Slow Cooker Blueberry Butter

I have 45 pounds of delicious, local blueberries in the entry way of my home!

SO MANY BEAUTIFUL BLUEBERRIES!!

Most have been frozen.    Freezing blueberries requires no prep, as blueberries don't get washed prior to freezing.  (Washing prior to freezing causes the skin to get tough).  Simply freeze them in a single layer on cookie sheets and then transfer them into gallon size ziploc bags.  No fuss.

The other simple recipe I swear by to easily incorporate blueberries into our diet year round is this slow cooker recipe.  Easy and mostly passive... just what I look for in a recipe.  If every recipe required a lot of active time, I just wouldn't be able to preserve enough of anything to last more than a few months.

I have two little guys at home, after all!

That is why slow cooker blueberry butter is GLORIOUS!  A few seconds of pureeing, a quick dump into the slow cooker, and hours later, it's done! As an added bonus, there is very little added sugar (compared to a jam or jelly recipe)..

You will need:

8 cups pureed blueberries
2 cups Organic Whole Cane Sugar (aka Sucanat or Rapadura)
1 lemon's worth of juice

Optional*
1 tbsp ground cinammon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

*Personally, I leave the spices out.  I made it both ways last year and I think leaving out the spices just makes the blueberry flavor just sing.  Pure, intense blueberry flavor.

1. Rinse and puree bluberries.  Dump into slow cooker along with sugar, lemon juice, and spices (optional).

2.  Stir ingredients and turn slow cooker on low, covered for one hour.

3.  After an hour, crack the lid to the slow cooker to allow moisture to escape (I rest a butter knife across the top of our round crock pot and then set the lid on top of the butter knife).

4. Stir the mixture about once per hour.  Realistically you can skip an hour and it makes no difference.  Cook for 4 - 8 hours until thick.  7 hours is the sweet spot for our old crock pot.  I have found that our older crockpot has a lower "low" setting than newer crockpots.

5. Transfer into jars or containers for freezing, or can them in a water bath just like you would for a jam.  (I include basic canning instructions with my Cherry Pineapple Jam recipe)

And there you have it!  About 5 minutes of prep and then whatever time it takes you to transfer into containers is all it takes.

ENJOY!