Apple Recipes: Healthy Homemade Christmas Gifts

Fall is the time of year to purchase apples. They are ripe and ready. If you have access to inexpensive apples, then these gift ideas will be just right for you. There are several areas that provide heirloom apples that are far more flavorful than most of the hybrids that we get today. You may see visual flaw in the apple but it won't affect the wonderful flavor.

Apples have been part of the history of not just America but the world. Apples were cultivated by the American Indians. These were crab apples which are the ancestors of some of the varieties we use today. (Maybe not all Heirloom Apples are sweet and delicious.) There has even been evidence that the cave dwellers of the Iron Age sun dried apples to preserve them. Apples were so important that the pioneers traveled with small trees when they moved west. One pioneer family was saved because the Indians believed that the Great Spirit lived in the trees and the man must have been special to be caring for the Great Spirit. I'm getting a little apple loony here so let's quit, and make some applesauce for our next gift. Make a lot because there are more gifts that use this wonderful treat.

Make Applesauce:

If you have a crock pot at home this recipe will be a snap.
Peel, core and pare 3 lbs of apples. If you use a sweet apple like a Fuji or Golden Delicious you will need less sugar than a Granny Smith, which is tart.
Add 1/2 C of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla, and sprinkle a little cinnamon in. Heat this in the Crockpot on high for 4 -5 hours. Mash it up to the desired consistency..

A second good recipe for applesauce, if you don't have a crock pot, combines 16 apples that are cored, peeled and cut up, 1/2 C of water into a pan, and 4 slices of lemon. Cook at low temperature, stirring to prevent burning, until it has simmered for 10 minutes. The apples should be mostly sauce by this time. You may need to add some extra water if it got too thick. Use a potato masher or sieve if you want the chunks out. Add 1/4 tsp of nutmeg, 1 C of sugar and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. You may need to adjust the sugar to your taste and the sweetness of the apple. This makes 10 to 12 cups of applesauce.