Applesauce

I was at my corner store this afternoon and saw they had 5-pound bags of Fuji apples on sale for $3.29 in the outside "use this quick or else" produce section.

So I did.


I'd never made applesauce from scratch before, but I have vague memories of my grandmother making and canning it. I wasn't ready to take on canning this afternoon, but throw some apple chunks in a pot and boil 'em for a bit? No problem.

I started with this recipe but messed around with it enough that it's really not the same recipe any more. For starters, I had 5 lbs of apples to contend with. (I also didn't have lemons, and I wanted more of a cinnamony taste anyway, so I left those out.) I peeled and quartered the apples and got them simmering in 1-1/2 cups of water. I started off with 2 cinnamon sticks but after 15 minutes of simmering, I decided to throw in 2 more. And I only used brown sugar -- maybe half a cup, possibly less.

Then after 30 or 40 minutes total of simmering (I forgot to set the timer), I pulled out the 4 cinnamon sticks and mushed it up with my stick blender. I ended up with about 8 cups -- 2 of which I noshed on over the course of the afternoon and the rest of which went into jars. (The recipe says that it can last frozen for up to a year, but I can't imagine it going that long without being nommed up.)

Easy. Awesome.