Homemade Applesauce

I don't know what it is about Fall, but it just really makes me want to make hotdish (I'm actually making tater tot hotdish for dinner...yum!) and bake. In my hope to use up the rest of the apples I had on hand, I was searching for apple recipes and came across homemade apple sauce recipes. I thought it'd be really easy to make homemade apple sauce (and it was) but oh my goodness, all the different recipes and variations I found was kind of overwhelming.  And to top it off, all the recipes were for different quantities of apples (6-8 pounds, 20 apples, etc) and I had maybe 7 I wanted to use up. I didn't find a recipe to follow so I decided to just wing it and hope it turned out. I will give credit to The Pioneer Woman for giving me the idea to use brown sugar instead of white.

Ingredients you will need:
7-8 small apples, cored, peeled, and sliced
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp ground cinnamon (use more or less depending on your taste)
4 oz (1/2 cup) apple juice (or apple cider, or water...just a liquid to soften the apples). I used Mott's 100% apple juice.

First, peel, core and slice the apples into eighth's.  Just like with the muffins, unless you have a tool to help you core and slice the apples (like an apple slicer) this is the most tedious part of the job.  I do not have an apple slicer or corer, so I had to do it all by hand.

Throw the apples in a large pot, add all the other ingredients (sugar, cinnamon, and juice), stir to combine, and then cover and cook on medium-high heat for 20-25 minutes, or until apples are nice and tender. Stir occassionally.  Keep an eye on your apples!!  The juice overflowed and made a big mess on our stove and I spent ONE HOUR last weekend just scrubbing the stove and the drip pans and everything so I was not happy this happened. You could just not cover it and let it simmer uncovered...I'd just add a little more liquid since some moisture does evaporate. I uncovered my apples and let them simmer the last 5-10 minutes so I didn't make a bigger mess and did lose some moisture. I think it worked out though...the apple sauce wasn't too liquidy or too thick. It was just right, Goldilocks.

I then transferred the apples to a bowl and tried to whisk it smooth but it wasn't working out too well so I then just put it all in a food processor and pureed for about 30 - 45 seconds.  It then became the perfect consistency and tasted great! It was still very hot though so we'll see how it tastes after it's been refrigerated.

Before pureeing

I consider this cooking experience a success! I'm pretty happy that I was able to create something without needing a recipe...I think that may be a sign I'm becoming more confident in my cooking and baking abilities and I love it! It's a shame tater tot hotdish is on tonight's menu...I do believe this applesauce would be amazing with the pork chops that are just hanging out in my freezer.

After pureeing...it looks like store-bought applesauce but it's not! 

Until next time, Fire Away!