Honeycrisp Applesauce

My love affair with honeycrisp apples started a couple of years ago when I was living in Seattle. This apple hybrid was created in 1974 and since then has only continued to increase in popularity. My least favorite thing about red apples, in general,  is that they can tend to be mealy - yuck. Honeycrisp apples, on the other hand, are exactly what their name implies, sweet and crisp. I've eaten tons of them and have yet to find a mealy one! Besides enjoying them on their own or with salty almond butter, I love tucking honeycrisp slices into rustic grilled gruyere sandwiches with fresh-from-the-garden sage. 

Tonight, I made one of my most favorite childhood snacks... applesauce. I served it with frenched bone-in pork chops over sauteed haricot vert with smoked bacon, marcona almonds, and meyer lemon zest.  

Tomorrow I'll enjoy it in it's simplest form, the way I used to when I was little. You can use this applesauce recipe with any apples (or pears) that you like but depending on the level of natural sweetness in the apples (or pears) that you choose you will need to adjust the sugar in this recipe accordingly.  

Honeycrisp Applesauce 

makes 2 cups

Ingredients 

4 large honeycrisp apples, peeled, cored, & chopped 

1  small meyer lemon, juiced 

3 T sugar 

1 t cinnamon 

1 cup water

pinch of salt 

method

1 . place all ingredients in a saucepan 

and bring to a boil

2. reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes or until 

apples are very soft

3. use immersion blender (or hand mash) until you reach desired consistency

4. chill. enjoy.