CHUNKY BAKED APPLESAUCE
One ingredient: apples. That’s all it takes to make the perfect applesauce! Serve as condiment, side dish accompaniment, or as dessert!
Makes 3 cups
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
3 lb. bag of apples, washed and cored
Place cored apples in 9 x 11 inch baking dish. Cover tightly with foil.
Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 1 hour or 1-1/2 hours depending upon the size of the apples. Mine were small, so an hour was sufficient. The one larger apple in the bunch wasn’t quite done, so I turned the oven off and let them stay there, covered, till the oven cooled down.
When cool, using clean fingers, swipe the flesh away from the apple skins. Mix the liquid in the bottom of the dish with the apple flesh, transfer to serving bowl and serve. Or cover and refrigerate till ready to use.
Notes: Previously I baked apples with a little water in the bottom of the dish. They turned out great, producing along with the soft sauce of the apples some slightly viscous juice that added another dimension to the flavor and texture.
This time I’m omitting the added water to the bottom of the dish, simply to compare results. The amount of liquid was about the same, but in fairness to the comparison, the last time I used different breeds of apples – about 4 different types. My take away is that adding water to the bottom of the dish isn’t necessary.
When my plan is to make applesauce, I usually buy the cheaper bagged apples. Not always, because sometimes I want to experiment with different varieties. I did find that when using the Red Delicious variety apple, it produced a chunky version naturally – definitely a surprise.
I’ve never seen applesauce on a dessert menu at any type of restaurant. It’s usually listed as a side dish if at all. This applesauce could qualify as a dessert.
If you want a sweeter applesauce, then add brown sugar as a topping, but it doesn’t need it.
CHEF DAVIES-TIGHT™ 