I hate applesauce. Mushed apples and water? Blech. I like my apples crisp with a nice crunch when I bite into them. So when I noticed the apples in my fridge (yes, I keep apples in the fridge) were going soft, I knew I had to do something with them. And since I had over-ripe bananas in the freezer, I figured this was the perfect time to make applesauce to use in a low fat banana muffin recipe (coming soon!) I had bookmarked earlier in the week.
I scoured the Internet for applesauce recipes and with the help of Rachel over at Coconut & Lime [1] (she’s so patient!), I got to work. I was pleasantly surprised to learn applesauce is extremely easy to make (and not so surprised to find that I still don’t like it). I didn’t add much sugar since I knew I was going to bake with it, but if you’re planning to eat it and are using tart apples, throw it in. Also, I divided it into small individual Glad containers which I froze to use in future recipes.
Ingredients
4 apples (I used Fujis)
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar, optional
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
Preparation
- Peel, core, and slice apples.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, combine apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon. Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes, or until the apples are soft enough to mash.
- Mash with a fork (or pulse in a food processor like I did).
Yields approximately three cups.