There must be at least a dozen different recipes in my collection of recipe cards for applesauce.  How to can it, how to make and freeze it, applesauce with raisins and nuts, baked applesauce with 1 cup!!! of lemon juice, and on and on.

This recipe, however, is one of my favorites – simple and easy to do.  It’s great cold, but, in opinion, even better warm, and served over vanilla ice cream ;)

You can really make this with any apples you happen to have on hand, but if you get a chance, do try Gala, Fiji or Breaburn apples – they break down easily, and bake up well.

Enjoy!

Baked Applesauce

5 tablespoons water
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoons lemon juice, fresh if possible
2 teaspoons cinnamon
4 pounds apples – cored, peeled and sliced

Mix water, sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon in a large bowl.  Add in apples and stir well to coat them. 

You can use a dutch oven if you have one, or just a standard cake pan.  However, if you are going to use a cake pan, cover the cake pan with aluminum foil, and then place on a baking sheet. 

Place the apples in a pre-heated 375F oven, and bake for about 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until the apples are tender.  Stir once, midway through cooking.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. 

Now.. you can do a few things here..

1.  You can put the apples through a foodmill, or pulse a couple of times in a food processor, creating a smooth puree.

2. Using a potato masher (like the one right),  just mash the apples.  I like this method, because …. I don’t have a foodmill, nor a food processor, and I do like the texture of the apples this way.

3. Leave them alone — don’t mash or puree them.

You can keep this refrigerated for up to 3 days, or freeze in an airtight container for about one month. 

Notes:

You can leave out the brown sugar, if you are so inclined, or use the  Splenda Brown Sugar substitute, which is pretty good.

Serve this warm over ice cream – vanilla is good, but it also is great with chocolate.

Make an applesauce milkshake — use 1 cup of chilled applesauce and 1 cup of milk, mix well in your blender and serve.