Easy Homemade Applesauce

Image via Google Images

I can hear some of you now..... why on earth would anyone want to make something that you can easily buy in a jar?  My friend Michelle, in fact, teased me about just that.

There are a lot of reasons, including knowing what goes into the apple sauce, being able to control the amount of sugar and my favorite, awesome taste!  Homemade applesauce blows the jarred stuff out of the water.  And it's crazy easy to make, especially if you have the right tools.  It's a fun cooking activity for your little ones, too.

One tool that makes any apple dish easier is the apple corer.

 It's a simple and cheap tool that especially punches out the core.


Another tool is the apple slicer, which not only cores, but slices.

This works best if you peel first (I've made the mistake of not doing that and then having to peel each slice.  Not fun.


Now, if you want to get super fancy, you'd get yourself an apple peeler.  You could whip through a bag of apples in no time.   Some even core at the same time.

 I just use a good old fashioned paring knife and the peeling is done in no time.

The recipe is a base recipe and can be easily adjusted to taste.  Some like a very sweet applesauce, where others like a more tart one.  Spices are up to your taste, too.  The base recipe calls for cinnamon, but nutmeg and/or apple pie spice mix can easily be used.

The choice of apples is also yours.  Typically, you want a softer, sweeter apple, like  Red Delicious, Gala, Fuji, Winesap, McIntosh or Yellow Delicious.  I like a tarter choice too, like Granny Smith.  It's good to mix types if you can.  This holds the same for apple pies and crisps.   Pick organic apples, when you can, to keep pesticides and other not-so-good things from your tasty creation. 

Use up your applesauce in about 2 weeks.  Mine never ever lasts that long though.  It can be frozen too.

Homemade Applesauce



12 apples, such as Granny Smith or McIntosh
1 1/2 cup water
3/4 cup sugar (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon or apple pie spic mix (or to taste)
Peel and slice the apples into small pieces. Put apples in a pot

Add water to pot and bring to a low boil over medium heat, mashing apples as they cook down. Keep the pot covered.

When desired consistency, add sugar and cinnamon. Bring to a boil and then recover and remove from heat. Let cool in the pot and then refrigerate.


Base recipe from Pinch of Yum.

All images via Google Images.
 

Mini Apple Pie Tarts

My family's love of apple pie is something fierce.  It's amazing if they ever let me make any other pie or baked goods.  I fully blame them for my lack of baking expertise and recipes on this blog.

So, when I saw recipes using wonton wrappers to make quick little tarts, either sweet or savory, I was all over it.  It seemed like a perfect way to satisfy their cravings for apple goodness without having deal with crusts and all of that.

This recipe turned out quite nicely and made for a nice presentation for my in-laws.  The only changes I'd make is I would for sure add a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar to the wrappers before baking.

I will for sure be using the wontons for other little tarts.... savory especially.  I'm thinking something like leeks and cheese might be a good start.

Mini Apple Pie Tarts
Makes 16


1/2 cup of water
1/4 cup sugar (or less, if you don't like your pie filling super sweet)
1/2 tsp cinnamon or apple pie spice
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp flour
pinch of salt
4 small apples diced – about 2 cups
16 wonton wrappers


Preheat the oven to 375

In a small pot whisk the water, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and flour over medium hear. Add the apple. Stir to coat everything. The liquid should just boil and start to thicken.

Drop the heat down to medium low and cover. Cook for 12-15 minutes until the apple just softens.

Meanwhile, spray a mini muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray press the wonton wrappers in to form the crusts.  If you like your crusts sweet, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. 

Scoop the apple mixture evenly into the wontons. Bake for about 10 minutes until the edges start to brown and get crispy.

Base recipe from Greenlitebites.com.

Apple Crisp

Abe and Jimi love apple pie.  It's their only requested dessert.  Sometimes I don't have the time (or desire) to make pie dough, so I will whip out an apple crisp instead.  It always hits the spot.  It also works really well when I have company... who isn't impressed by a warm dessert being pulled out of the oven?

I got this recipe from Allrecipes.com (along with the photo).

Serve with ice cream. Enjoy!

Apple Crisp
Serves 12

10 cups all-purpose apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup water

1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degree C).
2. Place the sliced apples in a 9x13 inch pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and ground cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. Pour water evenly over all.
3. Combine the oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes.

Apple Pie

Image via Google

Abe and Jimi love apple pie. They ask me to make it a lot and it's always the dessert I make when I want to show a little extra love. I've offered to make them different kinds of pie- pecan, lemon, blueberry, anything for a little variety.  All get shot down with a "No, can you make apple, please?"  Fine, apple it is.

Lots of different types of apples can be used, but I like a combo of Granny Smith and Macintosh.  The Granny Smiths add tartness and the Macs cook down to almost apple sauce and add a great texture.

The reason that the shortening is cold (or frozen) is so that it goes in hard and will melt while baking, making for a very fluffy crust. 

The tapioca makes the juice of the apples silky smooth and prevents a super watery pie.  It can be found in your baking aisle.

I like a lot of different recipes, but this one I go back to again and again.  I found it in our local newspaper. It won best apple pie. 

My Father's Apple Pie 
by Fred Burns

Crust:

2 cups flour
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold shortening (try freezing it first)
1/4 cup ice cold water
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
1 large egg

Filling:

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
Dash of salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons quick-cook tapioca
5 average-size apples, peeled, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
5 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

For the crust, in a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt.  Cut in shortening with pastry blender until coarse crumbles form.

In a separate bowl, combine cold water, vinegar and egg and whip lightly, then add to the flour mixture, stirring lightly with a fork until it becomes a sticky dough; this dough is very soft and loose.  Refrigerate finished dough in a small covered container or in a plastic wrap for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight.

For the filling, in a large bowl combine all ingredients except for butter and apples.

Peel and slice the apples. Stir the apples thoroughly into the dry ingredients to coat all of the apple slices.  Let mixture sit for 15-30 minutes to develop a juice while you roll out the crust.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Take about two-thirds of refrigerated dough out and keep the rest chilled.  Lightly flour a clean work surface and roll out dough about 13 inches in diameter.  Carefully adjust the crust to fit a 10-inch deep-dish pie pan and trim edges.  Take the remaining dough and roll about 11 inches in diameter.

Add filling to crust in dish and place butter slices all over the top of filling.  Add the upper crust, roll the edges over the bottom crust and flute edges as desired.  Cut a few steam slits in a design of your choice.  You may also want to brush an egg wash (egg whites whisked with a bit of cold water) to the top to make for a shiny crust.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes and then reduce to 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes.

If the edges start to brown too quickly, cover with foil.  Remove from the oven and cool for at least 2 hours before slicing.

Enjoy!
Bake