In an effort to cut back on sugar, I decided to give making our own applesauce a chance!

Believe it or not, I’ve never made it.   I’ve made apple butter before, but not sauce.   And I don’t know why, it was SO easy!

Just peel and quarter up as many apples as you have.  Pop in a nice thick pot and add just a wee bit of water.   It helps to get the going and soften them up.  Then just cook about 45 minutes or more over a nice heat… not too hot but not too cold…  stirring them as they start to soften and mush up.

Once they are nice and mushy, add a little cinnamon to taste, if you want.   And taste them.   If they are little tart, then add a bit of sugar.   I ended up adding just a little under a quarter cup of brown sugar to our 12 apples.  It just needed a little help because half my apples were very tart.  Still, that is SO much less than commercial sauce!   Most commercial apple sauce has a TON of corn syrup in it.  Blech.

Let cool, and mash with a spoon or a potato masher.  We like ours a little chunky, so we left it so.  If you’d like it very fine, then use a blender or stick blender to get it so.  You can add a wee bit of apple cider or juice if you need to get it nice and creamy.  Store in the frig or you can water bath can the stuff…   just google and follow the directions for time and such.

Our dozen apples made about a quart of sauce and it was gone in a few days!   I think next fall, I will definitely do up a ton of apples and can the sauce.  And I will have a food mill by then so I won’t even peel them!   You can actually leave the skin on and grind it with a food mill for lots of extra fiber and apple goodness!  Sounds pretty darn easy to me!

And all the peelings and cores make great hog treats!   Heck, everyone likes apples!

Enjoy!