Cinnamon and Nutmeg Spiced Apple Sauce

Nothing says fall like the warm smell of cinnamon and nutmeg! You will find them in candles, lotions, and even drinks. But in this recipe we used fresh, organically picked apples to showcase these seasonal spices! The smell in the house in unmatched and the flavors will leave you feeling all warm and cozy! You can eat this applesauce warm or cold! Warmed up the spices come to life and when its cooler they are a bit more mild. The ingredients are really simple and the recipe is quick and healthy!

Ingredients:

• 10-12 medium sized apples of choice, I used Pink Pearl
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp fresh nutmeg
• Sprinkle of salt
• 1/2 c coconut sugar
• 1/2 c water

To make the apple mixture, first rinse, peel and core the apples! Then chop into small pieces. Equal size doesn’t matter so much here since you will be cooking them down and puree it altogether anyways. Once you have the apples sliced, toss into a large pot. Then add in the juice of a lemon, spices, sugar, and water.

Place over medium-high heat and stir well until it comes to a boil. Then turn the heat down to a lower flame and place the lid on the pot. You are going to steam the apples so they get nice and soft. I still stir every few minutes so nothing sticks.

Once the apples are soft I remove the lid of the pot and cook on a higher heat an additional 5 minutes until the excess water cooks out and it thickens up a bit. Once this happens, remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. At this point you have a few options and this will depend on how you like you applesauce! There is great debate around this topic but you do you! ( I like mine with a few chunks left, lol)

For a chunkier applesauce, you could use a potato masher and mash away leaving some large chunks! You could also lightly use an emulsion blender and still leave some chunks but not as many. I used the emulsion method and got most of it smooth but still had some chunky pieces! So good!

For a smooth applesauce, you can still use an emulsion blender but make sure you are constantly mixing and get all the chunks out. It will take some extra time but will still work! Or, to guarantee you get a smooth, no chunk applesauce, I would allow it to cool most of the way and you can add to a food processor or high speed blender! Doing this for a few minutes will get all the chunks and you will get a soft, velvety smooth sauce. You could even go the extra step to put through a mesh strainer if you really want but who needs the extra dishes, lol.

That’s it! And now you will have some delicious, healthy, homemade spiced applesauce! Eat it right out of the pot all warm and toasty or you can put in mason jars and refrigerate! Canning is an option here if you are bulk making, just make sure to sterilize your jar and boil according to your directions to avoid bacteria! Hope you enjoy!