Cranberry Apple Sauce (a.k.a. Crapple Sauce)

This is just a basic apple sauce recipe, I can't remember where I found it originally but there are hundreds just like it online. The twist being the inclusion of cranberries, which inevitably lead to the punny name of crapple sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 lemon, for juice
• 1 C water
• 4-6 pounds of apples, to be peeled and cored
• ¼ C packed brown sugar
• ¾ tsp ground cinnamon (or 1 whole stick)
• 8 oz. (1 small bag) of fresh cranberries (optional)

Steps

1. Juice the lemon into a large pot, making sure to remove any stray seeds. Also dump in the water.
2. Peel and core the apples. Cut them up into large pieces and put into the pot. As you go toss them with the lemon water to help prevent browning while to peel the rest of the apples.
3. Add the sugar and cinnamon and cranberries if you are using them. Toss everything together evenly.
4. Put pot onto the stovetop and cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until apples are very tender and break down easily.
5. Use a hand masher, or immersion blender, to break down the cooked apples and turn into an even puree.
6. Taste, adding more sugar if desired or water to thin out. Serve warm, or store in fridge for up to 5 days.

Notes

• You can use just about any eatting apple you want. Granny Smith, or other tart green apples work great in apple sauce. I have found a blend of apples works best, the more types the better.
• White sugar also works, but I find brown sugar helps bring out the cinnamon flavor.
• I don't worry too much about leaving little bits of skin on the apples, though they do stick around in the final product (I say it's a 'rustic' apple sauce). You can press the sauce through a fine mesh seive to catch any remaining skins, or go to town with the blender to break them up.

Images