Making homemade applesauce is so much easier than I ever thought possible. What a great realization this was after receiving a gift of a giant box of fresh Wenatchee apples from my mother-in-law a few weeks ago. There must have been 50 apples in the box, and I had no idea what I was going to do with them all.

Not wanting a single apple to go bad, I began to browse the internet for applesauce recipes. Most every recipe I found showed the apples needing peeling before cooking. It seemed daunting, and I really wanted something as simple as possible. Then, I discovered a few other recipes that insisted the peels would break down during the cooking process, and that there is no need to peel them. Thrilled with this discovery, that’s the route I decided to take with my recipe.

Recipes for cooking the apples varied as well. Some made applesauce in the crockpot, some on the stovetop, and some even roasted the apples and spices in the oven. With so many apples on-hand, I decided to make the laziest applesauce possible two different ways: crockpot and stovetop.

The crockpot method is low-and slow, and the stovetop method is much faster (about 1/5th the time).

I used the same ingredients in both recipes because the flavor came out so great the first time. It tasted like the inside of a homemade apple pie. We will make this again. And again. And again.

If, like me, you are a homemade applesauce rookie, you must give this a try!

Ingredients (for Crockpot & Stovetop):

• 10 sweet Apples of your choice
• 3 tablespoons Unsalted Butter (Yes. Butter. You’ll love it!)
• 3 Cinnamon Sticks
• 2 tablespoons Ground Cinnamon
• 3/4 cup Water

Instructions for Crockpot:

• Wash the apples and cut them into large slices. No need to peel them!
• Throw the apples in the crockpot, and add 3/4 cup Water.

• Chop the butter into small squares, and sprinkle them into the crockpot.
• Add the two tablespoons of Ground Cinnamon into the crockpot (no need to mix it all up).
• Place the 3 Cinnamon Sticks along the top so that they are easy to find when the applesauce is done cooking.

• Cook on low for 5 hours.

• When done, remove the 3 Cinnamon Sticks and discard.
• For smooth applesauce, use an immersion blender in the crockpot to blend the applesauce until it is super smooth.  (The peels should break down and blend in so that they are unnoticeable.)

• For a chunky applesauce, use a potato masher or fork to break up the apples, stopping when your desired texture is achieved.
• Serve warm, and store extras in mason jars in the refrigerator or freezer. Applesauce will thicken a bit more after it has chilled.
• CLICK HERE FOR A RECIPE FOR LAZY CROCKPOT APPLESAUCE

Instructions for Stovetop:

• Wash the apples and cut them into large slices. No need to peel them!
• Throw the apples into a stockpot, and add 3/4 cup Water.
• Chop the butter into small squares, and sprinkle them into the crockpot.
• Add the two tablespoons of Ground Cinnamon into the stockpot (no need to mix it all up).
• Place the 3 Cinnamon Sticks along the top so that they are easy to find when the applesauce is done cooking.

• Turn the burner to high, and bring the water to a boil (this happens quickly because there is such a small amount of liquid in the pot).
• Once a boil is reached, reduce to a simmer.
• Place the lid on and cook for about 45 minutes, until apples are breaking down and tender.

• When done, remove the 3 Cinnamon Sticks and discard.
• For smooth applesauce, use an immersion blender in the stockpot to blend the applesauce until it is super smooth.  (The peels should break down and blend in so that they are unnoticeable.)
• For a chunky applesauce, use a potato masher or fork to break up the apples, stopping when your desired texture is achieved.

• Serve warm, and store extras in mason jars in the refrigerator or freezer. Applesauce will thicken a bit more after it has chilled.
• CLICK HERE FOR A RECIPE FOR LAZY STOVETOP APPLESAUCE

A double-rainbow appeared while making this applesauce! Thought I would share that as well with you…

Happy eating! Joey