Crockpot Applesauce
The Nitty Gritty:
Flavored with deep caramel notes, it couldn't be easier.- Level: 1
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Yields: about 10 cups
- Tags: fruit
Apples. A cinnamon stick. Your crockpot. Go.
We hope you were inspired by last month’s feature on the resurgence of crockpot cooking. (Click on over to read “Slow-Cooked Love” here). If you’ve still got yours on the counter, throw a dozen of your favorite apples in this weekend. Skip the sugar — Mother Nature needs no extra sweeteners — and be amazed at the deeply flavorful results you’ll get eight hours later.
It makes a great midnight snack when spooned cold from the refrigerator in the dead of night, but warm a little and serve atop vanilla ice cream for an insanely satisfying dessert.
Ingredients:
- 12 apples, peeled, quartered, and cored
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Apples ready for the long, slow saucing process
Instructions:
Add apples, salt, and cinnamon stick to crockpot. Turn on low setting, cook for 8 hours. Seriously, it's that easy.
When finished, break up any big apple pieces with a large wooden spoon. Remove the cinnamon stick and discard. Drain applesauce through fine mesh sieve if there is too much liquid.
Applesauce will keep, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Comments
By Alison L. McConnell
Alison L. McConnell is the HG’s editor and publisher. She also runs The Humble Gourmand’s catering and prepared food business, which serves as a conduit between Chesapeake Bay watershed farmers and butchers, artisan/small-batch producers up and down the East Coast, and hungry clients in the Washington area.
A native of New Jersey and upstate New York, Alison attended Bowdoin College in Maine and the London School of Economics before settling in Washington in 2004. She studied the culinary arts at L’Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, MD. She abides by a long-standing family motto: McConnells always finish their desserts.
About The Humble Gourmand
The Humble Gourmand is published the first Friday of each month, edited by Alison L. McConnell, a Washington, D.C.-based journalist and writer. It is designed to offer straightforward lessons and advice to aspiring cooks, oenophiles, and all other eaters and drinkers.
The Humble Gourmand encourages users to comment on any and all of its features, but reserves the right to remove any material deemed inappropriate.
Tessa
March 6 10:04 a.m. 1Two questions... what kind of apples, and can I use my Le Creuset in the oven instead of the crock pot??
Alison
March 6 11:19 a.m. 2My favorites are Pink Ladies, Braeburn, and Honey Crisp. Also have tossed some Macintosh -- and some too-ripe pears, actually -- with great success.
You should definitely try the oven version. Put them in at 200 degrees for about 3-4 hours, and let us know how it turns out!