Criss Cross Applesauce

People say that applesauce is one of the most easily digested foods. That may well be, but the honest truth is that I don’t really like it. It’s not the apples. I LOVE apples. Many autumn days have been spent in pick-your-own orchards stocking up for the winter. I just don’t like applesauce. It has just an awful texture, one that’s like, well, baby food.

That’s one the things I’m finding most frustrating about this whole “low-residue” thing. Pretty much everything has to be cooked to a pulp. I’ve never been a huge fan of veg, but I tolerate the taste better raw. Alas, raw is out of the question at the moment for everything except bananas and juice. I never thought I would miss vegetables . . .

My general view of applesauce is that it is an ingredient rather than a food. I use it in cooking and baking quite a bit, I just don’t want to eat it on its own. I make my own because the stuff that comes in a jar in the UK always seems to have added sugar and adds too much sweetness to recipes. It's also never where you expect to find it in the supermarket. The first time I went looking for applesauce in a UK supermarket I looked in the tinned and package fruit section because that's where you find it in a Canadian grocery store. I later found it with the mint sauce and other condiments. Clearly the British view of applesauce is the same as mine. It's an ingredient, not something to be eaten on its own.

Not me!!

When I make applesauce, I pretty much just peel, core and chop a cooking apple or two, put it in a saucepan with a bit of water and a stick of cinnamon and cook it on low for 20 minutes or so. Then I give it a quick stir with a fork and it's, well, baby food.

I made up some applesauce last weekend as I needed it for the chocolate cake I did on this post http://foodlovingcrohnie.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/comfort-food.html. I also made up another batch of the applesauce banana muffins http://foodlovingcrohnie.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/soup-and-muffins.html, which are proving to be very handy as portable snacks (and freeze really well!). I had quite a bit of applesauce leftover. I tried eating some to use it up, and frankly, it just didn’t do anything for me. So off on the hunt I went for a recipe to use it up, and I came up with this one http://www.food.com/recipe/easy-applesauce-cookies-155486.

This one is both egg and dairy free, so I figured it was worth a go. I followed the recipe exactly, but halved the recipe. Here’s the result -

Rather chewy and tasty!

They’re pretty good! They are very soft and chewy, and my boyfriend described them as having a “Jaffa-cakey texture”. I probably would have put more cinnamon in them for my taste, but overall, they are quite nice. And conveniently used up the applesauce.