Baked Date Apple Butter

This recipe happened almost accidentally. I wanted to bake some apple pieces for my toddler so that they would be easier to chew but forgot about them in the oven. By the time I got to them they had completely cooked down into a fine mash. Instead of baked apple pieces I ender up with apple sauce. Really delicious easy peasy, no blender required apple sauce. So good that I ate most of it myself instead of feeding it to the toddler.

In an effort to elevate it to adult status I added a few of my favorite flavors: dates and pumpkin pie spice. As a result this deeply flavorful and sweet apple butter was born. It’s uses are endless: top some ice cream, stir it into oat meal or overnight oats, spread it on toast or a bagel with a little cream cheese or just eat it up with a spoon. Hopefully it will make it out of the baking dish and into the fridge before it’s all gone!

Hana Itzhaki

Baked Date Apple Butter

Apples and dates, seasoned and baked into a rich, flavorful spread.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Course: Condiment

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• Cooking spray
• 10 medium size apples peeled, cored and cut into a large dice
• 10 medjool dates pitted, and cut into quarters
• 1-2 tablespoons pure silan date syrup
• 11/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Equipment

• knife
• cutting board
• baking dish or
• dutch oven
• potato masher, immersion blender, or food processor (optional)

Method

 

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Spray a 9×13 in. baking dish with cooking spray.
3. In a large bowl combine the apples, dates, silan, and pumpkin pie spice. Mix well to combine.
4. Pour the apple mixture into an even layer in the baking dish. Cover tightly with foil.
5. Bake for 30 minutes. Stir, cover and bake for an additional 30 minutes.
6. Allow the apples to cool. Apple butter can either be left at this consistency or can be mashed with a potato masher or blended with an immersion blender or food processor for a smoother consistency.
7. Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Notes

Any large oven proof pan with a lid such as a dutch oven can be used instead of a baking dish and foil. If you are using a particularly sweet variety of apple, use less of the silan. Silan is a syrup made from dates. Be sure the silan you are using is 100% pure. Many brands add corn syrup and other additives. Cinnamon or a combination of warm spices such as ginger, cloves, allspice and nutmeg can be used in place of the pumpkin pie spice.