Fall Flavors in the Desert: Turning Less-than-Fresh Apples into Honeycrisp Apple Butter Blessings

It’s officially fall… well, according to the calendar anyway. Here in the desert, we’re still rocking the low 90s, but hey, that’s practically sweater weather for us, right? The monsoons have quieted down, and the humidity is back to its normal arid self, which means 92 degrees is actually… pleasant? Maybe that’s a stretch, but I’m definitely getting all the fall feels now.

Speaking of fall, let’s talk about apples. I had three lonely Honeycrisp apples that were no longer living up to their crispy name—more like “Honey-squish.” Not wanting to waste them, I knew just what to do: apple butter. It’s the perfect companion to the apple cider donuts I’ll be making later this week, because fall is all about apples, cinnamon, and pretending it’s not still blazing hot outside.

With a few spices; cinnamon, cloves, allspice, both brown and white sugars, vanilla extract, and a healthy splash of apple cider, those three past-their-prime apples turned into something magical. And a huge shout-out to my Pampered Chef Deluxe Cooking Blender—it made the transformation from “meh” to marvelous in no time! (No fancy blender? No worries. You can use this same recipe with a slow cooker and get that rich, buttery texture.)

But this post isn’t just about sharing a recipe for apple butter. (I'll share a link to the recipe at the end though ;) It’s a reminder that sometimes, life hands you things that are past their prime, a little bruised, or just not what you expect them to be—kind of like my sad Honeycrisps. And yet, with a little creativity (and a pinch of cinnamon or faith of course), you can still turn them into something amazing. Think of it as the apple version of “turning lemons into lemonade.” After all, it’s not about how fresh your apples are; it’s about what you do with them.

It reminds me of the verse from Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Even when things aren’t perfect, God can turn them into something beautiful and purposeful. We could make the choice to reflect His grace, and embrace faith and trust in His plan and His sovereignty. Just like what I did with these apples, what may seem less-than-perfect can be transformed into something delightful with God.

And isn’t that just another blessing we can add to our day? Turning something ordinary, or even flawed, into something sweet and full of purpose—whether it’s apple butter, a moment in life, or an opportunity to let God's glory shine to someone who needs to see it.

So, if you’ve got a frustrating circumstance staring at you, or maybe a few soft apples hanging out in your basket, looking sad and past their prime, don’t give up the fight or toss them out to the javelinas. A little faith and maybe some cinnamon and spice can turn them into something delightful and purposeful—💚from my lil desert kitchen to yours. 🍏🍂 In His perfect timing He makes all things beautiful and lovely.

Happy fall, y’all! (Even if we are still sweating out here in the Sonoran Desert. 😉😄)

APPLE BUTTER RECIPE I USED:

https://sugarspunrun.com/apple-butter/