sprinklefingers

i cannot believe i have yet to talk to you about slow cookers. to make up for it, i’m about to share with you my number one favorite slow cooker recipe, ever: vanilla bean applesauce.

slow cooking applesauce makes perfect sense. instead of tending a pot when you could be doing a million other things, you leave the slow cooker to work its magic. and magic it does work - turning apples into the perfect, tender, flavorful mash that applesauce should be. add vanilla bean and a hint of cinnamon and it’s almost like apple pie filling. i have been known to heat bowls of the stuff and serve it with ice cream. it’s that good.

the best part about it - no added sugar. which makes this the perfect kid food. or baby food for that matter.

enough of my babble. here’s the recipe:

slow cooked vanilla bean applesauce

you need:

• 6-7qt slow cooker (if your cooker is smaller, use less apples. just be sure to fill it completely to the brim. the apples will only reduce during cooking, so it’s okay to have the cooker almost overflowing. as long as the lid fits on correctly, you’re fine.)
• 10-12 apples, peeled and cut into 1”-2” chunks. the larger the chunks, the chunkier your applesauce will be. go for a mix of apples here. because you aren’t adding any sugar to the applesauce, be sure to pick a few very sweet varieties: fuji, gala, honeycrisp (i use all three in my sauce.) variety is key to a well-rounded sauce.
• one vanilla bean, cut open longways with the insides scraped out. you’ll put ALL of it into the slow cooker.

how you do it:

1. put all of your apple chunks into your slow cooker. add the vanilla bean and the scraped-out insides. try to spread the scraped bits out a bit, and nestle the actual pod beneath a layer or two of apple chunks. don’t worry if it’s not evenly spread. it’ll all be vanilla-y in the end.
2. cover the cooker and cook on high for 3 hours (or 6 hours on low.) for every time you open the cooker during cooking, add 30 minutes to your total cooking time. in other words: DO NOT OPEN THE COOKER!
3. after three hours, stir the apples with a large spoon. as you stir, the apples should automatically begin to make a sauce. continue to stir and if you think it could use a bit more cooking time, cover the cooker and let it go a bit longer. but, the more you stir, the saucier it will become so odds are you won’t need more cooking time. just more stirring time.
4. fish out the bean pod and add a few pinches of cinnamon. stir some more, mashing the apples on the side of the cooker if you’d like.

now. you have a motherload of applesauce on your hands, don’t you? you have a few options for storage:

1. put a week’s worth of applesauce in a container and store in the fridge. eat within the week.
2. you COULD put the remainder in freezer containers and freeze, keeping in mind you’ll have to thaw it when you want to eat it (not optimal, but doable.)
3. my favorite applesauce storage method, you could can it.

canning is SO easy. and not scary. read all about it tomorrow when i post detailed instructions. promise. (oh! today is tomorrow! instructions are posted here.)