One of my favorite childhood memories was how almost every year, my neighbor would bring my family some of her homemade applesauce. This, by far, surpassed anything bought in a glass jar at the supermarket. Well, I moved away from that neighborhood ages ago and had returned to those jars on the shelves at the grocery store.
Then, I got inspired by the Barefoot Contessa and decided to take matters into my own hands and make up a large batch of homemade applesauce myself. With the assistance of my roommate, who peeled all the apples involved, we set out one night to do just that. The result…was beyond our expectations. Now the only reason to get jars is to bottle this up and share with friends.
Recipe: Homemade Applesauce
Servings: LOTS!
Time: Prep 20 minutes; Bake 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 large navel oranges, zested and juiced
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 3 pounds Granny Smith apples (about 6 to 8 apples)
- 3 pounds sweet red apples, such as Fugi, Macoun, McIntosh, or Winesap (about 6 to 8 apples)
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter/margarine
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Place the zest and juice of the oranges and lemon in a large bowl.
Peel, quarter, and core the apples (reserving the peel of 2 of the red apples) and toss them in the juice.
Pour the apples, reserved apple peel, and juice into a nonreactive Dutch oven or enameled iron pot.
Add the brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and allspice and cover the pot.
Bake for 1-1/2 hours, or until all the apples are soft.
Remove and discard the red apple peel.
Mix with a whisk until smooth, and serve warm or at room temperature.
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I used this as stuffing in pancakes. I ate this warm. I ate it cold. I absolutely loved how full of flavor it was. Why settle for the bland store stuff. Go on…go buy a lot of apples and give this a shot. I promise…you’ll love the results.
The Celiathlete 