Slow-Cooker Apple Butter

This recipe is from The New Southern Garden Cookbook. It's so easy (other than peeling all the apples) and can be made overnight. You'll wake up to the delicious smell of spiced apples permeating your kitchen!
5 1/2 pounds apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
2 to 3 cups sugar
4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1. Toss apples with sugar and next 5 ingredients, and pack into a 6-quart slow-cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour. Reduce heat to LOW, and cook for 12 hours. Remove the lid, increase the heat to HIGH, and cook for 1 hour or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
2. Stir in balsamic vinegar, and puree mixture until desired consistency. (This is when an immersion blender is particularly handy.)
3. Divide mixture into sterile jars or containers, and refrigerate for up to 6 weeks. (The batch I made yielded 3 pint-size jars.)