Make Your Own Fruit Butter Recipes

Create homemade fruit butter with this base recipe. Try unique flavor pairings or stick with traditional fruits, either way, you can't go wrong!

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by AdobeStock/nata_vkusidey

Ingredients

  • 3-4 lbs. of fruit
  • Sugar

Flavorings (optional)

  • Vanilla or almond extract
  • Cinnamon or ginger
  • Brandy or Cognac
  • Wine or Cider
  • Or any flavors you would enjoy

Directions

  • Wash and chop fruit, removing pits. Peel the fruit if you wish, but it is not necessary for most fruits – pumpkins would be an exception here.
  • Add the chopped fruit to a large pot or Dutch oven. Add a little bit of water, just enough to keep the fruit from burning.
  • Cook over medium heat until the fruit is soft. Remove from heat.
  • Puree the cooked fruit using a blender or food processor. You can also push the fruit through a sieve or food mill if you wish, but I find this too much work.
  • Measure the fruit puree and return it to the cooking pot.
  • Add half as much sugar as puree. For example, if you have 8 cups of puree, add 4 cups of sugar.
  • Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often until mixture starts to thicken.
  • Add optional flavorings if desired. Flavorings can be adjusted to taste. Start with about 1 tsp of spices like cinnamon or ginger, or 1/2 tsp of extract like vanilla or almond, or 1 Tbsp of liqueur like brandy or Cognac, or 1/4 cup of wine or cider.
  • Continue cooking and stirring until butter is thick and rounds up on a spoon.
  • Fill clean 1/2 pint canning jars, leaving 1/4 inch headroom and using two-piece lids.
  • Process in a water bath canner for 15 minutes. Fruit butter also may be frozen instead of processed. Pumpkin, winter squash, or other vegetable butters MUST be frozen instead of processed.
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Create homemade fruit butter recipes with this base recipe. Try unique flavor pairings or stick with traditional fruits, either way, you can’t go wrong!

What is Fruit Butter?

At its most basic, fruit butter is a combination of fruit puree and sugar, cooked until thick. I love fruit butters. They are easy to make, in fact – they are almost foolproof. They allow for a little more creativity than many soft-spread recipes. There is no worry about reaching the gelling point. If halfway through the cooking process I decide to run an errand, I can just turn off the burner, cover the cooking fruit and pick up where I left off in an hour or so with no ill effects.

That said, there are a couple considerations when making fruit butters:

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