Vegan Apple Butter- Slow Cooker heaven

Tonight I canned some apple butter. It's like a 24 hour process, but so simple and completely worth the wait.
Yes, apple butter is inheirently vegan- but labels are important.

• 5 1/2 lbs apples  (I use winesap or honeycrisp)
• 2 1/2-4 cups sugar
• 1c apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 c apple cider/apple juice/water
• palm full of cinnamon
• quarter size of ground cloves
• nickel size salt

1. Peel, core, finely chop the apple.
2. Toss all ingredients in a crock pot; it may be too tall for the lid but it'll go down after a few hours.
3. Cook on high for about two hours, stir occasionally (stir occasionally throughout the entire cooking process)
4. Turn down to low and let it cook for 15-24 hours. You'll know it's done when it's a deep brown and holds its form. It should have lost all of it's loose liquid.
5. The more you stir or whisk, the smoother it will be. I like mine pretty smooth. 

I canned mine, filling about 4 pint jars.  But Tupperware and freezing it is also an option. Don't be afraid to go heavier or lighter with the cloves and cinnamon, it's all about personal taste.
We picked our own apples this year at the Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City. It was fun, we got to take the girls on a hayrack ride. And the fresh apples only cost us $1.50 a pound.