Somehow it is already October but I feel as though the great debate of fall flavors has been going on since late in the summer. Every year once the famous Pumpkin Spice Latte is released from our favorite indulgent coffee supplier, I see the internet erupt with two teams: those who love their PSL so much they would gladly bathe in it and those who think the PSL is an abomination to coffee drinkers everywhere. I’m here to say I am gladly middle of the road when it comes to my fall coffee preferences. But deep down, I have always preferred apple flavors in the fall. Apple, Cinnamon, Nutmeg…those are the tastes that have always satisfied my pallet come the cooler months. I’ve been so happy to see a surge in fall food and taste offerings centering around my favorite fall flavors and I wanted to share one of my all time favorite autumn recipes with you today: my Instant Pot Cinnamon Spice Apple Butter!
Last month I shared some of our favorite family dinner recipes to make in my beloved Instant Pot and while this recipe was originally developed in my slow cooker I have been able to convert it to the Instant Pot and find it just as flavorful if not more. We love smothering this sticky sweet indulgence on pancakes, muffins, toast, or if your me – just eating it by the spoonful straight out of the jar.
One of my favorite parts about making apple butter is the perfect apple cider concentrate left behind once you have separated the skins of the apples from the apple butter. After cooking down the apples you are left with three parts. First we have the skins, stems, and seeds that release all of that wonderful jelly-making pectin into your apple butter, but once the cooking process is over they are no longer needed – so into the trash they go! Then you have the super reduced delicious apple butter which has the consistency between a jelly and a thick applesauce. As a bonus you will also be left with this delicious liquid from the apples that has intermingled with the spices and the flavors to make a delicious cup of perfectly sweetened, fresh apple cider.
I hope you enjoy this recipe! Happy Fall!
