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1
Quarter the apples — skins, cores, and seeds intact. Place in a heavy pot with the cider. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, cover, and cook until the apples are completely soft and falling apart. Pass the entire contents through a food mill fitted with a medium disc, discarding skins and seeds. The result is a smooth, pale applesauce. It should flow easily from a spoon.
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2
Transfer the applesauce to a slow cooker. Add the sugar, cinnamon, allspice, clove, and cider vinegar if using. Stir to combine. Set the cooker to low, prop the lid slightly ajar to allow moisture to escape, and cook for 10–14 hours. Stir every few hours to check progress. This is where the dish lives or dies: the mixture must reduce by roughly half, darkening from tan to deep brown as the sugars caramelise. Pale, flowing apple butter has not cooked long enough — the colour is the measure, not the clock.
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3
When the apple butter has darkened to deep brown, test the consistency: spoon a small amount onto a cold plate. It should mound and hold its shape rather than spread into a puddle, and no ring of liquid should form at its edge.
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4
Taste for balance. The apple must be the primary flavour; spice should register as background. Sweetness should feel full but not cloying — the long reduction concentrates sugar significantly. Adjust with a small addition of vinegar if the flavour is flat.
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5
Ladle the hot apple butter into sterilised half-pint jars, leaving 5 mm headspace. Seal and process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes. Properly canned jars will keep for a year or more. Unsealed jars refrigerate for up to three weeks.