Fresh Applesauce

We are in the height of apple season.  I love all things apple, and the smell of apples and cinnamon cooking together is one I can rarely resist.  Applesauce is quick and easy to make, can be eaten hot or cold, and freezes well for future eating.

Here's what you'll need:
5-6 pounds mixed apples, peeled and cored
1/2 - 3/4 c water
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 -1 c sugar

I use a variety of apples because I like a blended, smoother flavor.  If you like it tart, use granny smith.  If you want it sweeter, use Rome or Macintosh.  The apples don't have to be perfect. They're going to be cooked, so they'll all look like mush anyway.

Start out by paring your apples.  You can do this with a small, sharp paring knife or with a potato peeler. The potato peeler is my preference.  It works much quicker when you have a large amount of apples, and it also removes a set amount of skin, leaving more of the flesh for you to use.

There are also two ways to remove the core.  One is to use a sharp knife and just cut around the seeds, then remove the stem.

The other is to cut the apple into quarters.  Lay each piece on it's side, and with a large knife slice a wedge from the apple, removing the core in one piece.

After the apples are pared and cored, cut each apple into eight pieces.  Place the apples into a large pot.
Add enough water to cover the bottom of the pot. This will help the apples to break down as they cook. Sprinkle with cinnamon and stir to incorporate.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to simmer.

As the apples cook, they will break down.  Stir every now and then, pushing on the apples with the spoon.

When the apples have softened, and the sauce is the texture you want (we like ours chunky), remove from the heat.  Carefully taste for sweetness.  Add 1/2 - 1 cup of sugar, til it's as sweet as you like.

The applesauce is ready to eat.  My son likes it hot and will often eat it right from the pot.  It's also delicious cold and will keep in the fridge for a week or so.  It can also be frozen.  I usually divide it into 2-cup portions, put into airtight containers or zip top bags and stack it in the freezer.

Enjoy!

Basic Pie Dough: Apple Hand Pies

Pie is delicious!  It's one of those all-time favorite desserts that never seems to go out of style. Unfortunately, many find making a pie crust to be a daunting challenge.  Let's work through the basics of making the crust, then I'll finish with one way to use it.

The ingredients are:
2 c flour
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c COLD butter, cut into cubes
1/2 - 1/3 c COLD water
Apple pie filling (recipe at the bottom)

The key to a flaky pie crust is keeping it COLD.  So work quickly, touching it with the warmth of your hands as little as possible.

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl, whisking to blend. Add the cubed butter.  (Yes, I use BUTTER.  Some people use shortening, which actually produces a flaky crust, and eliminates the need to keep the dough cold.  Personally, I prefer butter for two reasons.  One, it gives the crust a richer flavor and two, I always have it in my house.)  Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter until it resembles lumpy sand.

Add the cold water, about 3 TBLS at a time, mixing quickly with a fork.  Continue adding the water until the dough begins to hold together.  Pour it out onto a floured surface and quickly knead into a ball.  Flatten slightly, shaping into a disk.  Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill at least 30 minutes to allow the butter to get hard again.  This is what creates the flakiness in your pie crust.

Unwrap the dough on a floured surface.  Roll it out to 1/4 inch thickness.  I use a marble rolling pin.  Because of it's weight, it makes the rolling time shorter, and being made or marble it stays cold.

Using a floured 4 inch cutter, cut circles from the dough.

Top each circle with about 1 TBLS apple filling, keeping it on the bottom half of the circle.

In a small bowl whisk and egg with 1 tsp of water, making an egg wash.  Use this to brush the edges of the dough.  This helps it stick together when it's baking.

Fold the dough over the filling, and crimp the edges with a fork.  Put the hand pies on a baking sheet.  Brush them with more egg wash, this gives them a golden color when they're baking, and sprinkle them with a little sugar.  

Bake at 400 for 18-20 minutes.  Let cool a little before eating them.  This is the hard part!  But trust me.  If you skip this, you'll be pulling the skin of your tongue.  These are molten lava inside!  Enjoy!

Make the apple filling while your pie dough is chilling in the fridge.

You will need:

2 c apples, cored and sliced

1/4 c sugar

2 tsp corn starch (or 1 TBLS flour)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

pinch salt

1 tsp lemon juice

You can use a knife to pare your apples, but I prefer a potato peeler.  It's much faster when you have a lot of apples to peel, and it removes a uniform amount of skin without losing too much of the apple's flesh.  There's also two schools for coring your apples.  One is to use a small, sharp utility knife and dig out the core, while making small v's to remove the stem and bottom end. 

The other is to cut the apple into quarters.  While laying eat section on it's side use a large knife, and cut diagonally down, removing the core and stem all in one motion.  This is how I do it.

Combine the sugar, corn starch, cinnamon and salt in small sauce pan.  Stir in the apples and lemon juice.  (The lemon juice helps to balance the sweetness of the apples.)  Bring to a boil over medium heat, until the sauce thickens and the apples begin to soften.

Cool slightly, then use in the hand pies.