Fast & Festive Apple Sauce with Cinnamon and Cloves

I just posted 9 different recipes for latkes and 5 recipes for dipping sauces and creams. But where's the apple sauce, my favorite condiment for latkes? Latkes with no apple sauce???? NOOOOOO!!!

Relax. Here is a fast (we're talking 20 minutes max) and festive apple sauce. It's rich, sweet from the apples and a little brown sugar, tart from a hint of lemon juice and delicious from cinnamon and cloves. It smells as wonderful as it tastes.

If you use sweet apples, you may not need sugar at all. I only add tart green apples so I added 1 Tbs. of brown sugar. You can adjust it to your own sweet taste. I usually buy unsweetened apple sauce so I didn't need a lot of sugar. I like the look and the taste of some peel in my sauce so I didn't worry about getting every bit of peel off.

This recipe has just 6 ingredients. No added apple cider or apple juice. What for? To make it taste like apples? That's what the apples do! My Fast and Festive Apple Sauce is so delicious, I may never buy jarred apple sauce again. Enjoy!

Fast & Festive Apple Sauce with Cinnamon and Cloves

4 large apples, peeled, cored and diced
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground cloves
1 Tbs. brown sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice

Prepare the apples. Heat the oil in a small saucepan. Saute the diced apples in the oil for 3-4 minutes. Add the cinnamon and cloves. Cover the pot and let cook until the apples are tender, about 15-20 minutes. Add water, if necessary. When the apples are tender, decide if you want to add sugar. If you do, start with ½ Tbs. of brown sugar and use up to 1 Tbs. Cook until the sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat. Stir in 1 tsp. of lemon juice. Let cool. Refrigerate if you want to eat it chilled.

The "V" Word: Say it. Eat it. Live it.