Homemade Applesauce

As a young girl I fondly remember having a Haralson apple tree in our backyard. We would look forward to my Grandpa Sandee coming over every fall and harvesting countless apples from our tree with us. I'm talking hundreds and hundreds of apples. After picking the apples, he would come inside and make large batches of his famous applesauce. Some to enjoy now, some to share with family and friends, and some to freeze for later. Store bought applesauce just can not compare to this fresh almost dessert like treat. This year, the Havens so nicely picked up a bag of honeycrisp apples for me while they were out apple picking in northern IL last weekend. Honeycrisps are the perfect baking apple- nice and crisp with the perfect ratio of sweet and tart. Of course, the first thing on my apple recipe to-do list was Grandpa's applesauce.

First, peel 4-5 large apples (you can easily double or triple this recipe). Cube into 1 inch chunks.

In a large pot add apples to 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp nutmeg.

Simmer for 10 minutes more until tender. Mash apples. I like to use a potato masher to keep it simple.

Enjoy hot right out of the pot (over vanilla ice-cream "Jessica style") or cool and serve chilled. Store in an airtight container in your fridge for a week or freeze and enjoy later.

That's only if you don't eat it all right away....