Apple Bourbon Slices

This is a recipe I came up with last year. I had lots of just-picked apples, a full bottle of bourbon, and...well...why not?

The recipe makes two generous pints, with a 1/2 cup or so left over. I gave one away to a friend and we kept the rest. Yesterday we had them over cinnamon pancakes--it was wonderful. The bourbon mellows quite a bit after cooking and processing, for those of you who are not big spirit drinkers.

Bourbon Apple Slices 2 pints

2 1/2 lb. peeled, sliced, cored apples (weigh before prep)
1 lb. sugar
pinch salt
2 c. bourbon
1 tbl. lemon juice
6 dashes orange bitters
6 tbl. butter, melted (optional)
_____________________________________________________________________

Prepare apples; toss with lemon juice. Mix bourbon, sugar, bitters & boil for five minutes. Add apples and salt. Simmer till just tender, stirring as little as possible. Stir in butter.

Ladle apples into jars and pour syrup over. Leave a generous 1/4" headspace at least.

Process for 20 minutes in a hot water bath. Let sit overnight and check seals after 12 to 24 hours before labeling and storing.