Crock Pot Applesauce

Here comes Fall and with fall comes Apple Season! :)  Since moving here in 2008, I have come to learn that I LOVE APPLES!  This is something very new for me since as a child I did not really like them.  When picking them off the tree, there is something to be said for eating a fresh, juicy apple!  Once you have picked your fill and now have bags, yes, bags, full, what do you do with all of these apples once you get home?  This girl eats at least one apple a day and starts looking for recipes, talking to friends and family and comes up with things to make!  In the past, I have made Applesauce in the oven.  It is a bit more labor intensive and you have to "watch" it so now it is time for a crock pot recipe. 


8-10 Sweet Apples, peeled and cored
3/4 cup of water *
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp vanilla

* Depending on the juiciness of the apples you might want to start with 1/2 cup of water

Peel and core the apples and small dice them into a crock pot.  In a small bowl mix 1/2 cup of water and the cinnamon and vanilla.  Pour over the apples and mix until coated.  Then add the other 1/4 cup of water to the bowl to remove the rest of the cinnamon stuck to the sides (yes, this really happens).  Pour over the apples, add the cinnamon stick and cook on low for 4 hours or until the apples are very soft.  Use a potato masher to make "chunky" sauce or a hand mixer for "smoother" sauce.  My sauce was a bit runny when I started mashing and was very hot.  But once it cooled off (in the fridge) it tightened up to a perfect consistency. 

Please Share & Enjoy! 

** This recipe was adapted from a recipe found from The Frugal Girls online **