Don’t these look yummy? We’re on our last two full quart-size freezer bags of blueberries. I can’t believe how fast we went through them!

A few weeks ago we took a short drive down our road to our favorite blueberry pickin’ spot here in Penn Valley. We’ve already made some of our favorite recipes like Homemade Blueberry Ice Cream, Blueberry Crumb Pie and added them to our favorite smoothies.  Hopefully, we’ll get a chance to get back to Lazy Valley Blueberry Ranch before school starts.

I mentioned on my facebook page  the other day that I picked up a brand new 21 qt. canner with basket at our local thrift shop. They are normally close to $30. I purchased mine for only $8. What a deal! So yesterday, I made a batch of Homemade Crock Pot Blueberry Butter.

I’ve had great success in making fruit butters and jams in the crock pot and since this is my first attempt at making Crock Pot Blueberry Butter, I went with a very simple recipe flavor profile of lemon zest, sugar, and cinnamon. While they were slow cooking in the crock pot, the whole kitchen was filled with the sweetest fragrance of blueberries.

Homemade Crock Pot Blueberry Butter

Makes approximately 2 1/2 pints of blueberry butter

Ingredients:

• 8 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)

Directions:

1. In a blender or food processor, puree the blueberries. Pour blueberry puree into the crock pot. Place a lid on the crock pot and turn it on to low. After about an hour, give it a quick stir.  (It will have a slight thick consistency.) At this point, you want to use something to prop the crock pot lid just a bit. I used a small wooden spoon and just rested the wooden spoon across the rim of crock pot and and then place the lid back on.  This allows just enough room to let the steam evaporate from the crock pot.
2. Cook blueberries down for no more than 6 hours. When it got to 4 hours, I added the lemon zest, lemon juice, water, spices and the sugar, removed the lid completely and turned the heat up on the crock pot to high. This speeds up the cooking down process and makes the blueberry butter a thick consistency.
3. When the cooking process is done, you can puree with an immersion blender or (carefully) in a regular blender, for a smoother product. I wanted a smoother butter.
4. Once it’s cooked down sufficiently, pour into sterile jars, leaving a good 1/2 inch of head space, wipe rims, apply lids and screw on bands. Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Remove jars and let cool. Label and store unopened jars in a cool, dark place.
5. Eat on fresh scones, toast or even pancakes.

Enjoy!