Holiday Cranberry Applesauce

I took my time to read the other reviews before I made this. I used 6 pounds organic granny smith apples but kept the candies and juice the same. I cooked this in my slow cooker for one hour on high and another three on low. I'm glad I checked on it because it was done to the point of smooth applesauce with a faint chunk. The flavor is just right for our family, the right amount of tart and sweet, not too cinnamon-y. When I make this again, I'd do what I did before and maybe cut back on the liquid by a half cup and cut the cooking time back by an hour. That's not the recipe's fault, we just like a chunkier sauce. BEAUTIFUL sauce.

This is the best applesauce I've ever eaten! I halved the recipe and used 2 Sonya apples and 1 Braeburn, cranapple juice, and added 2 tablespoons honey. I DID peel the apples, and it took about 30 minutes for them to cook to tender. I put the apples and juice in a blender for a few seconds and the resulting sauce was such a beautiful rosy color. It is sweet and spicy and I will definitely make this again.

I found that 6 medium apples was about 3 lb. I used half Jonagold apples and half grannysmith. I didn't like the bits of peel from the green apples; I might peel all the apples next time and then not use the food processor (just cut them in small pieces and cook then down). If you "process until smooth" you can end up with the consistancy of baby food; I would rather process for a couple seconds and have some applesauce texture left. The cinnamon flavor and red color is nice and makes this a special apple sauce. I also liked the "Sauteed Apples" recipe.

I have three daughters and I can never get them to eat cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving. I made this for a big dinner, 15 people, I tripled the recipe, and it was completely gone. I served it in a divided server with regular cranberry sauce on the other side and no one ate the regular kind. I will add this to my yearly dinner. Got several requests for the recipe and was happy to give it out!

This was so easy to make. I sliced, pealed and cored my apples, and after they were cooked the first 15 min or so took my immersion blender to it. It has the consistancy of applesauce with a very wonderful unique flavor. The red hots gave a sweetness without a "spicey" cinnamon flavor. I bottled it and gave it a "bath". Jars sealed nice and I can't wait to share it.

Really nice with a pork roast!

What a beautiful bright pink color this applesauce has! At first I didn't want to try this recipe - I was not interested in adding "sugar/candies" to a healthy desert. But then I realized I was probably going to add some sugar to a regular applesauce recipe. I liked this one - because I wanted the cinnamon taste, but not the brown color cinnamon lends to the apples. I (surprisingly)couldn't find red hots - so I used a big box of Hot Tamales. I used a whole Fruit Punch Juice box instead of the cranberry cocktail, and I peeled the apples. I cooked it on medium-low for about 1/2 hour-45 minutes.

Mmmm.... Sooooo yummy!!! I've been eyeing this for a while. Now that apple season is at its peak (yea!), I decided to try this out. It's almost fall and I just can't WAIT any longer to make all of my seasonal favs - pumpkin & maple everything (lol!), apple pie / crisp, applesauce, cider, etc. The smell of this while simmering was divine (it does smell like Christmas!)! I must admit, it took me 2 batches to get this right.... Having said that, I have some CRITICAL tips to help you avoid what I did wrong. I followed the recipe exact on my 1st attempt. My applesauce was nearly mush, but b/c I left the skins on, I had to briefly pulse in my blender. My KitchenAid is VERY powerful. One pulse (to break down the skins) was enough to turn my "sauce" to "liquid!" For my 2nd attempt, I peeled my apples, cooked for 15 min. ONLY (I stopped after step 1), took everything off the burner, allowed to cool slightly & then GENTLY mashed w/ a potato masher. My applesauce was still quite smooth, but had an ever so slightly chunky texture (perfect!). NOTE: I could not find a bulk-sized bag of red hot candies. My grocer only sells the sm. 2 oz. bottles in the baking aisle at $1.99 ea. (ikes!). I opted to use a lg. box (think movie theater sze.) of Hot Tamales. One box is exactly 2/3 c. For my 2nd batch, I used 1 1/2 boxes (there wasn't enough cinnamon flavor in my first one, but 1.5 boxes was a bit too much... grr!). Thx. for sharing, Jean! I'm glad I tried your recipe. :-)

This was the first time I made a big holiday dinner myself. I used a cranberry theme and this recipe fit in perfectly. It was a big hit with all of my guests.

I thought the Red Hot taste was a little overwhelming. The red color was nice for a change, but I don't think I'll make it again.

good recipe to build on and it is very healthy.

I enjoyed the applesauce. Served this for Christmas dinner. Only my dad liked it. Others thought it was too sweet or didn't like cranberry.

I made this recipe for thanksgiving and everyone loved it.

Best applesauce I've ever made. Quick & easy

I made this for Christmas last year, and everyone LOVED it. They have alread requested it for this year!

this is a nice healthy dish. the textured surprised me. I might go with a heavier sauce or straight out red pasta sauce next time.

I used canned whole cranberries and homemade chunky applesauce with no added sugars. I also did not have the candies, so I added a tsp. of Cinnamon and a pinch of Allspice. Wonderful plain or as a sauce for meats.