Homemade Applesauce

When I was a child, my grandma used to make Baked Apples. I loved the cinnamon smell, the soft apples. This applesauce recipe reminds me of those baked apples I loved as a child. When you have the applesauce baking in your oven it makes your house smell absolutely divine. This applesauce is great eaten on it's own, on toast, on pancakes, or with pork chops. This recipe is adapted from a recipe I found in the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. It makes a lot, but keeps for quite some time in the fridge. My husband loves this stuff and is always thrilled when I make it.

Homemade Applesauce

Zest and juice of 2 large navel oranges
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup water
6 pounds of apples (use a mixture of apples, the more kinds the better. I usually use a combination of granny smith, fuji, jonathan, gala or anything else I have on hand)
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel and chop the apples. Combine water, juice, and zest. Toss apples in the juice mixture and then pour into a large nonreactive Dutch oven or enameled pot. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, and allspice and cover the pot. Bake for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until the apples are soft. Mash apples with a potato masher or whisk until applesauce is at desired consistency. Serve warm or at room temperature.