There’s nothing worse than a mushy apple. If they’re grainy, mealy, brown or soft I simply cannot do it.  But up here in Siberia/Ithaca, sometimes good apples are hard to come by out of season. Freshman year I got so excited there was a new shipment of apples in RPCC that I filled my backpack with them, under the radar of course. Yeah, we were supposed to “only take one,” but come on, live a little. One sad day I came home, opened up that backpack, and found out that the thirteen apples I had just pilfered were not even good. Mushy, grainy, all of the above. Ugh. I had committed a felony for nothing!

Then a thought struck me. Applesauce. Applesauce doesn’t discriminate. It takes the crunchiest apples, the mushiest, the grainiest, the ugliest, the best and the worst. Maybe we should take a lesson in relationships from applesauce, come to think of it.

These apples have seen better days.

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Photo by Olivia Mattyasovszky

But back to the recipe.

Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:
Apples (however many you want)
2 teaspoons Cinnamon (or to taste)
optional: 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or to taste)
Water (proportional to apple quantity)

Directions:
1. Peel and core the apples

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Photo by Olivia Mattyasovszky

2. Cut the apples into 1/2 inch chunks

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Photo by Olivia Mattyasovszky

3. Add water until apple chunks are just covered, add the vanilla extract and cinnamon. Then stir it all around.

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Photo by Olivia Mattyasovszky

4. Cook on low until apples have softened and water has been absorbed

5. Mash any big chunks

Eat it hot over yogurt, ice cream or plain. Eat it cold on top of oatmeal or anything warm!!

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Photo by Olivia Mattyasovszky

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Photo by Olivia Mattyasovszky

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