Preheat oven to 350 degree F.  Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  If the apple sauce is chunky, blend all ingredients with a blender or immersion blender to make the apple mixture smooth.  Pour into a large casserole or baking dish with tall sides.  Stir often for 3 hours, scrapping the bottom and sides of the pan with a spatula.  The finished apple butter will be thick and have a deep caramelized color.  Remove apple butter from the heat and process/store as desired in canning jars or freezer safe containers.

Irene recommends putting the apple butter in washed and preheated pint jars.  Have the lids and screw-top rings boiling in hot water and ready to use.  As you pour the hot apple butter into the clean jars (leave about a 1/4-inch space at the top of the jar), wipe the jar tops with a clean cloth and immediately seal with a hot lid and ring.  Screw the rings down and cover with a cloth.  The jar lids should “pop” to let you know they’ve sealed. (*Be sure you’re working with hot jars, apple butter and two-part lids to ensure proper sealing.)

You can also hot-water process the jars.  Fill and seal like above, but submerge the sealed jars into a canner filled with boiling water.  Process the jars for 10 minutes.  Remove immediately from the boiling water and allow to cool completely on the counter.   Apple butter canned this way will last up to 12 months (or longer) if properly sealed.  Don’t forget to write the date it’s made on the jar lids or container.