If you are like me, you are always looking for easy snacks that your children actually enjoy AND that are good for them. This recipe can help with that search! My youngest loves this recipe straight from the jar whether it is still warm from the crock pot or cold from the refrigerator. My oldest likes the muffins I make with the applesauce with the recipe that I got from Chocolate Covered Katie. I love that they are getting tons of yumminess with NO added sugar.

In addition to a snack with no added sugar you also benefit from the vitamins and minerals from the apples and spices. Apples have fiber, are sodium free, and also contain vitamin C and potassium. Cinnamon has manganese, calcium, iron and even a bit of Vitamin K. Cloves are purported to boost immunity and nutmeg can act as an anti-oxidant, boost kidney function and increase blood circulation.

This is a recipe that I made when we had been given a TON of apples and I had to find a way to use them before they went bad. It is super simple and easy. You end up with delicious spiced applesauce or apple butter depending simply on how long you let it cook. This applesauce is perfect to use in recipes like Applesauce Muffins. If you cook the apples long enough in the crockpot to cook out all the extra water then you end up with delicious apple butter which still works beautifully in applesauce muffins, but can also be used as a delicious and nutritious spread for toast and biscuits. Another idea I just got from my mom was to add it to the basket built around the Artisan Bread that I give my daughters’ teachers as their Christmas gifts. I may make up another batch just for gifting this Christmas season. You also end up with a decidedly Christmasy smell filling the house as the apples simmer in the spices!

Apple Sauce Recipe:

6 pounds Apples (I have used many different varieties)

2 tablespoons Cinnamon

1 teaspoon Cloves

1 teaspoon Nutmeg

Applesauce Directions:

1. Quarter and core apples.
2. Place all apple quarters in crock pot.
3. Sprinkle seasonings over apples.
4. Cover and cook on high for 6-8 hours*.
5. Stir and mash the apples a few times as they are cooking.
6. Spoon cooked apples into food processor.
7. Puree apples to chop the skins finely enough to remove any lumps.
8. Spoon into jars to can or serve.

*If you are wanting apple butter you want to cook the apples until all of the liquid is gone. It may be more like 6-8 hours for the apple butter. The processing is the same, it just produces a thicker consistency when the liquid is cooked away.

If you try this recipe be sure to comment below and tell us how it goes. If you try any substitutions, please share!