Cinnamon Applesauce Recipe to make with your children

My favorite time of year, hands down, is Fall. The change of season, the change of weather, the crisp sweater feel, the leaves, the smells...and the spices, oh yes, the spices! I love cinnamon and I am so excited to share with you a delicious recipe that not only children will enjoy, but it is healthy and they can actually help you make.

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Ingredients:

~ 5lbs apples (peeled, cored and sliced into 4, 6 or 8 slices)

~ 1/2 cup of apple juice or water

~ Juice of half a lemon (or 1 drop of lemon essential oil)

~ 1 tsp organic ground cinnamon

~ 1/2 cup of coconut sugar (or white sugar or brown sugar)

Optional: raw, crushed pecans, organic maple syrup, organic nutmeg, organic allspice, organic grass-fed butter

Let's begin with washing our apples very well. I fill up the sink halfway and add 3 drops of Lemon essential oil by Young Living. It is said that one single drop is equivalent to about 1lb of lemons, so I know that these apples will be super clean and super healthy, removing anything that doesn't belong.

We soak the apples in the lemon essential oil in water for about 15 minutes (if apples are not organic, soak for 30) and use a soft bristle vegetable scrub brush. Our soft bristle brush is from The Pampered Chef and it comes with both soft and hard bristles.

   

For our children to be able to help us in the kitchen and be independent in the bathroom (by the sink to wash their hands, to brush their teeth, hair, etc), we use a Learning Tower. It has been amazing how much they can do with a little help (height-wise).

  

 
We patted the apples dry and then we peeled using a swivel peeler and a ceramic peeler. My children have been doing Montessori Practical Life work all of their lives, so they are familiar with peelers and safety using them. They both helped me peel the 5lbs of apples. It was wonderful having some help with peeling and with clean-up.

We even had a taster to make sure they were ok to eat. :)

Next, I used a corer/slicer to do it faster. I put all the apple (after they have been peeler, cored and sliced) in a pot with about 2 inches of water and a vegetable steamer. Cover with a boil-over and set stove to high for 6-8 minutes. I like them steamed, but still a bit crisp. Steam for 10 minutes if you like the apples really soft, just make sure that there is enough water in the pot.

 

Let the apples cool for about 10 minutes before spooning into the blender. We love using the Ninja blender. It is amazingly quick and efficient.

In the blender, add: steamed apple slices, apple juice, and squeeze the lemon.

Then add the coconut sugar and organic ground cinnamon. You can use any kind of sugar that you want. Some use white and others use brown sugar. I confess, I haven't ventured trying using liquid Stevia in it yet. We love using vanilla-flavored organic liquid Stevia, but haven't tried it in this recipe yet. I may try it in a small batch to see how it works. I will post an update if it tastes great.

Blend for a couple of minutes, until you can see that everything has been incorporated and there are no big apple chunks (unless you like it that way). This is the consistency we like. Soft, but not watery. Gritty, but not chunky.

 

Voilá! Delicious! Chill for a cool, Summer snack or warm up to enjoy in the Fall or Winter. You may add a dollop of fruit jam, butter, maple syrup or other spices like nutmeg or allspice if you want to change it up a bit. Enjoy alone or over oatmeal or hot cereal. I love storing them in mason jars with handles.