Orange Winter & Honey Creme Applesauce

It’s that time of the year again. Gold and rust colored leaves are slowly falling and piling up in the yard. The last of our apples have fallen and slowly rotting. The perennials have dried up and the ornamental grass seems frozen in an ungraceful dancer’s position. My nose, fingers, and toes are already numb. Maybe I should make a little hat for my nose? Nah, it would not stay anyway. Right in the middle of my face is a distinctively flat Filipino nose. I’ve tried to remedy it. When I was young I used to pinch it with a clothespin for hours. Anyway, speaking of the nose, I love the smells of autumn. My favorite scents are burning leaves, baking apples, browned butter, and spices. I wanted to make the house smell like autumn. Burning leaves in the house was not an option so I made some baked applesauce instead.

applesauce

Fall and spring have a way of turning me into a blabbering poet. Hey, I’m not claiming to be a good one but I’m brave enough to share anyway. Why don’t you share one of yours? 🙂

How to Make Applesauce

Arrive at the orchard then

Pick the best tasting

Piece of apple by

Lingering over

Each bucket while

Salivating and sampling one

After the other

Until you find the one that will

Cook up best to

Eat.

Here’s the boring RECIPE

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

5 lbs. of apples any kind (about 7-8 med. sized ones) I used the Kickapoo Orchard’s Orange Winter apples
1/2 c. Honey Crisp apple cider (from Sunrise Orchards, Inc.)
1/3 c. granulated sugar (use more or less depending on the tartness of the apples)
1 T. molasses
2 T. Apple Blossom Brand honey creme (from Blue River, WI)
1/2 t. cinnamon
14 t. nutmeg
3 whole pieces of allspice (not ground)
1/2 t. salt

Peel and core the apples. Slice and place in an enameled cast iron pot. Mix the rest of the ingredients and bake covered for on hour. Don’t forget to fish out the allspice. Mash with a fork and place in sterilized jars. Follow normal canning procedures. Store in the refrigerator. I ended up making three 1/2 pint jars.

*The Orange Winter apples were quite tart. They were almost like Granny Smith apples but a little bit juicier and lighter. I could not detect a hint of orange if that’s what the name implied. By the way, warm applesauce taste really good with a tiny bit of vanilla ice cream. It melts gloriously and you get a “winter soup” dessert.