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(Updated) I love this time of year. Apples are falling from the trees, bees are buzzing trying to taste the sweet or tartness of the apples. You can get so many homegrown varieties of apples right now. They may not always look as pretty as the grocery store ones but they are chemical free and handpicked. Actually, almost all apples are still hand picked in the United States.

I made applesauce for the first time last year. It was delicious. This year a friend gave me a big box of small apples from her tree. She didn’t know what kind they were. They are crisp and sweet.

I made applesauce with them. The box made 10 pints minus all the apple chunks I ate while cutting them up. I told you they were crisp and sweet my personal fave! It took some time to quarter and core them. I cut out any bad spots. Didn’t find one worm. A few holes but no actual worms 🙂 I don’t mind doing it. I usually listen to music while I work in the kitchen.

You’ll need:

apples

1 tablespoon cinnamon ~ optional, amount would vary by your taste

2 tablespoons sucanat/sugar ~ optional, amount would vary by your taste

First, wash and rinse your apples.

Quarter and core the apples, leave on skins…yes I said I leave on the skin, after all, it’s the most nutritious part. Load into a large pot, choose the size depending on the amount of apples you have. You could do this in a slow cooker if you want. I had so many apples so I used a large stock pot.

I sprinkled the apples with some cinnamon and sucanat/sugar. The amount will depend on apples and your own tastes.

Cover and cook for a couple hours. Stirring every so often. I cooked mine for about 3 hours. They were small apples. Time will depend on the size of chunks and how mushy you want em.

Let the apples cool a bit then mash them with a potato masher. You can leave them this way if you want it chunky. I’m going to puree this batch.

Using a food processor. Puree the apples a little at a time.

The skins blend together very nicely.

Fill clean containers (I used mason jars). I put mine up in the freezer. The next batch I make I will can in a water bath. I will update when I do. There is something so beautiful about your own fresh foods in mason jars 😉