Name: Slow Cooker Applesauce
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 8 h 40 min
Yield: 1
Ingredients: 8 apples (I used 4 red delicious and 4 Granny Smith); 1/2 juice of lemon; lemon zest, 1/2 lemon; 2 cinnamon sticks; 1/3 cup brown sugar

Slow Cooker Applesauce

I am not sure why I haven’t tried to make homemade applesauce at home. Bob has a few stories of how his family and neighbors would make homemade applesauce to can with their neighbors over a span of several days. They used to go to the orchards to pick their apples and then make a procession line with each person assigned a chore as part of the process.

While I love applesauce, I can’t see myself canning lots of jars and now that I know how easy slow cooker applesauce is… no need for me to can!

Right now most apples are a fabulous price at the stores and I bought LOTS of Red Delicious and Granny Smith Apples for $.25 per pound. So for less than $.50 I have more than a store bought jar and it’s much healthier! I love it when produce is cheap cheap cheap because I can experiment with recipes without feeling like I am wasting a lot of money if the recipe fails.

Most recipes call for water or apple cider in them and I didn’t use either. I let the natural water of the apples seep out during the slow cooking process which will be used at the end when I puree with my hand held immersion blender.

I made a few variations before I came up with a taste that both kids enjoyed. My first version had too much cinnamon and not sweet enough. After testing the various mixtures, below is the winner.

BONUS: Once I removed the cinnamon sticks, I tossed them into a pot with water and my leftover apple peels to make the house smell amazing.