Today’s cold and wintry weather gave me an excuse to put everything aside and work in the kitchen. Since we went to an apple orchard over the weekend, I have a lot of apples that I need to make things with. Of course we eat them as is, but it wouldn’t be Autumn if our home didn’t smell of apples cooking! So one of the things that always makes me happy is homemade applesauce. The smell alone when it’s bubbling away on the stove top just screams warmth and comfort. It really doesn’t take long and it gives me a chance to make other things that are great to eat on a cold day (local grass-raised beef short ribs braised in Bristol’s Venetucci pumpkin ale with butternut squash, for example).

I used a mix of Red and Golden Delicious as well as a few Granny Smith cored and cut into quarters. I leave the peels on too and add some of the cores for the natural pectin to give the finished sauce a good consistency. Plus, I love the chunky texture the cooked peel gives to the finished applesauce. Everything goes into a heavy pot along with a cup of fresh apple cider, juice from 1/2 a lemon, 3 strips of lemon peel, 2 good quality cinnamon sticks, a pinch of sea salt, and 1/4 cup of raw sugar. I’ve added some scraped vanilla beans before, but I don’t have any at the moment. The lemon/lemon peel brightens and enhances the apple flavor and the apple cider just adds MORE apple flavor! Some of the apples were tart, so I just needed that tiny bit of sugar. Even so, I enjoy applesauce that’s a little more tart than sweet.

I bring it all to a boil and then lower the heat, covering the pot, and let it all simmer for 30 minutes or so. After it all has cooked down, I remove the cinnamon sticks and lemon peels and smash it up just a little bit. Voilà! Homemade applesauce. Nothing beats it! Of course I always have some right away, warm and oh so tasty. The perfect treat on a wintry day!