I can’t believe how easy it is to make applesauce! I know. I know. You seasoned applesauce-makers are probably thinking, “Dude, you’re an idiot, it’s just apples, some stuff and a little heat.” File this one under: Things I should have started doing a long, long time ago.
So, how did I finally arrive here? I tend to go overboard at the farmer’s market. Being that close to such fresh produce makes me lose all sense of scale. Suddenly huge bags of chestnuts and bunches and bunches of rhubarb are items I simply must have. Forget the fact that I haven’t ever roasted chestnuts before, nor have I baked with rhubarb. Doesn’t matter. I’m like a Black Friday shopper when it comes to the farmer’s market.
Anyway, a few weeks ago, I ended up bringing home way too many apples. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but I’m still sorta dieting, so baking an apple pie or some apple crisp was out of the question.
What was I going to do with all these apples? Applesauce for my son!
What you will need:
- Saucepan
- Peeler
- Knife
Ingredients
- 4 large apples (I used five smallish ones)
- 1/2 cup water
- up to 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Mom It Down!
Peel, core and chop up your apples. They can be all different sizes! You’re gonna mash the suckers later.
Add the apples, water, sugar and cinnamon to the saucepan.
Cover and cook for 20 minutes on medium heat stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat. Mash them up.
You’re done! You have fresh applesauce. Serve it straight away and treat it as a dessert, or chill it and serve it to your kid as a snack. So good!
Overcoming Obstacles
PLEASE NOTE: If there’s a great deal of water left over after they’re done stewing, pour a bit out. I emptied a bit of water. You want to leave some liquid; it will thicken up a bit later. But use your best judgement. Pouring out some of the liquid will not take away from the flavor. Trust me on that one!
If you buy one of those fancy peelers, this recipe is an absolute cinch. Like, it’s so easy, you’re going to start feeling terrible EVER buying store-bought applesauce again.
Variations
I haven’t messed with this yet. It’s really quite great on its own, however, I think I will cut way back on the sugar next time and see how it goes. It’s not super sweet, but I think the apples and cinnamon might stand on their own. Or maybe I’ll go with just a couple of tablespoons of sugar. I’m also thinking brown sugar might be something to try, but not nearly as much.
And believe me you, there will be some bourbon added to this in the future. I was worried about serving it to Emory with a bunch of booze in it, so this one has been approved for those 21-years and younger.
Please enjoy! And for those of you that have been making homemade applesauce all along: WHY DIDN’T YOU EVER TELL ME?
Yeah, I rarely add sugar to my applesauce, it’s just not necessary, usually. If it needs a little extra something, sprinkled raisins is a good way to get some sweetness just before serving.
Yummer.
That extra liquid would likely be useful in some sort of dirty, ad hoc winter cocktail. Paging Dr. Dietsch?
I felt the same way when I made cranberry sauce for the first time–just cranberries, water, and sugar.
I just made applesauce for the first time recently as well! I make mine in the crock pot in massive quantities and freeze what we won’t eat right away. I don’t add water or sugar. I just throw the apples in there, sprinkle liberally with cinnamon, pour in a bit of vanilla, and turn the crock pot on high. It takes about four hours to get a delicious, bubbling mess. I like smoother applesauce, so I use a stick blender to make it into sauce.
This post is really timely because I have two bags of apples from the farmer’s market in my pantry, and I need to make my applesauce today. YUM.
Along the same lines… homemade apple butter, while not quite as easy, but by no means hard, is VERY yummy as well.
Alyssa: I think that’s next on the list. Either that, or all things jam. YUM, jam. :]
Y’all, i am shocked I didn’t discover this sooner. I love all things apple! So lame.
Dude, it’s even easier than that. Leave the peel on (wash the apples first if you’re worried about that). Just chop them, don’t even take the core out, I use NO sugar at all and crack a couple of cinnamon sticks into the apples and bit of water (much more natural cinnamon flavor). When they’re super soft, put it through a food mill, the skin and seeds and cinnamon are separated out, and you have pretty pink SWEET but sugar free applesauce. Have been doing it like this for 20 years! BTW, my local farmer told me this summer that Empires make the best sauce.
OOh, I think I’ll try to make some for Aiman.
Thanks for the recipe!
You can throw pears in there, too, since they’re also in season. Delicious!
Here’s another tip: cook your apples with just a little cinnamon and some coconut oil. It’s HEAVENLY!
looks good! you could also chop up a stick of rhubarb into 1 inch pieces and throw that in when you’re boiling the apples for extra fibre and flavour…
I’ve got to second the crockpot comment. I just throw every thing in and stick it on high for 4 hours. A little mashing with the potato masher and I’ve got heaven. And it also freezes super well. Just throw in the fridge two days before eating…
What other kind of seemingly awesome and easy stuff are you all sitting on? Share it with me!
Crock pot people: stupid question, do you peel, core and chop them too?
I do peel, core, and chop. I use one of those corer/slicers to do the coring and chopping though. Something like this, but I just grabbed a cheap one at Target: http://www.amazon.com/Oxo-Grips-Apple-Corer-Divider/dp/B00004OCKT
Combined with a good peeler, that makes it super easy.
Since I don’t like the extra fiber (texture), I do peel, core and chop. That is the most time consuming part of the recipe, but I like it better that way! And my compost pile doesn’t mind the remnants…
I have made it with red hot candies. Cinnamon Apple Sauce. Yum.
I made this for my picky 2 year old this morning. He LOVED it! Thank you!