As I write this, I can hear far off rumbles of thunder and a steady and determined rain hitting the metal roof of the beach house we rented along the Gulf Coast of Port Aransas, Texas. Mist and fog nearly obscures the view of the waves just beyond the grassy dunes, but we can just see foamy white caps climbing the shore over and over and over again. Being snug and warm and dry inside while admiring temperamental Mother Nature is the definition of comfort. There’s no place I’d rather be.
Certain foods, of course, also provide feelings of comfort – see what I did there? – and on a comfort scale of 1 to 10, this apple butter recipe lands at about 12.5. I use my favorite apple variety (Honeycrisp) and enhance their natural sweetness with dates. This 7-ingredient recipe is quick and easy to make in your pressure cooker. Divide it up to consume some right away and tuck the other portion in the freezer for later.
Delicious on its own for a snack, a pancake/waffle topper or – use this apple butter in my oil-free Apple Butter Cookies and sugar-free/oil-free Apple Butter Waffles.
Pressure Cooker Sugar-free Apple Butter
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 30
Description
The ultimate sweet comfort food is so easy to make in the pressure cooker. It’s naturally sweetened by the apples and beautiful Medjool dates.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds sweet apples, such as Honeycrisp, peeled & cored
- 1 cup unsweetened apple juice
- 1 cup chopped Medjool dates
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp. cardamom
- 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
Instructions
- Cut the apples into chunks and place them along with all of the remaining ingredients in a pressure cooker and stir. Set to cook for 10 minutes, then let the pressure come down naturally.
- Carefully remove the lid and stir the contents. Let mixture cool (warm is fine, but not hot) and then transfer to the bowl of a food processor. Depending on the size of your processor, you may need to work in batches. Process until very smooth.
- Transfer apple butter to air-tight containers and store in the refrigerator, or for longer storage, freeze in small quantities.
Notes
- I used predominately Honeycrisp apples, but included one Pink Lady and one Gala.
- I weighed the apples AFTER I peeled and cored them.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 155
- Sugar: 33
- Sodium: 3
- Fat: 0
- Saturated Fat: 0
- Unsaturated Fat: 0
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 41
- Protein: 1
- Cholesterol: 0
Hey Annie! Hope all is well with you. Can’t wait to try this – haven’t made apple butter since god was a boy. A wonderfully fragrant project to undertake until winter (finally) decides to amscray. Thanks.
Hi Angela! Good to hear from you. Sounds like it’s high time for some apple butter in your life :-)! Hope you love it as much as we do.
Couldn’t resist being the next to comment because I too am Angela : ) Anyway thank you so much for the recipe – I love anything to do with apples and cinnamon – and so good for you. I’ve just printed out your apple butter waffles and cookie recipes – thank you. They look wonderful but alas it’s far too hot to put the oven on right now – 38 degrees C forecast but it usually goes higher : ) Ah well it’ll cool down one day and I’ll look forward to trying the recipes. Angela X
Always good to have another Angela on board :-)! One of my best blogging buddies is named Angela (canned-time.com). Thanks so much for the comment and I hope you enjoy the recipes. I’m having difficulty relating to hot weather – – we are in the midst of freezing rain right now!
Ohh I love stormy days when you’re all cozy inside! And I love the look of this apple butter. I recently got an instant pot and am always looking for yummy stuff to make in it- pinning this now!
Isn’t it the best feeling? Coincidentally, we’ve got freezing rain today here in Oklahoma and I’m snug and warm inside enjoying a hot cup of tea. Ahhhh…
That looks and sounds delicious and I don’t think I’d need anything to put underneath it, I could happily eat it straight off the spoon. I love your description of the cosiness indoors. 🙂
I’m craving for these from the photos alone!! Can’t wait to try them!