Homemade Applesauce

There's nothing like making homemade applesauce that says fall and since I'm working on making some more this weekend, I thought it would be a good time to repost how we make it.  So simple - if you've never made your own,  carve out some time this month to try it - you'll be glad that you did.

Ingredients  (to taste and to size of batch of applesauce):

apples - I used 2 pecks and got 6+ quarts of applesauce

cinnamon

sugar

vanilla

fresh lemon juice 

water

Tools:

stockpot (I had to use 2 pots for 2 pecks of apples)

wooden spoon

potato masher - to break down apples as they are cooking

storage containers for freezing
apple corer/peeler

(If you don't have one of these, you should buy one - huge timesaver and makes anything apple fun in the kitchen for the kids.)

williams-sonoma

Steps:

Wash apples

 

Peel, core, slice - if you have the above tool, this is one step - you can also just peel, core and chunk the apples to keep it easy peasy.

Sometimes the apple corer/peelers have a hard time with softer apples - which these were - so I cut a little starting point for the apple and they peel easily.

Put apple slices in large pot with a little water - I start with about a half of a cup of water and just add as needed, depending on desired consistency.

Add juice of about half to a whole lemon

After the apples have cooked down, add sugar ( start with about 3/4 cup), about 1 teaspoon of vanilla and cinnamon to taste.

Cook down a little more to desired consistency and mash with a potato masher or large spoon - adjust sugar and flavors.

 

Even though I am not canning these, I used my canning thingy to add the sauce to the wide mouth jars - no drips or sticky sides.

Did you know that you can put canning jars in the freezer for storage?  That's where these jars are going.  Just make sure that you are cooling the sauce completely before adding to the jars and add add plenty of headspace on the jars.

What's your best homemade applesauce tip?  Have a favorite method?