Apple butter is a great heart-healthy alternative to use in baking and makes a delicious spread all on its own. The best part is that it's incredibly easy to make.

Apple butter has a long tradition as a sweet spread on toast or as part of a dessert recipe. Though it actually doesn't include any actual butter, the spread you'll learn to make resembles butter's texture. You can experiment with different types of apples and spices to make an apple butter that is distinctly your own. Keep reading to learn the basics as well as a few variations.

• Depending on how fancy you want your apple butter to be, you'll need either just a few ingredients or a number of additional spices.

• 4-6 pounds of apples
  • Granny Smith and McIntosh are both good, but if different types are fresh in your area, use those.Epicurious: Sweet and Chunky Apple Butter
• 1-2 cups light brown sugar
• 1-2 cups apple cider
• Lemon zest or lemon juice
• Optional: cloves, allspice, cinnamon, salt

• Large saucepan
• Sterilized jars, either half-pints or pints—quarts if you're making a large batch
  • See this primer on sterilizing jars for info on preparation.National Center for Home Food Preservation: Sterilization of Empty Jars
• Canner or very large pot to boil jars after filling

• Once you've chopped up all the apples, you'll boil them in cider.

• Note on Proportions: 4 pounds of apples should be cooked in 1 cup of cider. 6-8 pounds of apples will require 2 or more cups. See Epicurious's recipe for a chunky apple butter for a smaller batch and the National Center for Home Food Preservation's for a larger one, but know that exact ratios will vary slightly.Epicurious: Sweet and Chunky Apple Butter National Center for Home Food Preservation: Apple Butter

1. Wash, de-stem and core your apples.
2. Dice apples into 1 inch pieces, or smaller. You can keep these chunks of apple in your butter to create a thicker mixture.Epicurious: Sweet and Chunky Apple Butter
3. Alternatively, you can simply slice up the apples before boiling and puree them later, for a smoother butter.
4. Boil the apples in cider. After reaching a boil, boil gently for another 20 minutes, until apples are tender and mixture is reduced by about half.Epicurious: Sweet and Chunky Apple Butter
5. If you're going to puree your apple butter, put your mixture through a food mill or blender and pour into another large saucepan.Food Network: Apple Butter

• Alternatively, you can make your own applesauce and make apple butter in a slow-cooker or crockpot, which saves a lot of time and energy.PickYourOwn.org: How to Make Apple Butter

• Now it's time to add sugar and whatever spices you choose to flavor your apple butter.

1. For a simple apple butter, simply stir in sugar and lemon juice or zest and keep at a medium boil for about 25-30 minutes. Depending on the amount of apples you've chosen to use and how sweet you want your butter to be, you'll need between 2-4 cups of sugar.Epicurious: Sweet and Chunky Apple Butter
2. You may also wish to add a half-teaspoon of cloves, a tablespoon of cinnamon, a teaspoon of allspice and a pinch of salt, again depending on how many apples you have.Food Network: Apple Butter
3. To tell that your butter is done, try spooning a little bit onto a clean plate. If liquid doesn't separate from the outer edge of the butter, it's ready to go.National Center for Home Food Preservation: Apple Butter
4. If you want very smooth apple butter, try using a hand blender to create a smooth, butter-like texture.PickYourOwn.org: How to Make Apple Butter

1. If your apple butter seems too thick, simply add some apple juice to thin it out.PickYourOwn.org: How to Make Apple Butter

2. If it appears too thin and runny, cook it longer. You may reduce the overall amount, but it will thicken.PickYourOwn.org: How to Make Apple Butter

• The best part of making your own apple butter is having enough to put away in jars for the winter.

1. Fill jars while apple butter is still warm.National Center for Home Food Preservation: Apple Butter
2. Use sterile half-pint or pint jars and leave about a quarter of an inch of space between the top of the jar and the level of apple butter.National Center for Home Food Preservation: Apple Butter
3. The sugar in your recipe will preserve your apple butter, so you don't need to be as careful as you might with other types of canning.Epicurious: Sweet and Chunky Apple Butter
4. You'll still need to use some kind of boiling-water canner, however.National Center for Home Food Preservation: Apple Butter
5. For specific directions on how to sterilize jars in boiling water after filling them, see Epicurious's directions, as excerpted from The Complete Book of Year-Round Small-Batch Preserving.Epicurious: Procedure for Shorter Time Processing
6. Once you've boiled the jars to rid them of any contaminants that may have snuck in while you were filling them, let them cool for 24 hours upside-down on a surface lined with paper towels, newspaper or dishcloths.Epicurious: Procedure for Shorter Time Processing

• Making your own apple butter is a great family activity in the fall. The fragrant scent of apples, cloves and spices will certainly have you feeling like it's autumn. When you open a jar a few months later, the taste and smell will transport you back to that fun afternoon of making apple butter.