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.

Gluten-Free Apple Crumble Pie

I did a show a little while back called, Perfect Pie. In it, my character was known for making amazing pies and pastries. Because of this, I made it my own little personal mission to learn how to make great pies – especially pastry from scratch.

I’m very picky about pies. I love fruit pies but I hate it when they’re too sweet. I especially hate it when apple pies are too sweet. My mom makes an AMAZING apple crumble pie and I have always been a little nervous to try to make one myself in fear that it wouldn’t be anywhere near as good as hers.

Sarah and I were at the farmer’s market on Saturday and I noticed that one of the vendors (specializing in gluten-free items) had gluten-free pie dough. I decided to buy some along with some fresh granny smith apples and embark on a gluten-free apple crumble pie adventure! If it was bad, I could always cheat and blame the dough, right?


Thankfully, it wasn’t. It actually turned out really good. So good, in fact, that I wasn’t able to snap a picture of the final product before it was devoured by my family. So yeah. It was good.

I will also definitely do a post in the future about my own pie dough as I do have a killer (and very not-gluten-free) recipe, but for now, enjoy this wheat-free alternative :)

Gluten-Free Apple Crumble Pie
Pie is another thing I don’t tend to have a set recipe for…I’m always adding more of this or that to suit it to my tastes. This recipe is kind of just a guideline.

Ingredients:

1 gluten-free pie crust (bottom crust only)

Filling:
6-8 coarsely chopped & peeled granny smith apples
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp rice flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Topping:
3/4 cup oat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat-free rolled oats
2 tsp cinnamon
pinch salt
1/3 cup cold butter, cubed

Directions:

Topping: In a bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, oats and cinnamon. Using pastry blender (or your fingers), cut in butter until crumbly; set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out pie dough to a generous 1/8-inch (3 mm) thickness; fit into 9-inch (23 cm) pie plate. Trim to leave 3/4-inch (2 cm) overhang; fold under and crimp edge. Set aside.

Filling: In large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice. Add sugar, flour and cinnamon; toss to combine. Scrape into pie shell. Sprinkle with topping.

Bake at 400°F oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F; bake for about 50 minutes or until filling is bubbly and thickened. Let cool on rack.