Comfort Foods: Stovetop-Free Applesauce Hits the Spot

I’ve always loved applesauce, from childhood onward, and I still love applesauce–only now, I make it a bit differently.

Sparing the stovetop in this unique applesauce recipe make it not only retain more vitamin C and fiber but also gives it a fresh flavor that mostly gets lost when making applesauce the traditional way.

For this to work the best, you’ll need a blender and a juicer, and about 6-8 apples, depending on their size.

Ingredients:

• 8 cups sliced apples (sliced into fourths, cores removed)
• 1-2 TBS agave nectar (or 16 drops stevia)
• 2 c freshly pressed apple juice (I like juicing the cores first and then throwing another apple in there if I need to)
• 1 TBS cinnamon

Instructions:

• Prepare all ingredients as listed above. You will probably need 6-8 apples to get all the quantities listed.
• Add all ingredients to the blender & blend. It’s really that simple!

Tip: If you like your applesauce slightly warmed, you can warm it in a double boiler, using a candy thermometer to gauge temperature. You could also try the stove top, but just be sure to keep an eye on the temperature even more, as heat is applied much less evenly using this method!

This travels well in a sealed glass jar and is one of my favorite mid-morning snacks.

It’s also fun to try in the morning with some granola. Applesauce and granola go really well together, if you’ve never tried it.

Or, you can sit at home and enjoy your applesauce in peace. Throw on a bit of extra cinnamon and maybe some nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice just for fun.

These are just a few suggestions–what unusual uses have you come up with for applesauce?