Two-Ingredient Oven Apple Butter

Deep, spiced-tasting apple butter from 2 ingredients and a slow oven, with no added sugar at all. The apples cook down for hours until they turn dark and silky, their own sweetness concentrated into something that tastes like far more than fruit and juice.

Apples bring soluble fiber and polyphenols, the plant compounds studied for feeding a healthier gut community over time, and cooking them slowly keeps everything whole, with nothing refined added. Spread it thin on a slice of AIP toast, swirl it into coconut yogurt, or spoon it over roasted pork.

Let it go long and low, and stir it now and then. The patience is the whole recipe, and the smell alone is worth it.

Ingredients

• 8 apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
• 1 cup apple juice

Method

• Heat the oven to 400 F.
• Put the chopped apples and the apple juice in a baking dish. Bake for 1 hour, stirring once at the halfway point so nothing sticks or dries at the edges.
• Move the softened apples to a blender and puree until smooth.
• Return the puree to the baking dish and bake for 2 more hours. It will darken and thicken as the liquid cooks off.
• Puree once more for a silky finish. Serve warm or cold. It keeps well chilled and works as a fruit dip, a pancake topping, or a stand-in for jam.

Instant Pot variation

For a faster apple butter, cook the apples and juice on high pressure for roughly 15 to 20 minutes, let the pressure release naturally, then puree and simmer uncovered on the saute setting until it thickens to the texture you want. Times here are a sensible starting range and are flagged untested in this kit, so watch it the first time.

*Adapted from acleanplate.com*