Tonight, when I really should have been putting badges on my son’s Tiger Cub shirt, doing laundry, and going through the pile of mail sitting on my kitchen counter, I made applesauce.
I love homemade applesauce. It’s my go-to dessert (yes, it’s a dessert in my book) and after dinner I-just-need-something treat. I had been craving it all day, ever since my mother-in-law and I discussed what we could bring to Thanksgiving (we’re down for pie and alcohol). Talking about pie got me thinking about what goes into pie, which, of course, got me thinking about applesauce.
Homemade applesauce takes about 25 minutes to make, and you can find gazillion recipes online with step-by-step instructions for how to make it in your kitchen. My how-to is super easy:
- Peel as many apples as you’d like (8-10 is my normal amount; use any kind of apples you have on hand).
- Cut up the apples (you can core them first, if you’d like).
- Make sure the pieces are a consistent size so they cook evenly.
- Put the apple slices in a pot.
- Add water, apple juice, or apple cider – about ¼ to ½ cup, enough to cover the bottom of the pot and prevent the apples from burning.
- Add spices* (see below).
- Cook the apples over medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes.
- When the apples are soft and broken up, you are ready to go!
- Let the applesauce cool and enjoy!
*A note about flavor: I don’t add sugar to my applesauce (it’s sweet enough!), but I do add cinnamon, anywhere from a ½ tablespoon to 1 tablespoon, depending upon the number of apples used. You could also add nutmeg, allspice, and sweeteners of your choice (coconut sugar, maple sugar, brown sugar).
A note about consistency: I like my applesauce a little bit chunky, so I mash the apples while they are cooking with potato masher to make chunks smaller. If you are a smooth applesauce eater, let the applesauce a cool a bit after cooking, and then blend it in a blender or food processor to get rid of the chunks.
Tip: The applesauce smells yummy while cooking, so be advised that you may need to hide the final product from your loved ones lest you be forced to share the applesauce with them.
Tonight, I transferred the hot applesauce into a dish, mixing in unsweetened coconut flakes and almond slices. I then sat on my couch and watched my town’s trivia bee on cable access to cheer on my son’s teacher who was competing (her team didn’t win). Badges, laundry, and mail could wait.
Photo credit: Taboada Testa. via photopin cc
Yum! gonna mark this recipe down for our family to have
Sounds yummy!