Proud Moment: My First Batch of Homemade Applesauce

Earlier in the year, apples were in abundance.  I was able to buy 30lbs of organic apples from a local farm for 50 cents a pound.  I took advantage of the great price, but didn't realize that I had no idea what to do with 30lbs of apples.  The first thing I thought of was to dehydrated some.  Those turned out really well.  I peeled, cored, and sliced them, making them perfect for the dehydrator.  Thank goodness for my peeler-corer-slicer thing, it saved me TONS of time.  It's kinda like this tool here. 

After dehydrating a bunch, I still had what seemed like a small mountain of apples left to do something with.  I felt like Winnie the Pooh when he would sit on  his log, his arms crossed in front of him with one hand on his head saying, "think, think, think."  Then it came to me: APPLESAUCE!  I'm a bit embarrassed that it wasn't the first thought, but in my defense, I've never really done canning or anything like that, and I've certainly never made applesauce before.  So I found a recipe in my crock pot cook book that was super simple. 

All I had to do was peel, core, and slice the apples, place them in the crockpot with about a cup of water and cook on low for about 5 hours.  That was super simple.  Then I found a recipe for apple butter in the same cookbook.  It was essentially the same except that I had to add sugar and spices and cook for much longer, on high for 8-10 hours. 

The result of both recipes was delicious applesauce and apple butter and a proud moment for me having made them and preserved them by canning.  So, earlier this week when I opened a jar of the applesauce, I had a wonderful sense of accomplishment. :)

My recipes are below:

Crock Pot Applesauce

12 Cups apples peeled, cored, and sliced

1C. water

1/2C Sugar (optional)

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon (optional)

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.   Cover and cook on Low 5-7 hours or High for 2 1/2 to 3 1/3 hours.  Stir to desired applesauce consistency.  Store or preserve using your preferred method.

Crock Pot Apple Butter

3 qts. unsweetened applesauce

3C. sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. or less ground cloves

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.  Cover.  Cook on High 8-10 hours.  Remove lid during the last 4 hours.  Stir occasionally.  Store in refrigerator, freeze, or preserve using your preferred method. 

Have you ever felt proud in trying a new kitchen technique and succeeding?