Homemade Applesauce

I had apples. Lots of apples. I thought it would be a good time to make something simple. My first go at applesauce, and I do believe it was successful. It's based off of the Ina Garten recipe, but I did not follow it exactly. I used Granny Smith and Fuji apples. The Fujis were huge and I used four and then four Granny Smiths of normal size. I used one orange and half of a lemon instead of two and one. I did not add any butter. I did add some apple peels, but they were hard to find to get them out, so beware. Instead of the oven, I stuck them in my crockpot all day and then mashed them with a potato masher.

Homemade Applesauce

2 large navel oranges, zested and juiced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
3 pounds Granny Smith apples (about 6 to 8 apples)
3 pounds sweet red apples, such as Macoun, McIntosh, or Winesap (about 6 to 8 apples)
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the zest and juice of the oranges and lemon in a large bowl. Peel, quarter, and core the apples (reserving the peel of 2 of the red apples) and toss them in the juice. Pour the apples, reserved apple peel, and juice into a nonreactive Dutch oven or enameled iron pot. Add the brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and allspice and cover the pot. Bake for 1 hour, or until all the apples are soft. Remove and discard the red apple peel. Mix with a whisk until smooth, and serve warm or at room temperature.