What do you do when you’ve got a lot of apples on your hands and they’re looking like they might not have that much longer to live? Make Slow Cooker Hot Buttered Apples! 👏👏👏

I bought a big bag of apples the other day for what I thought was a great deal, until I realized later that they were really really ripe. Like they already smell like apple cider instead of fresh apples, ripe. Oops. But I wasn’t about to let that bag of 12 apples go to waste, so I peeled and sliced them, tossed them into the slow cooker with a healthy dose of warm spices, a little sugar, cornstarch for thickening, and a few big pieces of butter. Already sounds good, doesn’t it?

After a few hours in the slow cooker the apples were tender, sweet but not too-sweet, and had my house smelling like an autumn dream! The mixture ends up very much like the filling for an apple pie and is very versatile in its uses. You can treat it like a crustless pie and serve it à la mode like I did below (with a little granola sprinkled on top), spoon it over your pancakes, waffles, or oats, use it as a filling for a dessert “quesadilla”, or even serve it along side something like pork chops.

This is obviously a huge batch because I wanted to use that entire bag of apples, but you can easily halve this recipe if needed. While the Slow Cooker Hot Butter Apples do stay good in the fridge for 4-5 days I’m not sure that they will freeze well due to the cornstarch (although I haven’t had the opportunity to test this yet).

One more note about the type of apples used vs. the amount of sugar in the recipe. I used very ripe Fuji apples, which were fairly sweet with just a hint of tartness. If you use a very tart apple like Granny Smith, you’ll likely want to increase the sugar in the mix, but that’s going to depend on your personal preference.

Slow Cooker Hot Buttered Apples

4.86 from 7 votes

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Slow Cooker Hot Buttered Apples

Slow Cooker Hot Buttered Apples are an easy and versatile dessert that is perfect for using up your glut of autumn apples! 

Total Cost $5.10 recipe / $0.85 serving

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 3 hours

Total Time 3 hours 15 minutes

Servings 6 1 cup each

Ingredients

• 12 small apples* (about 2" diameter) $3.99
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice $0.05
• 1/4 cup brown sugar $0.04
• 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon $0.15
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves $0.05
• 1 tsp vanilla $0.28
• 1/4 tsp salt $0.02
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch $0.18
• 4 Tbsp butter $0.52
• 1/2 cup water $0.00

Instructions

1. Peel and slice the apples, then place them in a slow cooker (4 quart or larger). Add the lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, salt, and cornstarch to the slow cooker, then stir to coat the apples in the spices.

2. Divide the butter into pieces, then place the butter on top of the seasoned apples. Pour 1/2 cup water into the cooker down the side so that reaches the bottom without rinsing the spices from the apples.

3. Place the lid on the slow cooker, set it to high heat, and cook for two hours. After two hours, stir the apples well, replace the lid, and cook for an additional one hour, then serve hot.

Recipe Notes

*I used Fuji apples but any sweet-tart apple will work.

SERVING IDEAS: with granola and ice cream, as a topper for pancakes, waffles, or oatmeal, inside a toasted tortilla as a dessert "quesadilla".

Step by Step Photos

Peel and slice about 12 small apples (about 2-inch diameter) and place them in a slow cooker. For this amount of apples, you’ll probably want to use at least a 4 quart slow cooker.

Add 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp salt, and 3 Tbsp cornstarch to the slow cooker, then stir to coat the apples in the spices. Cut the butter into a few large chunks and place them on top of the apples. Carefully pour 1/2 cup water down the side wall of the cooker so the water reaches the bottom without washing the spices off the apples.

Place the lid on the slow cooker, set it to “high” and cook for two hours. After two hours, stir the apples, replace the lid, and cook for one more hour.

Then EAT! The reason I like these apples is because they are sweet but not so incredibly sweet that they can’t be use to top something healthy like a bowl of oatmeal. They’re about as sweet as applesauce, but with a deep richness from the butter and vanilla. SO GOOD.