Cranberry Apple Butter

Fall is in the air. I'm not sure whether to be excited (because I can wear thick, warm sweaters and build a fire turn on the switch in our fireplace) or sad (because I love the sunshine, warm weather, and eating outside). I'm going to call that a draw.

This recipe, however, is a solid win (really, with the cliches?).

As always with our CSA, we get a ton of fruit or vegetables several weeks running. We have received apples for three weeks now. Three! I like to put apples in things, but I don't eat them as a snack, standalone. I'm not sure why, because I love things like pears, but there you have it. Apples are never my first choice in a fruit to just munch on. I knew that I had to put these apples in something to make me feel like they weren't wasted. Bread was fine, but I had made a banana bread a few weeks earlier and currently have a whole host of these, these, and these sitting in my fridge right now. I wasn't really interested in any more bread products (after all, I'm not really needing to carb-load these days, despite my baking that says otherwise!).

On Friday, I had to run to the store because we ran out of a few key items (you know, like milk wine) and while I was there I noticed that cranberries had arrived back in the produce section. Not craisins, but real, honest-to-goodness cranberries. All of a sudden, it hit me. I wanted to make cranberry apple butter.

A few years ago, when I was creating my annual Christmas goodie bag of baked goods for friends, I came across this recipe. I thought it looked pretty easy, and different, for that matter, and decided to give it a whirl. Though I only made one batch, I remember eating that stuff on almost anything-bread, muffins, a spoon-and was pretty sad when it was gone. This weekend, I went off in search of that recipe, and except for the fact that the recipe called for Granny Smith apples (which weren't in the CSA!) I realized I had everything else I'd need to do this. Just like that, it made it's way on my to-make list for sometime this weekend (yes, I make a to-make list of dishes and baked goods for the week that I try to do over the weekend. Don't judge).

On Sunday I felt a little chill in the air and got to work. I threw everything in a pot besides the apples, peeled and cored the apples (and tried not to nick my fingers in the process), and let it cook down for hours. Later, I pureed it using my hand blender, and voila! cranberry apple butter!

Massive amounts of cranberry apple butter. Anyone hungry?

I am pretty sure I'll still be eating this by the spring with the amount I have, but you're welcome to take some of it off my hands. That is, if you can pry it from my fingers first. It kind of gives my taste buds a little bit of pucker after giving it a nice small sweet sugar rush. It's not like most sweet spreads I've had (and to be honest, I'll usually only use raspberry jam anyway). I think it'd be especially perfect with a nice hot, buttery popover. Not that I have any fresh popovers in my kitchen...

...yet.

Cranberry apple butter (recipe adapted slightly from From the kitchen of the 13)

2 c brown sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 c. orange juice
2 c. fresh or frozen cranberries
10 apples of your choice (I used a combination of Macoun, McIntosh, and Cortlands, but the original recipe calls for Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and chopped into large chunks

*Add all ingredients except the apples to a large pot. Cook over medium heat and stir occasionally until the cranberries begin to pop.
* Add apples, turn the heat to medium-low to low and cook until apples get very soft and fall apart. Make sure you stir the mixture frequently to get everything combined together.
*Put the mixture carefully into a blender (let it cool a bit so it doesn't explode in the blender!) or use a hand blender or a potato masher until the mixture is thick and, for the most part, smooth (I always like a couple of chunks of apple or cranberry!). Spread on anything of choice, but hot, fresh bread or popovers never seem to hurt!