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Homemade Applesauce

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While the world might be in a tizzy over all things pumpkin right now (I blame it on early arrival of Starbuck’s PSL!), September’s cool and crisp days are a perfect backdrop to one of my other favorite fall flavors- apple!

As far as I’m concerned, no September should be complete without a visit to a local orchard to fill up on nature’s bounty and make memories with little ones in tow. My oldest two pipe in with requests to purchase more of their favorite apple variety with each passing year… for Luke, it’s all about the Fujis while Sam prefers Pink Ladies. My personal favorites to stock up on are Jonagolds (for munching on) and Granny Smiths (for baking). When we get home from the orchard, my husband and kids put in multiple requests for their favorite apple recipes, ranging from apple pie to apple crisp to apple butter. I usually try to stock up on enough that we have plenty for munching on as well as for baking, but we have had batches that didn’t make it into baked goods as intended because they were all eaten by hungry little fruit mongers! Each year, it seems we buy more and this year I will stock up on a record amount because I plan on making a large supply of applesauce. Our youngest, Jonah, is a cute, drooly little snaggletooth right now and with only seven teeth to boast (all in the front) chewing fruit with skins on isn’t happening right now but, boy, does that babe love himself some applesauce! He’s not the only one though. When I was growing up, my mom had a gigantic garden and she canned a year’s worth of produce at the end of the summer. One of the items she preserved was homemade applesauce. My word, was it good! It had me spoiled. Thankfully, unlike some of Mom’s other specialities, homemade applesauce is super duper easy to make. Not to mention cheap (have you seen how much specialty applesauce costs these days?!). As a mom of little ones, simple and delicious are two of my favorite word combinations when it comes to recipes! I have gone the crock pot route and I’ve made applesauce on the stovetop, but guess what? It’s all relatively the same. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Just pick your favorite apple variety and get to it!

Here’s what you’ll need:

If using a crock pot: Dump all the ingredients and cook on high for 5 hours. Want a chunky consistency? Mash with a large spoon (I love using my potato masher for this). If you want your sauce silky smooth, wait until it cools and mix it in a blender or food processor until it achieves your desired consistency .

If using a stock pot: Dump all the ingredients into the pot. Mix well and cover. Cook for 25 minutes on medium high heat and then then mash (again with masher if going for chunky texture or blender/food processor if going for thin consistency).

The beauty of making homemade applesauce is it’s to each his own. Too sweet? Cut back on the sugar and add a splash of extra lemon. Not spicy enough? Well, by all means bust out the Saigon cinnamon and cloves! There’s no right or wrong when making your own batch and since it’s not rocket science, it’s a great hands on recipe to engage little ones. Let them play around.

Oh, and if you can’t figure out whether pumpkin or apple should reign supreme as the fall flavor of choice may I suggest adding pumpkin pie spice to your sauce? That way, they’re both winners all around!

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