Caramel Apple Butter Canning Recipe

Yes, you can have Caramel Apple Butter and have it dairy free. HOW? You say Marcie? Well it ain't easy I will tell ya that. First you need to make your own Caramel. I found a recipe to try, I will post below. I am not to happy with it. For canning apple butter it was fine, but to have it stand up as a candy it really would not work well. My hunt will continue!

Anywho, I made the caramel a few days before I was to make apple butter and just kept it in the fridge. So when I was ready I just pulled it out and dumped it into the crockpot. I used This Crockpot Apple Butter Recipe although I used 6 pounds of apples and 2 cups of sugar. I'm not a big fan of sugar around here.

After letting the apple butter sit in the crockpot for awhile, I added the caramel and just left it on low for a few hours. Until it looked way too good to be possible, I then jarred it up and canned it up. I did 10 minutes bwb. Enjoy.

Caramel

1 Cup Coconut Milk
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
5 Tablespoons Earth Balance Butter
2 Teaspoons Sea Salt
1 1/2 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Honey
1/4 Cup Water

Line bottom and sides of an 8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then brush parchment lightly with oil.

In a small saucepan, combine coconut milk, butter, and sea salt. Bring the mixture to a boil stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a large, heavy sauce pan set over medium to medium-high heat, combine sugar, honey, vanilla, and water. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring. Once the sugar is dissolved, cook the mixture until the temperature reaches 248 degrees F, gently swirling the saucepan (do not stir). Carefully stir in the coconut milk mixture. It will bubble up, so take care not to burn yourself. Continue to simmer, swirling the mixture frequently, for 15-20 minutes, or until the mixture thickens and turns golden brown. While simmering, do not allow the temperature go higher then 250 degrees F.

To determine if the caramel with your fingers to determine if the consistency you like, drop a small amount of caramel into a bowl of cold water. Test the ball of caramel with your fingers to determine if the consistency is right.

Pour the cooked caramel into into the prepared pan. Let the caramel cool for 2 hours. Let cool for about 2 hours and cut and wrap each square. ( I did not cut and wrap, knowing I would just dump into the crock pot)