Applesauce
What could be better than picking your own apples and making baked goods and applesauce with your bounty? When making applesauce, I like to use a variety of apples, so the sauce has a mix of tart, sweet, firm, and softer apples. It makes the applesauce taste better and have a more interesting texture.
Servings: 4 cups
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 apples use red apples and leave skin on if you'd like your applesauce to be pink!
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cinnamon sticks or 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 5 cardamom pods or 1/4 tsp ground cardamom (optional)
- 3 star anise (optional)
Instructions
- Core and slice the apples (leave skin on, or peel).
- In a large lidded pot, heat the sliced apples with the spices and honey over low heat. Continue to cook, with a lid on until the apples are soft, stirring every 5 to 10 minutes, about 30 minutes. If the sauce is too runny at the end, cook for several minutes with the lid off to cook off some of the juices.
- Stirring the applesauce is just enough agitation to break up the fruit if you want a chunky sauce. If you want a perfectly smooth sauce (or you cooked with the skins), then you’ll want to puree the applesauce in a food processor or with a hand blender. Be sure to remove the cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods and star anise and allow to cool before blending. If you have cooked the apples with the skins, strain the applesauce to remove any fibers.
- Pour into jars and refrigerate. This sauce is not jarred for storing in the cupboard and will last about 5 days in the refrigerator.