Apple Season, Yay!!

Every year during fall season, I can’t wait to go to the farmer’s market and come home with a basket full of apples! To eat, to make pie, muffins, and especially to make applesauce!
It is super simple, the easiest thing to make. You can use applesauce in many recipes, and I keep thinking I am going to use some in my baked goods (in my favorite apple muffins, for example), but we always end up eating most of it warm, right after it is ready and pureed, and the aroma of apples and cinnamon is still wonderfully infusing the kitchen!
As Matheus says, “This is the best applesauce, ever!” And, I have to agree!
Ana

Homemade Applesauce

4 apples of your choice
¾ cup apple cider - or unfiltered apple juice, or regular apple juice
1 tablespoon honey (or maple syrup)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Peel apples and cut them into chunks. Put apples and rest of ingredients in a big plastic container that can be microwaved. Cover with a lid, but open up one of the corners, so steam can escape.
Microwave the apples for 10 minutes, until they are very soft. Remove from microwave and puree to your desired consistency.

My Notes: the sweetest apples are the best for making this, as they break down easily and produce the moistest and sweetest applesauce. I always use a mix of apples for making applesauce, as I think the variety of flavors makes up for a tastier end product. But really, you can use whatever apples you like!
I use an immersion blender for pureeing the apples, and if I think there is too much liquid in the container, I will drain part of it into a cup and reserve. Then I puree the apples and if needed I can add more of the yummy liquid (and in case there is liquid leftover, well, then I drink it, it is delicious, just as hot mulled cider!)
Also, you can use the peels in here if you want to, and I usually do. If I opt for not using them in the applesauce, them I put them in a small Ziploc container, keep in the fridge, and eat them as a snack! The peels have a lot of goodies in them, vitamins, fiber, and I think they are just as tasty as the apples themselves! Galas and Golden Delicious are good apples for applesauce and have soft skins, great for pureeing everything. And even if I am not going to puree the skins from the reddest apples (which in my opinion have the toughest skins), I still add them to the container to be microwaved, and then fish them out with a fork at the end – they may not be pureed, but will lend flavor and a nice color to the applesauce at the end!