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The Best Homemade Applesauce

By Jamie Deen

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Jamie Deen's Good Food

Difficulty: Easy

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Servings: Makes 1 quart

Ingredients

  • 6 large apples, peeled, cored, and cut into chunks (I use a mix of Honeycrisp and Granny Smith)
  • 1 cup apple juice or cider
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • ⅛ teaspoon Kosher salt
  • dash of freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

In a large saucepan, combine the apples, juice, water, cinnamon sticks, cinnamon, both sugars, salt, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat, cover with a lid, and simmer gently for 25 minutes, stirring on occasion, until the apples are extremely soft.

Remove the cinnamon sticks and discard. If you prefer a real smooth applesauce, you can add the apples and liquid to a blender or food processor and blend until it’s the consistency you like best.

Store the applesauce, covered, in your refrigerator for up to 5 days. Beyond that, you’ll want to freeze it.

Ingredient Notes: You can experiment with the kinds of apples you use, making it milder or more tart. Just make sure you use really crisp apples; nothing mealy will do.

Want more bang for your buck? Add berries. Adding ¾ cup blueberries to the simmering apples make this an apple-blueberry sauce.