Warm applesauce with a drizzle of cream.

Now that fall is here it is apple season. Yum. So last week I went out and bought 30 lbs. of local jonagold apples. I read up on them and found out that they don’t store too well, but make great applesauce. So I decided to whip up a batch. I have made applesauce before, but the apples were so sweet that they did not require a sweetener at all. I hate the idea of adding sugar to applesauce so when this batch was a bit tart I decided to use stevia, with great results! Use whatever apples you’d like, but remember that they vary in sweetness, so you may need less or more stevia. Give it a try, it couldn’t be easier.

Stevia Sweetened Applesauce

5 lbs. jonagold apples, cored and chopped (see photos)
~ 1 t. lemon juice
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
pinch of salt
7 drops liquid stevia (I used NOW brand stevia glycerite)

To core apples you can either use a corer or do what I did and simply chop around the core.

Next chop apples into chunks. It really doesn’t matter as long as they are about the same size. I did about 1″ chunks. Place apples in a large pot that has been filled with 1/2″ water. Sprinkle lemon juice over apples and stir to combine. Cook on medium-low heat until apples are very soft. Mash apples with a potato masher. Add cinnamon and mix. Taste to see if it really needs a sweetener. If it does start with about 4 drops, taste again and add more as needed. Be careful to not add too much. You can always add more but can’t take it out *smile*. When it is sweetened to your liking and cooled enough to handle (i.e. not a bubbling hot cauldron) throw it into the blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Enjoy.

This post is a contribution to the In-Season Recipe Swap.