My Fave Season is here- and apple butter

I am in love with this season. Fall. Or Autumn (sounds prettier). The kids and I went to a friends house this weekend and picked 60+ pounds of apples. I have been making apple sauce and apple butter and pie. And more is to come. I haven't skimmed the surface of the apple mountain.
So in Pinterest I saw all these recipes for apple butter, and to my great joy, crock pot recipes! But, because the best apple butter I ever had was made by an Amish woman, I decided to try to find an authentic recipe. I ended up with a combo, and it is SO good.

I peeled, cored, and chopped 12 large apples. Pop in the crock pot with 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar.
This next step is really depending on taste, I taste test until I'm pleased with the mix;
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 Tbsp Cinnamon

Cook in crock pot on low for 8 hours, stir once per hour to make sure nothing gets stuck to the sides. If you do it over night, you could skip that step, and hope for the best ;)
After 8 hours turn it up to high. Cook until apple is super tender and liquid is thickening. Then either use your hand held blender, or transfer into one, and blitz until smooth. A few lumps and chunks are totally acceptable!
Proper sterile canning is the preferred method of preservation, but you can also freeze. Or you can just put it in the fridge and eat it.
Whip up some biscuits and enjoy this first taste of fall!