Apple Sauce

This recipe concludes my couple weeks of apple recipes. It was pretty exhilarating to look at my woven basket of apples everyday, with a dozen possibilities of what do with them, and then get excitedly into the kitchen to test different recipes. You'd think I'd be all appled-out, but I've planned to go apple picking again this weekend. I've got to make the most out of Fall while it's still here.

Apple sauce really is the perfect recipe to make when you have more apples than you can chew.. literally. It's easy to make, flavorful, and you'll find yourself enjoying it in many different ways. I used them to make caramel and apple cupcakes (by using the apple sauce in the batter), as a simple compote dessert, or as a great addition to a small bowl of thick Greek yogurt. I only wish I had made more... hence the continued apple-picking!

Apple Sauce

10 apples (I used a mix of McIntosh and Cortland)
3/4 cups of water
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
A pinch of kosher salt
3 tablespoons of loosely packed brown sugar

Peel and core the apples. Cut them into bite-size chunks. In a stock pot, on medium low heat, add the apples, water, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and lemon juice. Cook on low heat for 10-12 minutes, or until the apples are soft. If you like your apple sauce chunky, remove from the heat when the apple chunks are soft but still hold their shape. If you don't, cook for a few minutes longer, or until the chunks completely break down. Taste and adjust seasoning. I added a couple extra drops of lemon juice, and a little more cinnamon.

Cool down, and enjoy! You can then keep the apple sauce in the fridge for several days.