Homemade Pear Applesauce with Vanilla Bean Joe Joe's

FALL: Homemade Pear Applesauce with Vanilla Bean Joe Joe's

Freshly Picked #thumbosunite

FALL: Homemade Pear Applesauce with Vanilla Bean Joe Joe's

One of my favorite things to do in the fall is to go apple picking. We have been getting an amazing variety of apples and pears for the last couple weeks in our Stony Hill Farms CSA box so there has been no need to actually go picking. Sad face.

It actually has a been a little overwhelming how many apples we have been getting EVERY WEEK. I have been running out of ides of what to do with them. While apple pie and pear galettes are delicious, they are not the healthiest desserts. I have been looking for healthier alternatives. Every week I have been making a batch of homemade applesauce. This past week I decided to make it a little more interesting and I added in some pear for some additional natural sweetness.  We brought some over to a friend’s house for dessert and they suggested we crumble up some Trader Joe’s Vanilla Bean Joe Joe’s cookies on top. The combination was AMAZING. It tasted just like apple pie. Now I stock a box of them in the pantry. You only need one cookie for a small bowl of applesauce. An easy and healthy snack! Nothing to feel guilty about!

Ingredients:

Apples, 5-6 medium, peeled, cored and sliced

Asian or Bartlett Pears, 2-3, peeled, cored and sliced

Sugar, white or brown, 1/2 cup

Cinnamon, 2 teaspoons

Water, 1-1/2 cups

Trader Joe’s Coconut Oil, 1 tablespoon

Trader Joe’s Joe Joe’s, Vanilla Bean

Directions:

1.  Heat up a deeper Le Creuset dutch oven on the stovetop.

2. Allow the Trader Joe’s Coconut Oil to melt down in the dutch oven.

3. Saute the apples for 2-3 minutes on high heat.

4. Add the sugar to the apples and the water. Lower the heat to a simmer.

5. Add the cinnamon and allow the apples to cook down for 15-20 minutes until soft.

6. Once the apples are soft, take the dutch oven off the heat and allow to cool.

7. Once cool, use a Cuisinart immersion blender or a Ninja blender to puree the apples to your desired consistency.

8. Cool in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. Pour a serving into each bowl and serve with crumbled Trader Joe’s Joe Joe’s.