Cranberry Apple Butter - Easy Add for a Holiday Dinner

Guys, I'm pregnant and therefore my ability to really put in a full 100% is really kind of lacking. I wanted to contribute to the Thanksgiving dinner at my Aunt's house but I didn't want to over extend myself and then stress about my part of the meal. I was looking for recipes that I could tinker with and make my own, and this Apple Cranberry butter (that was originally inspired by the recipe in Yankee Magazine last month) is something I worked on that was most certainly a hit! Super simple, just a few inexpensive ingredients and seriously so yummy!

What I Used: 

6 -7 cooking apples
1⁄2 lb fresh cranberries
1 cup  cranberry juice (1 cup cider or 1 cup water)
1⁄2  cup maple syrup
1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
1⁄2 teaspoon nutmeg

• Core and chop apple; do not peel.
• Combine apples, cranberries and juice/water in a slow cooker.
• Cover and cook on high for five hours.
• Puree in food processor. I used the "soup" option which worked perfectly. You may have residual peel which will need to be strained.
• Return pureed mixture to crock pot, after pouring through a strainer and add maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg.
• Cover and cook on high for 1 to 2 hours.

Total cooking time 6-7 hours, easy peasy! This will thicken up once cooled and once it's smothered on your favorite biscuits or rolls, it's pretty much the best. My Mom loves to put a little dairy butter then add the apple cranberry butter like a jam. It's pretty dang tasty that way too. See? I've also been told that this is a great baking substitute when you might use apple sauce because the cranberry adds a little tang... see, so versatile!

Honestly, I really think that this is one of those recipes that can't be screwed up. I did it to taste (and I like a little tart from the cranberries) but you can add and subtract sweeteners and all those apple pie and seasonal spices you have in your pantry (cinnamon, nutmeg, anise, cloves etc). Prep is easy, cooking in the slow cooker is obvi easy and the most time consuming part is the end where you're just getting the lumps out. Overall, this is a great and handy holiday recipe to have around!

What's your favorite Easy Peasy recipe?