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Ingredients
- Apples, peeled, chopped, and cored
- For best flavor, use more than one apple variety—avoiding sour apples such as Granny Smith
- Water
- Substitute water with apple juice or cider for a richer taste
- 1 T lemon juice for every 4 pounds of apples
- Optional (to taste)
Instructions
- Place in a large pot, cover halfway with water
- Bring pot to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently
- Use a potato masher for chunky sauce
- Use a blender for smooth sauce
- Add lemon juice and any sugar or cinnamon, to taste
- Use as a healthy substitute as a 1:1 ratio replacement for oil in cakes, muffins, and cookies
- 1/4 cup of applesauce to replace 1/4 cup of oil
- Works best in moist, dense baked goods like muffins, quick breads, spice cakes, and some brownies.
- May want to swap out only half the oil (50%) with applesauce and keeping the rest as oil, or limiting the swap to 1/4 cup, to prevent the final product from turning out rubbery, gummy, or overly dense.
- Because applesauce lacks fat, your baked goods will have a softer, more cake-like or spongy texture rather than a crisp or flaky one. They also may not brown the same way in the oven.
- Always use unsweetened applesauce so you do not accidentally add extra sugar or alter the sweetness balance of your recipe.