It was time to pack up the kids and head to the nearest apple orchard (a.k.a Pa and Grandma’s backyard) I am not sure if you can call four or five trees an orchard, but it works for the grandkids! And they love apples.
The horses next door wanted to see what was going on!
After picking, we started the process of peeling, coring, and slicing a bunch of the apples to make applesauce. With a knife, it is a slow process, but with an apple peeler/corer/slicer, it’s a whole lot more fun and faster too!
No, Grandma, the peelings don’t go into the applesauce!
To make applesauce, I just put the peeled/cored/sliced apples into a pan, add a little bit of water and start cooking on medium heat. After it heats up, I turn it to low, cover and let it simmer. As it cooks, I stir occasionally and when the apples are getting very soft, I use my potato masher to break it down. I like to leave the applesauce somewhat chunky.
I don’t add anything else to the apples as they cook. No sugar is needed, after all, we don’t sprinkle sugar on the apple when we eat it fresh. Sometimes the kids like to sprinkle a little cinnamon on the applesauce, but they gobble it down plain as well. Yummy!
Since Melinda and I have been using applesauce in many baked goods (you can substitute applesauce for the oil on a 1:1 ratio) I decided to freeze the applesauce in 1/2 cup portions for later use. Using my handy measuring tool from Pampered Chef, I measured out 1/2 cup portions of cold applesauce into nice little piles on a cookie sheet covered with plastic wrap. Then I placed the sheet into the freezer. After the piles of applesauce were completely frozen, I put them into a freezer bag. Then when, a small portion is needed for a recipe (or for kid’s snack) it’s easy to pull out whatever is needed and keep the rest frozen.
Melinda makes these delicious Applesauce Oat Muffins for her family. (She copied the recipe from a magazine several years ago, so we are not sure who to give the credit to.) She switches out the oil in this recipe with coconut oil, now that she’s learned how good coconut oil is for you. She also uses coconut sugar instead of the brown sugar, and regular oats works fine if you don’t use quick-cooking oats.
