We had a bunch of hard apple cider lying around, and I thought this might be an interesting variation on the typical applesauce recipes you find online. It turned out well, so here it is.

INGREDIENTS

• 5-6 apples of mixed varieties
• 1 cup hard apple cider
• 5 medjool dates, pitted and cut in half
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 tsp cinnamon (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Peel, core, and slice the apples. I use one of those hand-crank machines that do it all in one step, but peeling and slicing by hand should also work fine.

Put the sliced apples and other ingredients in a large saucepan. Cover and cook on low, stirring occasionally, until the apples are soft, about 20 minutes.

Put all the solids in the blender, along with about 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Run on low-med speed for about a minute until it reaches the consistency you want.

Note: Because we started with hard apple cider, this applesauce will contain some alcohol. Most of it boils off during cooking, and the entire recipe contains less than a single bottle of hard cider, but the amount left probably isn’t zero.