When you “accidentally” pick 30 pounds of apples, you’ve got to do something…and do it quick! That’s a whole lotta apples to process!
One of the easiest things to do is make slow cooker applesauce. I intentionally picked a bunch of Golden Sup apples from the orchard because I knew they were a sweeter variety, and wouldn’t require any sweetener to be a good applesauce. I would have gone down the hill to get some of the super sweet Blondee variety that they had available, but I was too busy chasing a little boy around the orchard…and never got down there!
The process for making slow cooker applesauce is fairly simple. Just takes a little time to get the apples peeled and cored. And I added a little maple syrup because I wanted a “great applesauce”!
Peel and core apples.
Get out maple syrup, lemon juice, cinnamon and/or ginger, nutmeg, ground cloves. (I used the baking spice mix from Penzey’s.)
Toss the apples with the lemon juice. Drizzle the maple syrup over the top. Sprinkle the spices.
Slow cook on low for 2 to 3 hours.
After 2-3 hours, mash with potato masher, then let cook for another 1 hour.
If you prefer a chunkier applesauce, enjoy it as is. If you prefer a smooth applesauce, transfer to a blender and puree.
Finally, enjoy.
This applesauce will stay good for 5 days in the refrigerator, and it freezes beautifully. It can be frozen in containers, or “frozen flat” in plastic freezer baggies. The baggies will thaw quickly in warm water too.
Sweeter apple varieties include: Golden delicious, golden sup, blondee, fuji, gala and honey crisp.
Maple Sweetened Slow Cooker Applesauce
Yield – 4 servings
Preparation Time – 25 minutes
Cooking Time – 4 hours in slow cooker
Ingredients
- 12 sweet variety apples, peeled and cored
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon or baking spice mix
Directions
- Toss the peeled and cored apples in the slow cooker base with the lemon juice and toss well.
- Drizzle the maple syrup and cinnamon spices over the top and toss again.
- Set the slow cooker on low and cook for 2-3 hours.
- Then mash the apples with a potato masher and cook for another 1 hour on low.
- Mash again, or puree in a blender.
- Serve warm, cold or freeze.
Lee Ann L. says
I tried coming over here via Google Reader and received an “Access Forbidden” message. “The link you requested is not valid for use by FeedBlitz’s RSS feed management services. Please contact the owner of the site or publisher of the document you came from to alert them to the error.”
I searched for $5 dinners and found the site. I wanted to see this recipe. I’ve bookmarked it! 🙂
I unsubscribed and resubscribed thinking maybe something changed within the site. However, I am still getting that error message. Something is quirky. Thought you’d like to know.
Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom says
Hmmm…sorry for the trouble…I will look into it!
Thanks for letting me know!
Erin
Crystal's Cozy Kitchen says
I love apple sauce, and I really love that this was made with maple syrup! I can almost taste the deliciousness!
Nicole says
i want to know what you did w/ all those peaches too!
Jenna Unruh says
Was it on your site that you posted a bunch of things to do with apples? I thought I saved the link and can’t find it! One thing I was after was a recipe for apple leather or something?
Also, do you think a ton of apples would work in a big roaster? We always make a huge batch of sauce and I’m thinking this would be SO much faster than me doing the stove top as I always do or doing the slow cooked as you suggested. WHat do you think?
Brenda says
Making this today – thanks so much!
Erin says
Apple sauce was my go to baby food it was cheap and easy. Although I always boiled my apples in water for about 30 min then just tossed them in the food processor and viola two weeks worth of apple sauce for my baby in under an hour and for less then $5. P.S. I always ate half 🙂
Marilyn aka G-Ma says
Erin, when you say baking spice mix, are you talking about something like your Apple Pie Spice Mix?