Fall apples are ready for applesauce and cookies now!

9/12/18 Cook’s Corner

Betty Kaiser

Time flies! It seems like just yesterday it was June and we were planting flowers and tomatoes while looking forward to summer days, barbecues, peaches and watermelon. Now, I am so done with summer and ready for the weather to get a little cooler and put the gardens to bed.

My first “foodie” thought for the soon-to-be Fall season is always apples!

Oregon is a great place to grow (and buy) apples. There are so many ways to use the old Johnny Appleseed favorite that it’s hard to know where to begin. Of course, we can all heed the adage that “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” and often have one for lunch.

Thanks to the mild weather and abundant rainfall Oregon orchards produce over 21 apple varieties. Gala and Fuji are the most abundant crops.  But each variety has just a little different appearance and taste. Check out these newer ones.  

Fuji’s are a Japanese creation and have been around since the 1980s. Their parents are the American Red Delicious and the Ralls Janet. They are large with speckled pink. They are sweet and very juicy and come fresh on the market from Oct. to Dec. Good for making sugar-free applesauce.

Galas are another favorite. They are medium-sized with a range of colors. They are a cross between a Golden Delicious and a Kidd’s Orange Red. I like them for eating out of hand or cooking. They ripen early and store well.

Honeycrisps have been around about 20 years but they are excellent ready-to-eat apples right out of the refrigerator.  Their flat tops and bottoms highlight their red peel with light green or yellow. They start to ripen about now and are good keepers.

I started making small batches of homemade apple sauce when my kids were little. Golden or Red Delicious apples would get kind of old and it was quick to mix up a batch for dinner to go with pork chops, etc. One year I tried canning a small batch mixed with a couple of Granny Smiths. It worked so well that applesauce canning became my regular Fall ritual.

The following apple sauce recipe is a mixture of 3 or more old-fashioned apples. First I use some Granny Smiths that have bright green skin, are firm, subtly sweet and crisp in texture. Also, some Gravensteins, a tart, green, end-of-summer apple that can be baked, sautéed, roasted or slow cooked and pureed. Then I add the national apple of Canada—McIntosh apples. They have red and green skin, a tart flavor and tender flesh. They ripen in late Sept. and are perfect for pies or sauce.

Check out my home-grown recipe below along with my mother’s recipe for Old Fashioned Applesauce Cookies. Everyone loves them and they are great in back-to-school lunches.

BETTY’S APPLESAUCE

(Can be frozen or canned)

12-14 large apples, peeled and coarsely chopped (about 6 ½ pounds)

Note: I use a mixture of 3 varieties of apples in the sauce.

3-4 cups water

2-1/2 cups sugar (can be a mixture of brown and white)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Peel and core apples and put in a bowl of cold water with lemon. Drain.

Put apples and water in a Dutch oven (large pot) and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often with a potato masher (!) until apples are tender and translucent and juices thicken.

Mash apples with a potato masher until desired texture is reached. Add sugar to taste and cinnamon; stir until dissolved. Serve warm or chilled. If Canning, process according to your canner’s instructions. Yield: unknown. It all depends on the apples.

Note: We use an old-fashioned apple peeler gadget. It works like a charm because my husband does it!

OLD-FASHIONED APPLESAUCE COOKIES

½ cup shortening (not margarine)

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 cups flour, sifted

1-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup sweetened applesauce

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Cream the shortening and sugar together. After they are well blended, add the egg to the mixture and beat until light and fluffy.

Sift the flour together with the cinnamon, cloves, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Add the sifted ingredients alternating with the applesauce to the creamed mixture and blend together.

Add the raisins and nuts and mix until blended. Drop by teaspoons onto greased cookie baking sheets. Can be iced later.

Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 to 20 minutes until well browned. Cool on wire racks. Makes about 3-4 dozen depending on size of cookies.

 Keep it simple and seasonal@Betty Kaiser's Cook's Corner