Easy apple sauce – no peeling required

I like living in the city, at least most of the time. You can pretty much find everything within a few kilometers reach which mean you don’t need to own a car as you can either walk or bike almost everywhere. But one thing I don’t like about living in the city is the fact, that we don’t get to have a garden. And I really miss being able to walk around barefoot outside (without risiking stepping in glass, getting smeared in dog poo or stomping on whatever trash people have thrown on the ground) and to grow my own food. In the autumn I especially miss picking apples of the branch and just biting into a nice crispy and slightly sour apple whenever I feel like it. Fortunally both mine and Ben’s parents have more than one apple tree, which mean we do get a big bunch of freshly picked apples each year despite not having a tree of our own. It’s not the same as picking them yourself, but it’s still pretty darn great.

Usually we get a big bag of apples at a time, which means that we have to eat them rather quick or find something to make with them. Other than the occasional apple pie, I usually always end up using all of the apples to make apple sauce. It’s a rather light dessert that tastes great. Especially with a little soya milk, or coconut and rice milk on top. Yum!

The one thing I however detest about making apple sauce is peeling the apples. It takes forever and to be honest, I’ve never really understood the purpose of doing it. That’s why I one day simply decided not to do it, and to my amazement, it turned out just as great as if I’d bothered to peel them. Ever since then I’ve made apple sauce without spending countless hours of peeling apples (I might be exaggerating a bit…). There’s really no downside to keeping the peel on, at least none that I can think of. It’s faster and you even get some extra fiber despite choosing the lazy option. What’s not to like?

Recipe: Easy apple sauce – no peeling required

When making apple sauce I like to add one date for every three apples. You could use more or less, depending on how sweet the apples are and how sweet you want the sauce. Or you could leave them out completely. I sometimes do, but I still find that one date per three apples works the best for my tastebuds.

You’ll need (for one medium portion)

• 9 medium to large apples (you could also substitutes some of the apples with pears if you want it to be sweeter) – use organic if you don’t want to peel the apples
• 2-2,5 dl water (depending on the size of the apples and how thick you like your sauce)
• optional: 3 dates
• 1,5 teaspoon of vanilla powder (you also use cinnamon or nutmeg if you prefer)

How to

1. Wash the apples before removing the core and slicing the apples. I like to cut them into smaller pieces so they cook faster, but if you’re going to blend them with a hand blender, you might not need to cut them into small slices.

2. Add the apples, the water, the dates and the vanilla powder to a large pot and bring to boil. Let simmer on medium heat until tender. I took about 15-20 minutes for me last time, but it will depend on how ripe the apples are.

3. Blend everything with a handmixer until smooth. Or if you’ve chosen to peel the apples, just mash everything with a potato masher.

4. Let the apples sauce cool and transfer to an airtight container. If I’ve made a huge portion I might freeze some. Otherwise it will keep for a few days.

That’s it. A super simple apple sauce that tastes delicious.

The apple sauce is also great in a baby food pouch, mixed in your morning porridge or as an addition to a bisquit recipe.