Pink Applesauce Tart

The oatmeal crust combined with the flavor of the apples makes me think of Apple Crisp.  A great way to use up applesauce left over from my Pretty Pink Applesauce recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup All-Purpose Flour

1/3 cup quick-cooking rolled oats

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 T unsalted butter

Pinch of salt

2 T of apple brandy or Schnapps

1 1/2 cups pink applesauce

2 medium red-skinned soft apples (like Cortland or McIntosh)

3 T red currant jelly

Preheat oven to 375*.  Combine the first 4 ingredients in a bowl and press into a 9-inch tart pan.  Line with parchment and fit a 9" cake pan inside.  Fill the empty cake pan with weights and blind bake for 12 minutes.  Remove from oven and take away the weights and empty cake pan.  Bake for 4-6 more minutes or until lightly browned.  Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Meanwhile, combine sugar, butter & salt in small saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, approx. 2-3 minutes.  Pay close attention as the mixture is thick and could tighten up if left alone or heat is too high.  Add 1 T of apple brandy and simmer 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the applesauce.

Spread applesauce mixture in cooled crust in tart pan.  Core the apples and cut paper thin using a very sharp knife or a mandoline.  Arrange in concentric circles overlapping slices as you go along, starting in the middle.  Completely cover the applesauce.  Bake 20 minutes.

Combine jelly and remaining 1 T of apple brandy in a small saucepan an simmer until the jelly is melted, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes.  Brush glaze over apples.  Let cool completely in pan on a wire rack.  Unmold and serve.

(Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart Magazine)

Pretty Pink Applesauce

Applesauce is the easiest thing in the world to make and tastes so much better than store-bought.  A huge return for little effort.  Well, yeah, there are the apples and the fact that you need to remove their peels, or do you?  If you have a food mill at home, even that step can be skipped which narrows it down to coring and quartering.  Of course that is made simple by using the apple corer tool available everywhere for purchase.  I add the reddest of the peels back to the pot and cook along with the apples.  This gives the applesauce its pinkishness.

I do not add anything to my applesauce while cooking it as I am never sure of all the recipes I will use it for, and not everyone wants the sugar.  On the plate, however, I add a little brown sugar, a tab of butter and some ground cinnamon.  I like to serve it over top of homemade biscuits or Johnny Cakes.  Fabulous for breakfast!

If you are so inclined to make the best of everything, including the cores, refer to my recipe for Apple Peel & Core Jelly Jars!

Ingredients

6 lbs. red apples, peeled, cored & quartered (reserve peels)*
    Note: If you are using a food mill you can keep the peels intact
4 c water

Brown sugar
Butter
Cinnamon

Add prepared apple pieces to a dutch oven.  Add several of the reddest peels to the pot and add the water.  Bring to boil on high heat.  Reduce and continue to cook until all the apples are very tender (about 40 minutes).  With tongs, take care to remove all the peel from the pot.  If you like your sauce on the chunky side as I do, take a potato masher and go thru the apples until you reach the desired consistency.  If you prefer a smoother consistency, you can put small batches in a food processor or blender and process until smooth.  You can also process only half the batch if you want some chunkiness.  If you are using a food mill, process according to manufacturer's directions, leaving peels behind.

Store in container with lid in refrigerator up to one week.  When ready to service, heat in pot or in microwave safe dish.  Add brown sugar, butter and cinnamon to taste.