Applesauce - Homemade, Easy and Good

The applesauce jar said it was “all natural” which was not entirely true, unless you like corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup, both of which we want to avoid. Apples were on sale in the produce section, so homemade applesauce seemed a better idea. To say this was easy is putting it mildly. It’s SO simple: core, peel and cut apples, add water and sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and cook down. Some cookbooks suggest using a food mill to process the cooked apples, especially if cooking them unpeeled (this way is supposed to produce a better taste). My version used about 8 apples (mix of granny smith, gala and white delicious), added some sugar and spices and added a half cup of cranberries, just because it made for a colorful applesauce. The cinnamon stick is optional too. We enjoyed the applesauce on oatmeal cereal today (not the instant version).

Easy Homemade Applesauce
6-8 apples, peeled, cored, coarsely cut up
½ C sugar
¼ C brown sugar
¾ to 1 C water
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cinnamon (to taste)
Cinnamon stick broken up - optional (wondered what to do with these)
½ C cranberries - optional (had some frozen)

Put all ingredients into a heavy duty pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes. I used a potato masher to mash the apples and cranberries as they cooked. Remember to remove the pieces of cinnamon stick.