Home Canned Applesauce

I consulted this website to learn the steps for preparing & canning homemade applesauce.  I have no idea how many pounds of apples I started with, but I ended up with 5 pints of applesauce.  I kept it simple, with just a quarter cup of brown sugar (the apples were a bit too tart for me) & a pinch of salt.  The resulting applesauce was very tasty & my oldest gobbled it up, asking for seconds & thirds.  :)  I used my immersion blender to puree the cooked apples & it worked great.  I know there were a few chunks throughout, but that didn't bother me.  Overall, a great first attempt at canning homemade applesauce!

Zucchini Spice Coffee Cake

Extra zucchini means creative desserts.  Plus I was in the mood for tea & sweets, so this hit the spot on a blustery day.

 

COFFEE CAKE:

1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/4 c. quick-cooking rolled oats
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 c. zucchini, grated
1/2 c. soft butter
1/4 c. dairy sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla (I actually used maple extract, because I was out of vanilla & it tasted great!)
2 eggs

 

TOPPING:

3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. quick-cooking rolled oats
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. butter

 

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 9x13 inch pan. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup and level off.In large bowl, combine all coffee cake ingredients at low speed until moistened; then, beat for 2 minutes at medium speed. Pour into prepared pan.
In small bowl, combine all topping ingredients until crumbly; sprinkle over batter. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Serve warm or cooled.

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Definitely a hit with the whole family, though my 4 year old did refer to it as crumbly.  That's to be expected, perhaps.  I thought it tasted great!