The Joys of Jell-O Recipe #101: Applesauce De Luxe

Howdy, Jigglers! This recipe was chosen at the behest of my husband, who claimed it sounded "kinda good." It is quite unsual for him to say that about a recipe from this particular cookbook, so it had to be made. Applesauce De Luxe is nothing more than molded applesauce with Jell-O-based fruit flavoring, in either raspberry or cherry, and a splash of lemon juice, but of course I had to tinker with the recipe a little bit.

As per usual I replaced Jell-O with unflavored gelatin. I couldn't find a 15 oz can of applesauce, so I used four 4 oz snack cups of applesauce so I could pack the leftover cups (they come in packs of six) in my lunches some other time. To get the fruit flavoring, I just included a pack of fresh raspberries, adding three tablespoons of white sugar because I used unsweetened applesauce, fresh lemon juice, and plain fruit, though this can be adjusted to taste and depending on the other ingredients used. 

I tried to get some red color out of the raspberries by mashing a few of them with a spoon and then mixing into the applesauce, but it didn't really work out. I imagine you could get the mold to be pinkish if you ran the fruits through the blender (especially if you use cherries).

Other than subbing out a few ingredients, I made this recipe as written, blooming the gelatin in the water before heating, then blending into the applesauce and juice and mixing in the fruit. I ended up using about a tablespoon and a half of gelatin, which was perfect for getting nice sturdy molds with this recipe.

And it turned out great! Basically the gelatin just tastes like applesauce with raspberries in it, but it looks great in individual molds, especially with the contrast of the applesauce and the fruit. I would not recommend serving with mayo or sour cream as the recipe states, but these rings would be simply delicious with some marshmallow-y fruit salad piled in the center. All told, this recipe made enough gelatin to fill eight individual ring molds plus two wine glasses--I just could not get any decent pictures of that for some reason.

I also must mention that this recipe is in the Two-Way Recipes section, meaning that it is meant to be served as a dessert or a salad. It makes a simple fruity dessert, but I imagine it would work unmolded atop fresh spinach and topped with pecans, blue cheese, and poppyseed dressing, too, though not so much if you are using regular saccharine Jell-O.

Basically, though, this is a solid recipe. I had never thought about combining applesauce with other fruits before, but it does add to the experience since prepackaged applesauce can be just the slightest bit boring, as we all know, and plus, molded applesauce is much prettier than just a blob of applesauce in a bowl! Thumbs up to General Foods for a simple two-way recipe that actually makes sense.