Easy, homemade blueberry butter. Similar to jam or preserves, but with a silkier, melt-in-your-mouth feel, this butter is perfect for spreading on toast in the morning, topping crostini for appetizers or slathering on chicken or pork for a burst of flavor! Recipe can be scaled up or down by using the slider if you hover your mouse over the number of Servings.
Place blueberries in the pot of your slow cooker. Cover with the lid and turn slow cooker on HIGH. Cook 1 hour (SEE NOTES). Remove lid and stir. (If starting with blueberry puree, skip this step.)
Cover the slow cooker and cook on LOW for another hour. Use an immersion blender to puree the blueberries. (If you do not have an immersion blender you can either transfer the blueberries to a high-powered blender or food processor and puree. If you started with pureed blueberries skip pureeing)
Place the lid back on the slow cooker, but this time leave it slightly cracked. You can prop the lid open with a large wooden spoon, chopstick, or simply crack it open by turning the lid slightly to the side. You just want to have enough room for the steam to vent.
Keeping your slow cooker set to LOW, cook for 3-4 hours, giving the blueberry puree a good stir every hour or so, and making sure you replace the lid keeping it cracked. After 3 hours check your butter. If it is about at the consistency you want, stir in the sugar, honey, lemon juice, lemon zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
Again replace the lid, keeping it cracked, and continue to cook on LOW for 1 final hour. If the butter is not as thick as you would like after the final hour, set the slow cooker to HIGH, remove the lid completely, and cook for 30-45 minutes, stirring every so often to prevent the butter from burning on the bottom.
OPTIONAL: If you want a silky smooth butter: Use a food processor to puree the butter. Place a fine mesh strainer over a large mixing bowl and use a ladle to transfer butter to strainer to remove any large particles.
Transfer butter to Jars and secure with a lid. Place in the refrigerator. Butter will keep in the fridge for one week.
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Notes
You can use blueberry puree instead of fresh, whole blueberries if you would like. If using blueberry puree, skip step 1 entirely.
If you don't want a more savory, less sweet blueberry butter, cut the brown sugar to 1 cup. If at the end of the cooking process you find you should have added all the sugar, simply stir in a bit of honey to taste.
You can easily double this recipe, the cook time will remain the same.
The total cooking process will take between 5-8 hours depending on the strength of your slow cooker and how hot it gets. If your slow cooker runs hot, make sure you stir the blueberries halfway through cooking in step 1. (Mine took a total of 6 hours from start to finish)
The blueberry butter will thicken up after refrigeration.
You can store the fruit butter, in a sealed container, in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. Alternatively, you can freeze the fruit butter for up to 6 months.
Yield: About 3 liquid Pints (48 ounces)Nutritional information is an approximation based upon 24 servings (2 ounces per serving). Exact information will depend upon the brands of ingredients and precise measurements used.