Homemade Applesauce

Now, I know this recipe isn’t very exciting…or pretty…or covered in sprinkles or filled with butter like the majority of the things I like to make. However, it is sweet. And delicious. So it still counts.

(And in all honesty, I actually just wanted to make this to use as an ingredient in some muffins I plan on making tomorrow…)

Applesauce. I’ve been wanting to make my own applesauce for a long time now, and I came across some colossal granny smith apples on sale at the grocery store this week so I figured that it was finally time to give it a try.

I don’t generally crave applesauce…I’ve only ever had the kind you buy in those little plastic cups so my opinion of it wasn’t exactly great. But the theory behind it is lovely. And I knew that there had to be a way to make it better.

So I made some. From scratch. It was remarkably easy and the ingredients are really simple – you just throw everything into a pot, let it cook for half an hour, mash it up and presto, homemade applesauce! Plus, there’s the added bonus of it having no preservatives, fake sugars and misc chemicals jam-packed into it.

And thus, allow me to re-introduce you to applesauce. Real applesauce. You might just fall in love.

Applesauce
(Adapted from Simply Recipes’ Applesauce recipe)
This applesauce is amazing. There really is no other word to describe it. There’s a hint of cinnamon, just enough sweetness and a beautiful tartness from the lemon.

Ingredients:

3 to 4 lbs of peeled, cored, and quartered apples (I used 5 hefty granny smith apples)
4 strips of lemon peel - use a vegetable peeler to strip 4 lengths
Juice of one lemon, about 3-4 Tbsp
3 inches of a cinnamon stick
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Directions:

Put all the ingredients into a large pot. Cover. Bring to boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes. (Don’t worry if the water doesn’t completely cover the apples, everything will all break down together anyways.)


Remove from heat. Remove cinnamon sticks and lemon peels. Mash with a potato masher. You may also want to add some more sugar if it isn’t sweet enough for you.


Serve hot or cold. It freezes easily, and will last up to one year in the freezer.