These simple apple recipes are absolute hits with my husband, family, and the office. Apple pie, apple sauce, and apple cider are simple to make and are perfect for autumn celebrations.

Is there anything better than apple picking in the autumn? (Spoiler alert: There’s not.) Nothing beats the cooler fresh air and that first bite into a crisp freshly-picked apple. 

We have a small orchard on our property, but our apple trees have been absolutely ravaged by the wasps this year. If anyone has suggestions on how to deal with those, let me know. Luckily, my husband’s parents had a great apple yield this year. So in exchange for a few of my apple pies and jars of apple sauce, we were able to collect tons of their apples. We harvested mostly Bramley, russet, and a few small pink ladies.

Strangely, our pear trees – which haven’t borne fruit the last two years – are absolutely full of fruit. I anticipate I may have to do some experimenting with the pears in the coming weeks to see how best to use our variety of fruit.

Even though we’ve picked these apples now, they’ll keep in the refrigerator for 1-2 months. So we’ll be able to continue to use and eat them for the next couple months. If you put them in the crisper drawer with a wet paper towel on top, they’ll keep even longer. Keep in mind that the large and firm apples – like Granny Smith – last longer than softer varieties. 

There are a couple of tools I’ve found especially helpful for peeling, coring, and slicing apples. This peeler and this corer/slicer are the two gadgets I use to save me hours of time. And this cheese cloth is what I used to strain the apple cider.

While I’ve never considered myself much of a Martha Stewart, I give it my best shot. So once I find a recipe that works and is easy, I tend to stick to it! These are the three simple apple recipes that have made it into my annual rotation.

Apple Sauce 🍎

Making applesauce could not be easier or healthier. Literally two ingredients (apples and water) plus whatever flavouring you prefer (cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, any added sugar). And the things you can use applesauce for are endless – as a side for pork dinners, warmed and served over vanilla ice cream, with greek yogurt and granola for breakfast, or even chilled on its own.

3 lbs of apples (I use a mix of sweet and tart; if you like sweeter sauce, use sweeter apples)

1/2 cup of water

Flavouring to taste (I use cinnamon)

Peel, core, and dice apples into 1/2-inch sections. Add apples, water, and flavouring to a large crock pot (high heat 3-4 hours) or cast iron pot and cook on medium-low until apples are soft (about 45 min to an hour).

If you prefer smooth applesauce, use an immersion blender to blend smooth. A potato masher will also do the trick.

Apple Cider 🍎

This is my first year making apple cider (the virgin American kind, not the alcoholic British version), and I was really surprised how easy it was! Because the British drink their cider hard and in cans, bottles, or from a tap, I can’t find the American version in gallons at the grocery. So I’ve resigned to making this autumn staple at home. 

I used this recipe from Gimme Some Oven and added aniseed for the photographs (frankly because it makes a prettier photo). I did strain it twice for ease – once through a colander and once through cheesecloth (once cooled), so it took a little longer, but was very easy.

And let me tell you, it makes the house smell amazing. Forget autumn candles, just make this cider.

Apple Pie 🍎

If you believe the phrase “easy as pie,” you need to make yourself a pie and learn how wrong you can be. Pie is usually not easy. However, this apple pie recipe from Better Homes and Gardens is so darn simple – especially if you use a pre-made crust and top with the crumb topping. Then you don’t have to worry about making a crust OR making the top crust pretty (though if that’s your thing, go for it).

I’m a huge fan of the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book (US link here). If you’re not Julia Child, you need this cook book (also makes a great wedding gift). It breaks down cooking and baking tips in an easy-to-understand way. Plus, the ring binding on this means the book lies flat on the counter (so obvious it’s genius) and you can take out only the pages you need to keep you from flipping back and forth.   

This recipe is from my version of the cookbook – Apple pie with crumb top. 

And apologies for no photos of the finished pie. If it’s any indication how delicious this was, it was eaten up before I even had a chance to snag a photo.

Hope you enjoy apple-picking (and baking) season! – Nicole