Apple-icious Recipe and Children’s Books (Perfect for Fall)
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written by Lisa Amstutz
Kids love apples—fresh, in juice or cider, dried, or best of all—as applesauce! Why not try making fresh, homemade applesauce with your kids this year? This easy crockpot version will fill your home and classroom with apple-icious smells all day long! Don’t forget to read children’s books like my new book, Applesauce Day, while you feast.
Easy Crockpot Applesauce
Ingredients
3-4 lbs. apples to fill your crock pot (Cortland, Jonathan, McIntosh, Winesap, Transparent, Gala, Golden Delicious, and Fuji are good sauce varieties)
Cinnamon stick
Lemon juice
Sugar (optional)
Water
Equipment
Crockpot
Apple corer/wedger/peeler
Paring knife
Potato masher
Instructions
Peel, core, and cut up the apples and put them in the crockpot. An old-fashioned apple peeler makes it easy and safe for kids to help.
Add a cinnamon stick, a drizzle of lemon juice, and about an inch of water. The lemon juice will help keep the apples from browning.
Simmer on low for 6–8 hours or until the apples are mushy.
Mash the cooked apples and stir.
Sweeten to taste.
Resources
Apple books:
- My new book, Applesauce Day, follows a family as they pick apples and then make applesauce at Grandma’s house, using a pot that has been handed down through the generations.
- Apples for Everyone is a beautifully photographed celebration of apples as icons of the fall season.
- Older students will enjoy Applesauce Weather, a verse novel that brings a family together around this family tradition as they mourn the loss of a family member.
Other apple ideas:
- Save a few apples to make apple prints.
- Check out these apple songs, poems, and sayings. Then have your students write their own!
For additional apple crafts, science activities, and ideas, visit my Pinterest boards at https://www.pinterest.com/LisaAmstutzBooks.
Happy Applesauce Day!
Lisa Amstutz is the author of more than 80 books for children. She specializes in topics related to agriculture, science, and nature. Her latest title, Applesauce Day (Albert Whitman & Company, 2017), celebrates this delicious fall tradition. To learn more, see www.LisaAmstutz.com.
Congratulations on being an author of more than 80 children’s books! I love that your Applesauce Day book shows the process of making applesauce from start to finish. I have had fun making applesauce, apple jelly, and apple pie with my grandma and daughters. Definitely great family time! This reminds me of my book entitled Pickles, Pickles, I Like Pickles that shows a mom and son creating pickles starting from seeds. Keep up the great work!
This looks like a fun activity and book to read for the upcoming apple season!