Cinnamon Apple Sauce

I guess I lied when I said that my next blog post would be something really unhealthy.  I will soon make my delicious birthday cake, but first I had to do something with all our apples. We bought a bag of apples from Seward co-op, but they weren't very sweet. What a bummer! After letting them sit for a healthy two weeks, I decided I'd transform the "meh" apples to something a little more "nom."  Really, I wanted to make apple pudding with rum sauce. In fact, I still have two of the tabs up now. You can look here and here if you want to see how delicious they are. MMMM!! They still get me all worked up. But, I knew Steve wouldn't be happy about being "forced" to eat apple pudding, so I begrudgingly made applesauce. Still, I can make applesauce cake later, maybe.

Even if you don't like applesauce by itself, it's a great ingredient in cakes in order to accomplish a variety of goals. For less fat, substitute out the oil and substitute in applesauce. The interwebs tells me that this will change the texture a little bit, so your cake will be a little softer and moister. Don't overreact to the moistness by overcooking the cake. The cook time remains the same.

You can also use applesauce instead of eggs in desserts if you have someone who is vegan or allergic to eggs. Be warned that you can't just go around tossing applesauce into whatever recipe you want. A little quick googling has informed me that if the eggs are used as a binder (to hold the ingredients together), applesauce is NOT a great substitute. Generally, it sounds like it works best in sweet stuff, like desserts and the like.  There is more interesting info out there on eggs, oil and applesauce.  Go ahead and google it, if you're interested! But, for now, on to the actual recipe!

Here's my ten minute apple sauce recipe. This even includes the washing and chopping.

Ingredients:

7 cooking or dual purpose apples (I used Pink Lady)

1-2 cups water

A few heavy-handed dashes of cinnamon (depending on how much you like)

~1/4 cup sugar

1 shot brandy

Wash the apples, chop them into small cubes, and throw them into a slow cooker.  (Note: If you have a hand blender, save time by leaving the skin on and just blend the sauce for ten seconds after it cooks.)  Give a hearty sprinkling of cinnamon (or throw in a cinnamon stick).  Toss in a bit of sugar; the amount will depend on how sweet your apples already are and how sweet you like your applesauce. I am in favor of more cinnamon, less sugar.  Pour some water over, more for increased liquidity and less for increased viscosity...and yes I know that is not what liquidity means. Go to your liquor stash (ours is behind the couch), fetch the brandy, and splash some in. I used about a shot's worth. Liquor must be measured in shots. I can imagine using no other units. Maybe 3 tablespoons? We'll never know. Finally, cover, turn on the slow cooker, and let it run on high for 4 hours. A few gentle mushes should take your apples to the "sauce" state. While you wait for the 4 hours to pass, go grab whatever book of The Hunger Games you are currently reading, since the book will finish at about the same time as the applesauce.  Be grateful that you live in an age that has applesauce so that you don't have to rely on squirrel and katniss to survive.

Oh, and if you don't have a slow cooker, no big deal. Make it in a big pot on your stovetop. Keep the heat on low so that you have a gentle simmer. Apple sauce for everyone!