Ingredients:
- 14 cups apples (I used Red Delicious this year due to a sale. Gala, McIntosh, Golden Delicious, Fuji, or Cortland will also work well)
- 2 lemons, juiced (I use this gadget to juice the fresh lemons)
- ¾ cup water
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅓ cup honey
Step One: Peel and Chop
Peel the apples and chop into small-medium equal size pieces. Place all the apples in a large bowl or the base of your slow-cooker with the heat turned off.
Note: I peeled and chopped the apples by hand this year because I couldn’t find my apple peeler, but if you have one (like this) I highly recommend using it!
Step Two: Juice ‘Em
Squeeze the lemon juice from the two lemons over the top of the apples. Toss the apples in the lemon juice.
Step Three: Season and Sweeten
Sprinkle the cinnamon and honey over the top of the apples, along with the water. Turn the slow-cooker on high and let the apples cook for 3 hours. You’ll need to come back in an hour and a half to stir and mash the apples.
Note: If you don’t like cinnamon you can leave it out or reduce the amount called for in this recipe.
Step Four: Stir and Mash
After an hour and half of cooking, stir the apples with a wooden spoon and then mash the apples with a potato masher. This will take about 2 minutes. The apples will still be chunky and a bit hard. Return the lid to the slow-cooker and allow the apples to finish cooking for an hour and a half.
Step Five: Let’s Make Applesauce
Now it’s time to make the applesauce. After three hours of cooking your apples are ready to meet their final destiny! Puree the apples with an immersion blender. Blend the apples until you reach the desired consistency. For me, this means a super smooth store-like applesauce.
Note: An immersion blender (like this) is the trick to creating an applesauce that’s creamy and smooth! You can also use your immersion blender to make creamy soups, bean burritos, and lattes.
This recipe makes 5 cups of creamy homemade applesauce. You can easily double this recipe if you have a slow-cooker large enough to handle the extra apples. Homemade applesauce will keep in the freezer for 12 months (when stored in freezer-safe containers). Keep homemade applesauce in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
SOURCE:
http://livesimply.me/2014/10/20/make-best-slow-cooker-homemade-applesauce/]]>
