Fall means time for apples, and cooks who like to bake go crazy in the fall with homemade apple pie, apple tarts, and apple cake. Of course all these apple dessert creations taste great, but one of the best and easiest use for fresh apples is homemade applesauce. If you haven't made homemade applesauce, you've never had *real* applesauce, which tastes amazing and makes the house smell wonderful too.

I've been noticing a lot of food bloggers making applesauce lately, and it seems there's an applesauce recipe for every type of cook, from crockpot applesauce to microwave applesauce, or simmer on the stove applesauce. Pick an applesauce recipe that suits your cooking style and make some homemade applesauce this weekend.

Photo of the Family Crockpot Applesauce Recipe
from Cookin' Canuck

Using the crockpot has to be one of the easiest ways to make applesauce, but when Dara from Cookin' Canuck announced on Facebook that she was going to share the Family Crockpot Applesauce Recipe that she'd gotten from her mother-in-law, some family members weren't sure if they wanted this family favorite recipe posted on a blog. Luckily for her readers, Dara called her mother-in-law, who gave her approval for the recipe to be shared.

Photo of Crockpot Chunky Cinnamon Applesauce on Toast
from Two Peas and Their Pod

Obviously Dara's applesauce recipe was a hit, because Maria from Two Peas and Their Pod has already made Crockpot Chunky Cinnamon Applesauce from Dara's recipe and posted it too. What I love about this post is the idea Maria shared about her favorite way to eat applesauce, spread on on whole wheat toast instead of jam. Don't you think that sounds great!

Photo of Ancho Chile Applesauce
from Homesick Texan

Spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves are traditional in applesauce, but Lisa from Homesick Texan spices it up a bit more when she makes Ancho Chile Applesauce. Lisa took the train from NYC to Connecticut to pick the apples with her mother, who was there for a job interview, so there are two reasons this is special applesauce.

Photo of making applesauce using The Only Applesauce Recipe
from Occupation Mommy

Occupation Mommy calls her naturally sweetened applesauce The Only Applesauce Recipe, but you do need a food mill. I do love it that this applesauce recipe has no added sugar (and I have a food mill!)

Photo of Mom's Homemade Applesauc
from Unami Girl

Another applesauce recipe that uses a food mill is Mom's Homemade Applesauce, which Carolyn at Umami Girl says is "life on a spoon" for her. She makes the applesauce on the day of her parent's 40th wedding anniversary, and there's a beautiful tribute to two loving parents here along with Mom's recipe.

Photo of microwave applesauce made with The Applesauce Recipe
from Super Healthy Kids

Finally, if the microwave is your favorite cooking appliance, you need The Applesauce Recipe from Super Healthy Kids. It doesn't get much easier than this, and the applesauce looks great.

More Applesauce Recipes:
~Cate's Homemade Applesauce (in 20 minutes!) from Sweetnicks
~Homemade Applesauce from Macaroni and Cheesecake
~Stevia Sweetened Applesauce from Nourishing Days
~All-American Applesauce from Food Blogga
~Canning Applesauce from CalliMakesDo at BlogHer.com

What Else to do With Apples:
~Curried Apple Soup and All About Apples (an amazing post) at Green Gourmet Giraffe
~The Ultimate Apple Recipe Collection from Sam Breach at BlogHer.com
~Start Thinking About Caramel Apples from BlogHer.com
~Video of Making Rustic Apple Gallette from BlogHer.com

Have you ever made homemade applesauce? If you have a good applesauce recipe, we'd love to hear about it in the comments.

(Every Thursday night on BlogHer, we spotlight five recipes with a common theme for a feature called Weekend Menu Planning, hoping one of them might make it onto the menu at your house. You can find previous recipes shared by clicking the tag Weekend Menu Planning.)

Kalyn Denny also blogs at Kalyn's Kitchen, where she's focused on creating low-glycemic recipes using fresh ingredients. Kalyn hasn't made applesauce yet, but last fall she was going crazy over Low Sugar and Flourless Apple Cranberry Crumble.