Thanks to my wonderful client who gave me a big full of green apples from her apple tree, I decided to make apple sauce and apple bread! Vegan, gluten free options can be used as well. This makes 1 medium loaf of 8-10 slices.
What you need:
For the bread:
For applesauce:
3 to 4 lbs of apples (about 7 to 10 apples, depending on the size), peeled, cored, and quartered (use apples varieties that are good for cooking such as Granny Smith, Mcintosh, or Golden Delicious. I used Granny Smith)
4 strips of lemon peel (use a vegetable peeler to strip 4 lengths, zest only, not the pith)
3 to 4 Tbsp lemon juice (more or less to taste)
3 inches of cinnamon stick (I just used cinnamon, 1 tbsp)
1/4 cup of dark brown sugar (I used organic honey)
1 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon of salt
What to do:
Applesauce:
Place the peeled, cored, and quartered apples into a large pot. Add the strips of lemon peel, the lemon juice, cinnamon stick, sugars/honey, water and salt.
Bring to a boil on high heat, then lower the temperature, cover the pot, and maintain a low simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the apples are completely tender and cooked through.
Once the apples are cooked through, remove the pot from the heat. Remove the lemon peels and the cinnamon stick. Use a potato masher to mash the cooked apples in the pot to make a chunky applesauce.
Add more sugar/honey to taste. If too sweet, add more lemon juice.
This applesauce is delicious either hot or chilled. It pairs well with pork chops for savory dishes, it’s terrific with cottage cheese as a snack or light lunch, and it’s great with vanilla ice cream or yogurt.
Freezes well and will last at least a year in a cold freezer.
Apple Bread:
Preheat your oven to 180C/355F
Grease and/or line a loaf tin and set aside
In a medium mixing bowl, mix together your flours, baking soda, cinnamon. Add in your eggs, vanilla and applesauce, mixing until just combined.
If needed, add a splash of milk options until you get a thick but mixable batter.
Mix through your chopped apple, mixing until the apples are evenly spread throughout your batter and pouring into your prepared tin.
Bake for 40-60 minutes, or until your loaf is cooked through and a toothpick inserted into the centre removes clean.
Once baked, allow to cool slightly before removing from the tin. and store any leftovers in an airtight container for 2-3 days. You can also freeze the bread – either freeze an entire loaf to defrost and eat later or slice and freeze in individual slices for a quick and healthy snack or breakfast!
References:
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/applesauce/#ixzz3njEPsoHb
http://www.southerninlaw.com/2015/04/healthy-apple-bread-recipe-gluten-free-low-fat.html
