• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About Pate and The G&M Kitchen
    • Contact Me
  • Recipes
    • Cakes
    • Cupcakes
    • Pies and Cobblers
    • Cookies
    • Bread
    • Breakfast
    • Muffins
    • Rolls
    • Donuts
    • Biscuits
    • Cream Puffs
    • Desserts
    • Cocktails

The G & M Kitchen

  • Modern Southern Recipes
  • Photography Portfolio
  • Privacy Policy
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Photography Portfolio
  • Contact Me
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Say hey y'all!:

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Photography Portfolio
    • Contact Me
    • Recipes
    • About
  • Say hey y'all!:

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Fall Recipes

    Published: Oct 3, 2022 by Pate Giltner 3 Comments

    Stovetop Bourbon Apple Butter

    52 shares
    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

    This homemade bourbon apple butter is the perfect fall condiment! It's full of sweet and tart apples, lots of cinnamon and spices, your favorite spiced cider, and bourbon! 

    Apple butter is one of my favorite things to eat during fall; it's the perfect apple filling for these filled donuts or for smearing on top of southern buttermilk biscuits or buttermilk cornbread!

    Apple butter in a glass jar with sliced apples off to the side.

    Jump to:
    • Why This Recipe Works:
    • About this recipe:
    • Key Ingredients:
    • How to make this recipe:
    • Substitutions
    • Variations
    • Equipment
    • FAQ
    • Looking for more Fall recipes?! Check these out!
    • Stovetop Bourbon Apple Butter

    Why This Recipe Works:

    Good apple butter comes down to how well it is seasoned and spiced! This recipe uses several ingredients to ensure it is perfectly spiced while still letting the natural apple flavor shine. Spiced Apple Cider provides more apple flavor and a nice spice base. It also helps to tenderize the apples as they cook. Bourbon adds depth to butter (all the alcohol cooks off while the apple butter is simmering), and maple syrup and brown sugar add sweetness. 

    About this recipe:

    • Taste - Apple Cider, a mix of sweet and tart caramelized apples, and a little hint of bourbon!
    • Texture - smooth and thick like a thick fruit spread.
    • Effort - Easy; this is a one-pot minimal effort recipe. 
    • Time - about 3-4 hours of cooking 1-2 hours chilling.

    Key Ingredients:

    Bourbon apple butter ingredients on a brown stone table.

    Mcintosh Apples: these apples are soft apple that has a wonderful mix of sweet and tart flavors. I love a tart apple, so I love the hint of tartness Mcintosh apples give this butter, but any sweet red apple will do! You can use any softer red apple you like based on your personal flavor performance, and Honeycrisp or red delicious would also be delicious.  

    Apple Cider: apple cider adds liquid for the apples to cook down while also adding some more delicious apple flavor. My favorite spiced cider is Trader Joes Spiced Cider but use any kind you like, make sure it doesn't have any added sweeteners. 

    Vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, vanilla, and allspice: this butter is all about the spices. The balance of these flavors brings out and complements the apples perfectly. 

    Bourbon: Bourbon is what makes the cream cheese frosting really pop! If you don't like bourbon or want non-alcoholic icing, use any cream cheese icing recipe you like! For the bourbon, I used Woodford Reserve.

    See recipe card for quantities.

    How to make this recipe:

    Peeled, cored, and sliced apples in a light brown dutch oven.

    Peel, core, and roughly chop the apples and toss them into a large dutch oven with lemon juice and brown sugar.

    Apple cider bring poured on top on the apples and spices.

    Add in the spices followed by bourbon, apple cider, and maple syrup.

    The cooked apples in the dutch oven.

    Heat on medium-high for 30 minutes.

    An emersion blender blending the apple mixture.

    Lower heat to medium-low and use an emersion blender to puree the mixture.

    The cooked down apples in the dutch oven with a green spatula and apple slices off to the side.

    Let cook, stirring every 20 minutes for 2-3 hours.

    A jar with the apple butter with the dutch oven off to the side.

    Remove from heat and let cool, then add to jars.

    Substitutions

    • You can omit the bourbon. 
    • You can switch out the Mcintosh apples for any soft red apple.

    Variations

    Instead of cooking this on a stovetop, you could also make it in a slow cooker by combining all the ingredients in the cooker and cook for 6 hours. Blend after it's done cooking.

    Equipment

    • Large high-sided dutch oven. 
    • Emersion blender or regular blender.
    Apple butter spread on a piece of bread with an apple sliced in half on both sides.

    FAQ

    How long does this recipe keep for?

    This will keep in an air-tight container for up to two weeks.

    Looking for more Fall recipes?! Check these out!

    • Bourbon Apple Cider Old Fashioned
    • Cream Cheese Apple Butter Muffins
    • The Best Spiced Apple Cider Muffins
    • Perfect Apple Butter Pound Cake
    Print
    clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
    Apple butter in a glass jar with sliced apples off to the side.

    Stovetop Bourbon Apple Butter

    ★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
    • Author: Pate Giltner
    • Prep Time: 10 minutes
    • Cook Time: 3 hours
    • Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
    • Yield: about 3 cups 1x
    • Category: Condiment
    • Method: Cooking
    • Cuisine: American
    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe

    Description

    The bourbon apple butter is the perfect fall condiment! It's full of sweet and tart apples, lots of cinnamon and spices, your favorite spiced cider, and bourbon! 


    Ingredients

    Units Scale
    • 4 pounds Mcintosh apples
    • About 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    • ½ cup brown sugar
    • 2 tsp vanilla
    • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
    • ¼ tsp ground clove
    • ⅛ ground nutmeg
    • 1 tsp allspice
    • 2 cups spiced apple cider
    • ½ cup bourbon
    • ¼ cup maple syrup

    Instructions

    1. Peel, core, and roughly chop the apples and toss them into a large dutch oven with lemon juice.
    2. Add in the brown sugar and spices.
    3. Followed by bourbon, apple cider, and maple syrup.
    4. Heat on medium-high for 30 minutes. 
    5. Lower heat to medium-low and use an emersion blender to puree the mixture. 
    6. Let cook, stirring every 20 minutes for 2-3 hours. 
    7. Remove from heat and let cool, then add too jars. 

    Did you make this recipe?

    Share a photo and tag me @thegandmkitchen — I can't wait to see what you've made!

    More Fall Recipes

    • Sparkling Fall Thanksgiving Margarita
    • Festive Bourbon Apple Cider Cake
    • Sundried Tomato and Cheese Biscuits
    • Southern Buttermilk Biscuits with Self-Rising Flour

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Elizabeth says

      October 06, 2022 at 1:05 pm

      This was so perfectly spiced!!!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    2. Catrine says

      November 26, 2022 at 5:54 am

      Hi

      You mention lemon juice with the apples but the lemon juice is not in the ingredients list, so easy to forget to buy and also to know how much I should use…

      Reply
      • Pate Giltner says

        November 26, 2022 at 2:14 pm

        Hi Catrine! Thanks so much for pointing that out! It’s just a little juice, to keep the apples from browning. I’ve updated the recipe, and thanks again!

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

    Primary Sidebar

    Hello and welcome!

    Here at The G&M Kitchen, you will find southern-inspired baking recipes with a modern twist that are easy, elegant, and fun! Everything is made from scratch, designed for the home kitchen, and is simply delicious!

    Want recipes delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe here!


    Pate Giltner holding a cupcake
    Pate Giltner holding a cupcake

    About Pate

    Hi, I'm Pate, and welcome to The G&M Kitchen!

    The G&M Kitchen is a recipe blog that specializes in southern baked goods. Here you will find classics like buttermilk and honey biscuits and beautiful show stoppers like strawberry basil cupcakes. While all recipes are inspired by traditional southern classics, they all have a twist or adjustment that elevates them and brings them into the modern age.

    Learn more about me →

    As featured in: thefeedfeed, Sur La Table, Bake From Scratch, Foodtography School, The Bourbon Review, Bringing it Home

    Trending Recipes

    • Moist Bourbon Gingerbread Bundt Cake
    • Bourbon Banana Cake with Bourbon Caramel Frosting.
    • Raspberry Almond Muffins
    • Festive Bourbon Apple Cider Cake

    Meta

    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.org

    Newsletter

    Browse Recipes

    Baking

    More

    Breakfast

    More

    Gluten-Free

    More

    Load up on new recipes, exclusive goodies, + more!

    Get the exclusive content you crave straight to your inbox.

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy

    Contact

    • Contact

    Copyright © 2020 The G&M Kitchen on the Brunch Pro Theme