5lbs of apples, too soft to snack on

[litchick]

Hi Smarties,

I recently got a 5lb bag of apples in my CSA delivery, and they have quickly become too soft to really enjoy eating as-is. Can you recommend any good recipies to use them up? (They're red, but I don't know what kind they are.) The flavor is still good, slightly sweet, but a little mealy. What's the best way to salvage them -- I don't really want to throw them away.

Thanks!

[litchick]

Thanks to all for the suggestions. Here's what I did...

First, I went out to buy one of those corer thingies that also cuts the apple into wedges -- a brilliant invention. I peeled and cored/wedged all the apples. Then in a huge dutch oven, I melted a few tbsp of butter and the zest of one lemon. Once the butter finished foaming, I threw in all the apple pieces (5 lbs worth) and 1.5-2 cups of water, and approx 5-7 tsp of cane sugar. I let this simmer for about 30 minutes, then added approx 4-6 tbsp each of triple sec and goslings dark rum. I mashed it all up with a handheld potato masher, making sure to keep it slightly lupmy.

It turned out great! I just had a bowlful, still warm, mixed with some ground cloves -- so yummy. Thanks again for the pointers, I'm looking forward to using some of this applesauce in recipes this week.

[Shayna Madel]

Sounds really good and might hit the spot for me. I went apple-picking two weeks ago and after eating a few, baking 4 coffee cake variations, a cheesecake with an apple pie-like topping and an apple pie with a crumb topping, I don't really have much room in the freezer for more baked apple goods.

About how much sauce did you end up with when all was said and done?

[litchick]

Hi Shayna Madel. Let's see, I filled three jumbo-sized jars when all was said and done (minus the small bowl I ate immeditely). I don't know what that translates into re: number of cups. Anyway, it was a lot, and one of those jars is now in the freezer being saved for some later date.

[jeni1002]

I am in the same boat....lots of soft apples. I am debating between baked apples with nuts and raisins and an apple/farmer's cheese filling (shred the apples, mix with cheese and spices) for the crepes I know I will be making later on this week.

[smittys]

I actually prefer apple pie & apple crisp made with apples that fall apart during cooking. That's what I would do with them!

[weezycom]

You can also do fried apples for a brunch dish, if you haven't sauced them all, already.

And Julia Child's The Way To Cook cookbook has a crockpot apple butter recipe.

[Emme]

Add them to smoothies or protein shakes.

Add to muffins.

Cut up and stir into oatmeal.

Fill blintzes.

Instead of chocolate filled croissants, make an apple filling.

Apple Ice Cream.

...to name a few...

[Candy]

The best thing to do is applesauce when they are no longer crisp. There is a pie you can make with applesauce, Marlborough pie. I can look up the recipe if you are interested.

[litchick]

Yes, I was suspecting that applesauce was probably the only way to go on this front. I'd gladly take any rec's for specific applesauce recipes -- I know there's a nice thread from earlier this month that mentions some as well (though those seem geared toward crisp green apples -- I don't know if this makes a difference).

Candy, the pie definitely interests me... please pass along the info if you've got it. ;)

[Candy]

I cannot lay my hands on my recipe at the moment but this one is very close. I think the one i have made in the past had some wine in it. I'll keep looking.

http://www.boston.com/ae/food/article...

[Judy Loves Entertaining]

I just saw a recipe on a blog but I can't remember which one it was that had applesauce with fresh cranberries, plenty of allspice and cinnamon. Sounded really good to me. Maybe search apple, cranberry sauce. I think it used 3 pounds so you would be well on your way!
I guess that isn't really that helpful is it???

[Judy Loves Entertaining]

I found that recipe. It was posted on The Clumsy Cook blog at www.clumsycook.com

Chunky Spiced Cranberry-Applesauce

The amounts of this recipe are based on the amount of apples I had in my kitchen today—2 pounds. If you have more or less, however, just tweak the other ingredients to match and don’t worry about it—applesauce is very forgiving!

Makes 3 heaping cups

2 pounds apples (anything on hand—I used Pippen, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup real maple syrup
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp allspice
1/3 cup water
lemon juice for sprinkling
Peal and chop the apples. Place them in a bowl with cold water covering them, sprinkle in lemon juice. In a dutch oven, bring the rest of the ingredients to a boil and stir until cranberries begin to “pop,” about 3 minutes. Drain apples and add them to dutch oven. Turn heat down to low-medium, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes. Uncover and bring back to a boil. Mash the apples to your chunkiness level—using the back of a spoon or potato masher. Cook for 15. Pour applesauce into a big bowl, throw on a sweatshirt and go sit on your patio, watch the falling leaves, and enjoy!