RECIPE: Easy Cinnamon Applesauce

Applesauce is the easiest thing to make! Since we have a ton of apples and my kids love applesauce, I wanted to make some from scratch. Here's how I did it:



Easy Cinnamon Applesauce

Fill a large Dutch Oven Pot with peeled, sliced and cored apples (I used Rome and Golden Delicious varieties - the sweeter the apple the less sugar you would need to add). Pour in 1-1/2 cups apple cider, apple juice or water, and add 1 teaspoon fresh lemon or lime juice.



Bring the apples to a boil and then reduce to simmer for 30 minutes. The apples will practically fall apart by themselves, but as you stir them every 5 - 10 minutes, break them up with your wooden spoon. After the apples have softened, use a potato masher to mash them to the desired applesauce consistency. You can also put these through a food mill or a food processor. We like ours chunky so this is how I left ours. At this point, you can add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and taste the applesauce to see if you need to add sugar. I didn't add any sugar as the Rome and Golden Delicious apples are naturally very sweet.


In the meantime, fill a large stock pot with water and bring to a boil. If you have not sterilized your jars and lids in the dishwasher, you can do this in the water on the stove. Once they are sterilized, carefully remove them from the pot and let them rest on a clean kitchen towel. Here are some of the canning utensils I used.



Fill your jars with applesauce and tighten the lids and rings. Once you have filled the jars, carefully set them in your pot and make sure at least 1/2" of water cover the tops of the jars. Process them in the water bath for 30 minutes. After they've had their bath, remove them to the kitchen towel and let them rest. As they rest, you'll hear the tops pop down. That lets you know they have sealed properly. If you have a jar that didn't seal, put it in the refrigerator and eat it within a week.


Trust me, your kids (and you too!) will be eating this up! I was eating the leftovers from the pot and oh my goodness, it was so good!!! My daughter is already begging me to let her eat some. I'm hoping this will last us for a couple of months, but last year, she ate a pint of applesauce everyday until we ran out. 1/2 bushel made 6 quarts. I have one more 1/2 bushel bagful and will do those tomorrow. I can't wait!

Enjoy!

This has been linked to:
Life as Mom - Apple Recipes