Mama's Cinnamon Applesauce

This is a special request from my friend, Jorgie. I brought this treat in to work the other day and her first comment was, "What smells like Thanksgiving and happiness?" It's a perfect and very accurate description of this recipe. It was also a childhood favorite. 

I'm sure my mom made this numerous times when I was growing up, but I especially remember her doing it after purchasing an apple corer-peeler from a Pampered Chef party one year. If you haven't heard of Pampered Chef, it's a bit like Tupperware's fancy relative. 

So my mom bought this contraption that looked sort of like a tiny medieval torture device. And for the apple, it probably was. You would spear the thing on a little spike and then turn the handle, which would crank the apple through the peeling mechanism. Simultaneously it was removing the core from the middle. Took most of the legwork out of any apple dish you could imagine. 

I don't have such a product, so I have to use my hands. Just like the pioneers. There's not really a recipe for this one. It's more a pinch of this, pinch of that sort of thing. But it's also remarkably easy. Here we go: 

Mom's Cinnamon Applesauce (serves me for at least a week)
7-10 Fuji apples (I use medium size)
1 bag Red Hots candies (you won't use the whole thing, probably)
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Cloves
Boiling water

1. Fill a large pot (or two depending on how many apples you're using) with water and heat to boiling. 
2. Peel and chop the apples. They don't have to be small bits. In fact, I usually just chunk them. 
3. Add the apples to the boiling water. 

4. Add spices to your liking. I usually go pretty strong on them because I love the bite you get from the cloves and cinnamon. 
5. Find something to do because you're gonna just let those apples boil for some time. Keep stirring here and there. The smell will become really lovely. It's a completely fall smell to me. I love it. 
6. The apples are going to be boiling until they sort of break down into more of a sauce. This generally takes about 2-3 hours to get to a point I'm happy with. When you get almost done, add as much of the Red Hots as you want and stir. 

*At this point, be more on top of the stirring. I made the mistake once of not being diligent and the sugar in the candy burned to the bottom of the pot, ruining the entire effort. 
7. If the sauce isn't quite thick enough, but the apples are boiled down to where you want, you can add a bit of cornstarch to the mix. Make sure to mix the cornstarch with a bit of cold water first or it will clump. Then stir it into the boiling sauce. Keep adding a little at a time until you're happy with it. 

Sadly, I had finished this off (with the help my co-workers) before getting to this post, and therefore have no beautifully plated picture of the finished product. But I hope you'll give it whirl anyway. It's particularly satisfying if you've been able to pick your own apples rather than getting them at the store. I love choosing the perfect apples, picking them from the tree, and then bringing them home and turning them into something delicious. 

If you have any amazing applesauce recipes, or a great apple-picking story, please share in the comments! Enjoy!