Apple Butter Chai Flavors

Rita~'s Note:

All the comforting seasonings of a cup of Chai tea in thick apple butter. The sugars in the apple caramelize with the long cooking becoming a deep dark brown. No need to PEEL the apples my choices are Winesao, Granny Smith, Gala and or Gravenstein. cooking them pureed instead of sliced, you can get more into the crock pot so this will take longer cooking time. Making more and making for a very fragrant home and neighborhood! You know Chai means tea? So if you want the tea flavor added, try the optional black tea ingredient. Top a pork roast, oatmeal, pancakes, french toast use as sandwich spread.

• Total Time: 20 hrs 20 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 20 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 30

• 15 apples, bruised parts discarded, cored and sliced
• 1/2 cup bottled lemon juice
• 1 cup apple cider
• 2 (4 g) bags black tea (cranberry orange flavored works great) (optional)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1 -2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2-1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, very fine ground
• 1/2-1 teaspoon ground anise or 1/2-1 teaspoon ground fennel
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 pinch salt

Directions:

1. Optional:.
2. Heat the apple cider to boiling remove from heat and steep the tea bags for 5 minutes. No longer or it`ll be to bitter and astringent. If you want more tea flavor just add an other tea bag.
3. Place 1/3 of the apple and 1/3 of the lemon juice in a running food processor through feed tube and then pulse till smooth then place in crock pot with plain or optional steeped tea cider on high heat. Continue with other 2/3`rds apples and juice.
4. Cook for 18 hours. Watch pot for burning and do turn heat down to low if need be. Stir the apples about every couple hours and more toward the end of cooking. Add sugars, and 1/2 the spices. Mix all together and cook 2-8 more hours.
5. Taste and add more spices to taste.
6. For a smoother butter use immersion blender to blend.
7. Fill the jars to within ¼-inch of the top, wipe any apple butter of the top and rim, place the lids and tighten the ring around them.
8. Process the jars in the canner and keep them covered with at least 1 inch of water and boiling.
9. Lift the jars out of the water and let them cool without touching or bumping them in a draft-free place (usually overnight) You can then remove the rings if you like. Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. Some people replace the lid and reprocess the jar, then that's a bit iffy. If you heat the contents back up, re-jar them (with a new lid) and the full time in the canner.