonderful tastes.

This year I decided to make some apple butter.  My co-worker told me that she had a wonderful crock pot apple butter recipe.  I took her recipe and also looked on Pinterest to see if there were any other recipes that incorporated cranberries. I found one on Pinterest. This recipe is so good.  I put both recipes together and came up with a very yummy apple butter. I bought some of those wonderful apples and I had some left over cranberries from my Cranberry Orange Bread with Yogurt and decided to add them to the apple butter to give it a little different taste.

All I can say is....Yummy!  Apple butter brings me back to when I was a little girl.  I use to love spreading it on toast and I still do... I do hope you enjoy this wonderful treat from my kitchen. 
It always looks so good when the apples break down in the slow cooker. The aroma in your kitchen of cooking apples brings you back to autumns past. Once they have gone through the canning process, label them and stick them in the pantry until you are ready to gift them during the holidays.

Canning 101
Now it's time to "can" this wonderful apple butter.  I decided to make the apple butter for gifts for Christmas.  It made 12 jelly jars of apple butter.  If you have never canned anything before, this might be the time to learn.  It's very easy...

Purchase jelly jars at the grocery store.  Wash them good and then sterilize.  I actually put them in the dishwasher and run a complete cycle. Make sure they are very clean.  Fill the jars to 1/2" of the rim. Sterilize the bands and lids.  (Place on stove in pan with water and boil them.  Keep in water until ready to use.)  

Remove lids and bands with tongs and make sure the rims of the jelly jars are very clean. Wipe them down good with paper toweling. You want to make sure their seal will be good. Also wipe down the lids. Place the lids and then the bands onto the jars. Don't over tighten.  

In the meantime you should be boiling water in a canner.  When it comes to a full boil, turn it down a little bit and place your jars in the water bath.  Cook for about 10-15 minutes.  Turn off stove and remove jars from water bath.  Place the jars on a clean towel on your counter and wait for the wonderful sound of the lids popping.  Your jars are sealed when they pop and the lid is indented in the middle.  Let them cool and place in your pantry for presents for the family or for you. 

Here are the tools you will need: Jelly jars, lids, wide mouth funnel, canner and canning tongs. If you are just starting out, the jars come with lids. After that, you will have to purchase new lids when canning new items. Canning lids can't be used more than once. I save the old ones and use them for left overs in the refrigerator.
Prices very for these items. The canner can be purchased at any hardware store, bog box store, or Amazon. 

I found this video on youtube. This gal explains the process very clearly.This video let's you know that canning is safe and fun to do.  Come September and October you can can all those wonderful fruits and veggies. I love making salsa and this is a great way to preserve that wonderful salsa for use at Thanksgiving and Christmas or for just everyday.

Slow Cooker Apple Cranberry Butter
Ingredients:
4 - 5 pounds apples (your choice) - don't peel
1-2 cups cranberries
1 cup unsweetened cranberry juice
1 cup maple syrup
1 T. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsps. vanilla extract

Directions:
  1. Before you start, make sure your canning jars are cleaned and sanitized. I put mine in the dishwasher for a full cycle including drying time. (For further instructions on canning check out Canning 101 above. The video is a great source for canning information.
  2. Core and chop apples; do not peel
  3. Place apples, cranberries, cranberry juice in slow cooker. 
  4. Cover and cook on high for about 4-5 hours.
  5. Puree in sieve, food mill, food processor or and immersion blender.
  6. Return mixture to crock pot and add maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt and vanilla.
  7. Cover and cook on high for 1 to 2 hours

One Final Thought...
I'm sitting here today and it's below zero outside. It was fun thinking about canning for a few hours. Autumn is such a fun time of year and canning is a fun thing to do in the fall. I can hardly wait until next fall again...however, after fall comes a crazy cold winter like this one again. I guess I'll just think about the coming summer right now, not autumn quite yet! 😊






Always remember..."Life's short...eat dessert first!"...words to live by! 
www.handmadebyhoffy.com
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Toasted Almond Ice Cream Triangles Dessert

I remember my Mom making something similar to this when I was a kid. It is so good and so easy.  It uses simple ingredients and makes 16 servings.  Top with some homemade caramel sauce and man 'oh man watch the smiles and compliments...

There are so many dessert recipes out there. I truly would like to try every one of them. But, I also like to make desserts that I've made in the past. I'm sure you know what I mean. When one recipe is easy and works for everyone, I tend to go back to those before trying something new. We already know that they taste great and are easy to prepare. So why not just make something again that really works. 
This is one of those recipes. So easy and doesn't use a million ingredients. I tend to make recipes with less than 6 ingredients. In this day and age ingredients are expensive. So the fewer the ingredients the better.  

This recipe has six ingredients...rice krispies, almonds, coconut, light brown sugar, butter and vanilla ice cream. Most of the ingredients are in my pantry except maybe the vanilla ice cream. Walmart carries their own brand and it's really pretty good and is priced very reasonable.  So this recipe is not only good, it's also inexpensive to make.  I like that fact also. I also add caramel sauce for a topping.  It's not necessary, but it tastes so good with a little goodness dripped on top.

Let's Make Toasted Almond Triangle Ice Cream Dessert...

You will need the following ingredients:
  • Rice Krispies
  • Sliced Almonds
  • Coconut
  • Brown Sugar
  • Butter
  • Ice Cream (of course)
  • Caramel (opt., but it makes these little triangles so yummy)
That's it! Few ingredients, inexpensive and easy to make. My kind of dessert...
Start by toasting the sliced almonds. Pour them in a frying pan and turn on the heat. Stay close because they brown very fast.
Next toast the coconut in the oven.  Spread the coconut in a thin layer onto a baking sheet. I placed parchment in the pan so it kept the pan clean. Bake for 5-10 minutes at 350 degrees, stirring every few minutes to help the flakes toast evenly. Remove when they are toasted to your liking.
In a large bowl mix together cereal, toasted almonds, toasted coconut and brown sugar. 
Melt the butter and pour over the mixture and mix well.
Press half of the mixture into a 9X13" cake pan and chill in the refrigerator. Soften your ice cream a little and then spread it on top of the rice krispie crust. You can use a piece of wax paper to spread and even out your ice cream.
Top the ice cream with the remaining almond, coconut and rice krispie mixture. Cover and place in the freezer until firm.

When ready to serve, cut 8 equal sections and cut them in half. Add caramel sauce on top and serve. It's just that easy. Who doesn't love ice cream? Who doesn't love ice cream with almonds, coconut, rice krispies and caramel? The answer is everyone loves these ingredients. It's light and tasty. Next time you need an expensive, yummy dessert, try this one. You'll serve it time and time again...

Toasted Almond Triangle Ice Cream Dessert

Ingredients:
  • 4 cups toasted rice cereal (such as Rice Krispies), slightly crushed
  • 1 cup sliced, toasted almonds
  • 1 cup toasted, sweetened flake coconut
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • ⅔ cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 quarts vanilla ice cream, softened
 Prepared caramel sauce, optional, but it really makes this dessert taste so good.

Directions:
  1. In a large bowl, mix together cereal, toasted almonds, toasted coconut, brown sugar and butter. 
  2. Press half of mixture into bottom of 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking dish and chill slightly. 
  3. Spoon softened ice cream over chilled crust and press evenly, using waxed paper and your hands. Top with remaining crumb mixture. Cover and freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.
To serve, cut into 8 equal squares. Cut each square diagonally into triangles. I would recommend drizzling some caramel sauce on top. That makes it extra special! Below is a quick recipe for homemade caramel sauce.

Super Easy Homemade Caramel Sauce
             
  Ingredients:
  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 C. light brown sugar
  • 2/3 C. heavy cream

Instructions:

  1. In a medium saucepan melt the butter. Add brown sugar and heavy cream; whisk continuously over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.

    How to make a caramel sauce easy recipe for dip or toffee cake or pudding        How to make a caramel sauce easy recipe for dip or toffee cake or pudding

  2. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for only 3 minutes, while stirring (do not overcook). Remove from heat and allow to cool.

  3. Store in refrigerator for up to one month.
That's all there is to it. This recipe is as easy as it gets. What a great compliment to the Toasted Almond Triangles. Thank you to Press Print Party Website for a great caramel recipe.

One Final Thought...
I can't emphasize how easy this dessert is and how cost friendly it is. With the holidays coming up, this one is a winner. Everyone loves ice cream and with the caramel topping, you've made a masterpiece.



Always remember..."Life's short...eat dessert first!"...words to live by! 
www.handmadebyhoffy.com
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