Candy Apple Butter - cooking recipe

Ingredients

4 Honeycrisp apples - peeled, cored, and chopped
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup cinnamon red hot candies
2 tablespoons brown sugar, or to taste
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups unsweetened apple juice, or as needed

Preparation

Toss apples and lemon juice together in a bowl.
Put about half the apples in a slow cooker with cinnamon candies, brown sugar, ginger, and cloves; stir. Pour enough apple juice over the mixture to nearly, but not quite, cover the apples.
Cook on Low, stirring occasionally, until the candies dissolve, about 1 hour.
Increase heat to High and continue cooking until the apples have begun to lose shape, about 4 hours. Add remaining apples to the slow cooker. Reduce heat to Low and continue cooking until desired thickness is reached, at least 3 hours.