Hi friends…yes, the posts have been a bit scarce around here. October is my busy month and making wine must remain my focus for another couple of weeks. Funny thing, I spend my daytime hours processing fruit and then find myself at midnight making this applesauce…another form of fruit processing. Ironic? Maybe.
So, in between fermentation management of some pretty amazing grapes we have brought in this year, I peek at blogs. Lana over at Never Enough Thyme made an applesauce that inspired me to get this one in the slow cooker. It looked and sounded so good, I somehow garnered the midnight energy to bring this to fruition. And I used my new Ninja Slow Cooker, which is just the most amazing thing on the planet. I love it!
Anyway, I wanted an applesauce that reminded me of apple pie. Something with a sweet-tart edge and especially one I could make with Honeycrisp apples. I added a few pears for depth (because it reminded me of this pie) and some vanilla bean paste for a little something-something. Hellooooo and yum! It turned out great!
It’s the perfect side for pork or chicken…but try it on your ice cream too. I might even add it to this milkshake…hmmmm, I can’t wait for that.
Slow Cooker Apple Pie Spiced Pear-Applesauce
Ingredients
- 5 pounds Honeycrisp apples, peeled, cored and cut into 2" pieces
- 2 pounds Anjou or Bosc pears, peeled, cored and cut into 2" pieces
- 2 Tablespoons butter, diced
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice*
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Make Your Own Apple Pie Spice*
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
Directions
- Place fruit in slow cooker and sprinkle with all other ingredients. Mix together with fruit until well combined.
- Turn slow cooker on low for 6 hours. Mix 2-3 times during the cooking process. Applesauce will be chunky. I was able to just mash mine with a fork into the consistency I wanted. You could also use an immersion blend if you wanted to smooth it further.
I used brown sugar and got this warm, dark color. It’s just as delicious as it looks!
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