Cooking What's in Season - Cinnamon Spiced Apples

I had someone at the farmer's market today ask me what I was doing with my apples this fall.  I figured since I just did a canning class this past weekend and we canned Cinnamon Spiced Apples I would show you what we did. 

First I washed the apples...

Then I peeled the apples.  You can peel with a knife, if you don't have one of these little jewels!

Next, I used the apple wedger to remove the core and cut the apple into wedges... 

This step can be omitted if you use the apple peeler corer slicer (the little handy dandy doo-dad above this pic) to cut the apples into a spiral shape.  I wanted wedges so I just used it to peel the apples.

I tossed the apples in a citric acid solution, called Fruit Fresh.  This step can be skipped as well if you don't care if the apples turn a little brown (which they will be by the time you dump cinnamon all over 'em), or if you're going to cook and serve them the same day.  Since I was having a class and sending a pint home with everyone who attended I went ahead and used it.

I tossed the apples in the cinnamon spice mixture till coated well...

Last, I melted a little butter, and tossed the apples into a pot to cook till fork tender...

  After cooking for a while the sugar and apples will create a nice juice.

This is a wonderful fall side dish that complements many different foods.  It can be used as a topping for pancakes, a side dish at dinner, or even over vanilla ice cream for dessert.  If you get a large number of apples you could try your hand at canning them, or if you're not up for that yet, cook just enough for a meal or two.  C'mon, make yer granny proud!

Here's the recipe:  Cinnamon Spiced Apples