Homemade Apple Butter. So Simple!

One 3# bag of apples made a quart and a bit of scrumptious apple butter. 

I basically used this recipe from Rebecca at Strength and Sunshine, 

well mainly just the directions because I wanted to make it with a lot less sugars.  

But you’ve got to try it! 

  I only used a lot of cinnamon, a half cup packed brown sugar and about and quarter cup of raw honey.     Cooked on low in my Crock out (not a slow cooker, but a crock) until this morning.  

Ran them through my blender while still hot.   

Put in my clean canning jar and viola!  Homemade apple butter.  😋 

We’re eating from the small jar first, it tastes amazing!   Had it with brunch this morning.   

You’ll be glad you tried it!  

I’m planning to make a batch a week and water bath so we’ll have it all winter long.   Wish me luck!  

Hubs is Coming Home & Homemade Oatmeal Cookies

For those who don't know, my husband is a professional truck driver.   He's been at it for 35ish years.  In the last couple of years or so we have been blessed enough for him to be signed on with an outfit that has him home every weekend, and sometimes randomly through the week.  Well two weeks ago he took off heading to, I think it was Indiana, and came back grabbed another and took it to Chicago area, I forget why but he ended up doing his reset at the companies yard in Kansas so he could leave with a trip to Salt Lake City on time. 

So now that he's on his way home, I made his favorite cookies and wanted to share my favorite recipe. 

Baking cookies in general makes the house smell so good, but Oatmeal cookies make it smell just a little bit better and I'm not sure why.  Possibly the cinnamon?  I don't know, but needless to say our home smells so good right now.  

The recipe I use is fairly simple, but it's always been a hit.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

3/4 cup Shortening (I use Crisco Sticks)

1 cup Brown Sugar (packed) (I used Truvia blend)

1/4 cup White Sugar (I didn't have any Truvia blend on hand)

1/8 cup Raw unfiltered Honey (I used Nature Nate's)

1 Egg

1/4 cup Water

1 tsp Vanilla Extract (I used McCormick's , planning to make my own soon)

1 cup All-Purpose Flour 

1 tsp Salt 

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1 Tblsp Cinnamon

3 cup Rolled Oat

1/4 cup sunflower seed kernels (optional) <--I had some and thought they'd be a nice addition.

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)

I always line my pan with parchment paper.  It's just easier that way. 

Cream together the wet ingredients then add in the dry, mixing to combine. 

I drop rounded ice cream scoop fulls two inches apart.   

Bake for 12-14 minutes. 

Let cool if you can! 

Enjoy!    

I baked two dozen (one without dark chocolate chips and one dozen with) and scooped out another dozen and froze them on a cookie sheet, which I will put in a mason jar in my freezer once they're completely frozen.  This way I can pop a couple out and make whenever I want.   

My parents gave me an Air Fryer Oven a couple of Christmas's ago and I use it daily.  You can bake a couple of cookies without heating up the oven.    I love it!

Well I'll stop here so you can go make some cookies and I can get the bedding out of the dryer and get our bed remade before hubs gets home.