I decided to make a healthier applesauce recipe, since I can’t get enough apple recipes this fall. Now that I know how ridiculously easy it is to make it yourself, this will be one item I no longer need to buy. If you’re too old for just plain old applesauce, you can always get fancy and mix it into muffins, cakes, waffles, an well anything you can think of. I’m seriously considering adding this to popsicles. It may be October, but it’s still hot in LA.
I kept the applesauce pretty chunky and didn’t cook it down a crazy amount. I wanted to apple taste and texture to really shine through. I used Granny Smith apples, which are pretty tart, so I added some maple syrup to balance out the sour with a bit of sweetness. A lot of recipes called for brown sugar, and since maple syrup is a similar color, I thought I try it out. However, you could always use honey or eliminate the natural sweetener altogether.
- 5 granny smith apples
- ¼ cup of grade b maple syrup
- ½ cup of water
- 1 cinnamon stick
- a pinch of cinnamon
- Peel and chop apples. Add them to to dutch oven with water, cinnamon stick, and maple syrup.
- Cook down mixture until apples are desired firmness.
- I prefer the apples to still be still chunky and firm. About 30 minutes. Stir often so apples don't burn.
- Transfer to a food processor, and blend/pulse for a few seconds. Add a pinch of cinnamon, or more to taste. A little goes a long way.
- (optional) sprinkle a little cinnamon over the top and serve.