Homemade Applesauce

The final snack during our apple unit was applesauce.  Since the individual apple pies were such a big hit, we decided to try making our own applesauce.  It turns out that it is easy and so much fun!

To begin, we peeled, cored and sliced a lot of apples.  The plan was for each child to do one, but they loved the apple peeler/corer so we ended up with about 20 apples.  I'm going to count it as a gross motor exercise!

The variety of apple is important when using an apple peeler/corer/slicer.  Crisp, crunchy apples work very well.  We used Gala apples.  In the past, we've been frustrated with red delicious because they just don't hold up well going through the peeler.

We put all the apple slices into a crock pot.  The students added water, cinnamon and sugar.

The apples cooked on low for about 8 hours.  (My house smelled sooooo good, and definitely put me in the mood for Fall!)  After they were done cooking, I put them in the blender to puree the sauce a little bit.

Snack reviews were mixed.  Many students ate it, but a few were turned off by the brown color of the applesauce.  It just didn't look exactly like the applesauce they buy at the store.  My own family polished it off after school, though, and has asked that we make it again.

Have fun playing and learning with your children today.