8 Apples (medium/large)
½ cup (or more) Fresh Apple Cider
Sugar (to taste)
½ Tsp. Cinnamon (if desired)
Choosing your apples:
You can use any kind of apples that you like to make applesauce. Apples that are sweet/tart (like Stayman Winesap, Jonathan, Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Empire, Granny Smith, Crispin, Pink Lady, etc.) are a good choice b/c as they cook down they mellow in tartness.
Very sweet apples with little tartness (like Gala and Fuji) will become very mild and mellow. If you prefer a mild sauce with no tartness then very sweet apples are the way to go. It’s nice to use a variety of apples to make it interesting! Try using tart apples, like Stayman Winesap & Crispin, with sweeter apples, like Honeycrisp & McIntosh.
Preparation:
Peel, core, and cube apples (a rough cut is fine) and place in large pot (the wider the better…vs. taller and narrower). Add cinnamon and about ½ cup of cider (just enough to get a simmer going under the apples) and cook on med-high heat, covered, for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more cider, if needed, to keep from burning if the sauce thickens and starts to stick to the bottom at all. The cook-time varies according to the apple variety. Just cook until soft and/or desired consistency is reached (chunky vs. smooth.) You can use a potato masher after cooking to reduce the chunks if you do prefer a smoother sauce. Add sugar if desired. Let cool.
Enjoy!