Homemade applesauce is a delicious treat almost any time of year — but the addition of red hot candies make it the perfect holiday season treat!
Guest post from Brigette Shevy
We love this easy Cinnamon Applesauce!
This was one of our favorite recipes that my Mom would make for special holiday meals! It was a regular on the table for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day.
The rest of the year we ate store-bought, unsweetened applesauce – so this homemade applesauce was a treat we always looked forward to!
We clipped the original recipe from a Taste of Home magazine many years ago, and have made it countless times since then.
It pairs fabulously with traditional holiday foods like turkey and ham, plus I love the festive pink color it adds to the menu (am I the only one that likes having a variety of colors on my plate?)
As an added bonus, it smells amazing while simmering on the stove and it can also be made up ahead of time, which is really important when we’re talking about holiday meals.
If you’re looking for something simple-yet-elegant to add to your holiday menu, you must give this recipe a try!
Ingredients for Cinnamon Applesauce
- 8 medium tart apples, peeled and quartered
- 1 cup water (I use a little less)
- 1 cup sugar (or to taste – I think it’s plenty sweet with half this amount)
- ¼ cup red-hot candies
How to make Cinnamon Applesauce
1. Peel, core and chop apples (they can be large chunks).
2. Put chopped apples in a lot pot with 1 cup of water. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes or until tender.
3. Mash apples until desired consistency.
4. Add sugar and candies.
5. Continue cooking and stirring until sugar and candies disolve.
6. Remove from heat to cool.
7. Serve warm or refrigerate.
Chunky Cinnamon Applesauce
Ingredients
- 8 apples
- 1 cup water I use a little less
- 1/2 cup sugar or to taste
- ¼ cup red-hot candies
Instructions
- Peel, core and chop apples (they can be large chunks).
- Put chopped apples in a lot pot with 1 cup of water. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes or until tender.
- Mash apples until desired consistency.
- Add sugar and candies.
- Continue cooking and stirring until sugar and candies disolve.
- Remove from heat to cool.
- Serve warm or refrigerate.
Nutrition
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Brigette is a full-time wife and mother who is blessed with three amazing bundles of energy (ages 6, 4, and 2). She enjoys music, experimenting in the kitchen, homeschooling her children, finding great deals, long-distance running, and anything chocolate.
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I made this with friends a few weeks ago and loved it! Could this be processed in a water bath?
Just made this with Granny Smith apples and half the sugar, but all the water. It is delicious.
Just came across this on Pinterest & it sound amazing
Any idea on the name of the type of candies used so I can find something similar over here in the UK? X
“Red hots” are tiny cinnamon candies that can also be called “cinnamon imperials.” There are many different candy companies that sell something like this. In most grocery stores in the states, you can find them with the candy and also with the cake decorating supplies. You can also order them on amazon if you can’t find something similar where you live.
For the past three years, my husband’s aunts and uncles have referred to this dish as “Mom’s applesauce” (as in my husband’s grandmother). They made such a big deal about this dish being something she made every holiday and special occasion – but not once did they say it came from a magazine! All this time I thought it was some family-made recipe! I had to make the dish last Christmas, and I can tell you it was probably the easiest thing I’d made all day.
All recipes come from somewhere. Mom makes them a legend. You’d be surprised how many old family recipes came from a magazine. My grandmothers ancient recipe box was full of them.
I thought it was watermelon sorbet!
We love cinnamon applesauce too, but we take the easy way by mixing red-hots into store bought applesauce. I just put it in my Bosch mixer and let it mix until the candies are dissolved.
Though this home-made version does look delicious!