Apple (Pie) Sauce

It's a rainy day, and Olivia decided not to go to the library, so we needed an at-home activity.  Since we went apple picking last weekend, I decided to make apple sauce.  My neighbor, Megan, gave me the recipe after she taught it to her son's preschool class last year, so I thought I would try it out with my little helper.  It was a VERY toddler friendly recipe, and we both had a great time!  Best of all, it turned out to be absolutely delicious, and had no added sugar. 

Here's what it did have:
8-10 medium apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1" chunks (I actually only used 6 apples.  I'm stingy with my apples.)
3/4 C. water (since I only used 6 apples, I only put in about 1/2 C)
 2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. cinnamon

Here's how it went down:
I peeled, cored, and cut the apples while Olivia watched.  Then I let her put all the apple chunks into the pot.  She loved this.  So did Anna, who kept trying to eat all the chunks she dropped on the floor.  I had to save that poor toothless baby from choking at least three times. 
 
Then I measured out the other ingredients, and let Olivia dump them into the pot.  She helped me to stir everything up, and then I put it on the stove on high heat, stirring more, until it started to boil.  I covered the pot, turned down the heat, and let it simmer for about 25 minutes. I checked it after 20, but the apples didn't seem quite tender enough, so I left it on for a bit longer.  I think cooking time will vary depending on what kind of apples you are using. 

Liv, in heaven mashing apples. 

When the apples were nice and soft, I dumped them into a plastic bowl, and Liv helped me mash it all up with a whisk.  The recipe said to use a potato masher, but I don't have one, so whisk it was.  This makes a chunky apple sauce.  It you want a totally smooth one, throw it all in the blender.  That's what I do when I make apple sauce baby food for Anna. 


When we were done, we immediately sat down and ate it for lunch.  It was so good it tasted like apple pie!  We even put it on top of ritz crackers to get a little "crust" effect. 

This will be gone by tomorrow.  Yummy!

It can be served hot or cold, but I loved it hot!  I think we'll heat some back up, and have it for dessert tonight!  YUM!