This recipe stems from my third-most-favorite-day out of the year: Apple & Pumpkin Picking Day. One that starts off walking through apple orchard paths en route to the reddest and most pickable apples. We sample apples with juicy bites, handing said apples to the nearest family member with a full mouth and mumbling, “Try THIS one!”
This year I went apple picking on a mission: turning my apples into a delicious applesauce. Not to toot my own horn, but it came out pretty fantastic! The peeling certainly takes time if you peel by hand like I did, but the aromas and end dish are worth it (and last up to a year in the freezer!).
Many traditional applesauce recipes do away with the peelings. I think that’s a waste of food and believe there are a ton of flavors in the skin. By using a hand blender in the end product, whatever skin is leftover gets molted into the sauce.
If you’re feeling crafty, you can give your homemade applesauce out as a hostess gift (’tis the time for parties!). Just go to your local craft store to buy mason jars and pretty labels.
- 6-7 medium sized apples, peeled and chopped into cubes
- Apple peelings (+3 tablespoons of water)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 1/4 cups apple cider
- 3 tablespoons cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar (*adjust depending on how sweet you like your sauce)
- Peel, core and chop the apples, setting peelings aside. Place chopped apples in a large stock pot.
- In a small food processor, grind the apple peelings and 3 tablespoons of water together until fine. Add mixture to pot.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the stock pot – water, apple cider, cinnamon, lemon juice and brown sugar.
- Cover mixture and on medium heat bring to boil, stirring as needed.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for an additional 20-30 minutes.
- Using a hand blender or potato masher, blend applesauce together.
- Let cool and store in fridge or freezer (up to one year).
[…] or thirds, without judgement. So last night I took a stab at baking them and was happy to use my From the Tree Applesauce I made a few days […]