Top 10 Apple Treat Recipes

We're headed to Apple Hill for a visit this Sunday. It's a little late in the game. Usually, we've visited before the end of September, but between the horrible King Fire that had Camino under a blanket of smoke for weeks and a crazy, busy schedule in the Muff household, we just haven't made it yet.

So I've got apples on the mind.

I was browsing through some old recipes on the blog and gathering some ideas for sweet treats to make with the boxes(!) of apples I'm planning on hauling back from Apple Hill. I thought I would compile a list of good ones here just in case anyone else is searching about for something to create in the kitchen with those crispy fruits.

Apple Upside Down Cake

 Pear and Apple Cobbler

 Apple-Cranberry Pie with Cornmeal Crust

 Apple Strudels

 Tarte Tatin

 Apple Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

 Irish Apple Cake

 Applesauce

 Pumpkin Apple Upside Down Cake

Apple Galette

I will probably do some canning too. Apple butter makes a wonderful Christmas gift!

Thanksgiving Sweet Tooth

The past week or so I've been gathering recipe ideas for Thanksgiving. It is right around the corner. Like so many other holidays, it seems to sneak up on you. It must've been just last week that I was sunbathing on the back lawn, lemonade and magazine in hand...right?

At our Thanksgiving feast, my responsibility is filling the dessert table. I got drafted into this position when I was about 6 years old and brought home a ready-to-bake apple pie from my Brownie Girl Scout meeting in September. It was to be frozen with a do-not-open-until-Thanksgiving message attached.

A labor of love went into making those. Each apple had to be hand-cranked on an old-fashioned apple corer/peeler. It spun the apple into a delightful spiral. Ribbons of apples would collect on the cutting board, many of which ended up in my mouth. There was something rather pleasant about munching on the delicate slices; it didn't cut into your gums when biting into it, nor was it difficult to chew in such a thin state.

I would, then, carefully mix the flour, cinnamon and sugar (simplicity here) into the apples, taking my time to ensure each slice of apple was generously coated. This was not an easy task for one with short, weak arms. But with patience and perseverance, it could be accompished.

The true challenge was fitting every last piece of filling into my pie shell. The store-bought tins were shallow. I stacked my precarious mountain of apples, then flipped the lid onto the top. Hopefully, the crust was no longer frozen or it would crack into pieces.

I was very proud of my pie. I still am. As much as I like to create and try new recipes, that simple apple pie continues to be a staple on the dessert table every Thanksgiving.



The famous Thanksgiving squirrel (napkin holder)



With so many choices, it is difficult to decide what else will grace the dessert table this year:

~ French Pumpkin Pie

~ Maple Buttermilk Pie

~ Cranberry Shortbread Bars

~ Bailey's Irish Cream Cookies

~ Pumpkin Parfaits

~ Maple Pecan Bars

~ Colonial Apple Pie

Please share in the comments, links of recipes you think worth considering! :)

Mini fruit galettes

I have become captivated lately by the prospect of baking pies. The beautiful thing about pies is that they come in all shapes and sizes. They can be simple or fancy. They can be savory or sweet. They will capture your favorite flavors into one, big juicy bite of warm pie-goodness.

I was simply looking for a way to enjoy pears before they fall out of season. I stumbled upon this recipe for mini pear galettes at maya* made which had the added bonus of a recipe for making them with apples. Truly, these could be made with just about any sweet filling your heart desires.

I used Bosc pears in the recipe which I thought were a tad lacking in flavor. Next time, I will definitely use Bartlett. They are my favorite of the different pear varieties. The grated ginger many found overwhelming. (Although, I was duly warned that this might be an issue...) But I think it was mainly the fault of the flavorless pears, which allowed the ginger to highlight itself inordinately.

The apples were the hit. They tend to be. You really can't go wrong with a sliced apples, cinnamon, a touch of sugar, and a squeeze of lemon juice. The leftovers are now being enjoyed for breakfast.

They are super-easy to assemble. In fact, I would consider it a fault if you fail to try these out with your favorite fall/winter fruit.

Pie Day

Happy National Pie Day!

I believe our days eating Baskin Robbins ice cream cakes are over. Why be limited by the 31 flavors of their creations when one can mix and match endless possibilities of ice cream, cookies, and any other topping one desires in a cute, lil' ice cream pie?

This was supposed to be dessert tonight in honor of Pie Day but its irresistible lure was too much for my family and half of it disappeared last night. Oh well, I'll just have to make another.... :-)

Be sure to enjoy a slice of your favorite pie today!

Inauguration Pie

"What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task."
~President Barack Obama, January 20, 2009


The carrying on of a legacy, the ushering in of a new era....

No matter which side of the political fence you stand on, whether you agree or disagree with the proposed policies and reforms of the party now entering our capitol, whether you are excited for or disappointed in the choice of our new president, yesterday was a moment to pause and reflect, to recognize that this nation is about to embark upon a new page in history, for good or for ill. And each and every one of us can and will take part in etching the blank slate that lays before us.

How can you live as a true, loyal American citizen linking our invaluable heritage with our emerging future, preserving what is good, eradicating what is deficient?


This momentous day in history deserved a special, commemorative meal. And, although, we did not eat on fine China like those feasting at the Capitol (in fact, Styrofoam as our dishwasher was uncooperative in washing the dishes all day), our meal contained all the pomp and circumstance worthy of such an historic day.


We feasted on baked brie wrapped in phyllo and topped with cranberry sauce, a dish of maple chicken with sweet potatoes and onions, Caesar salad, and sourdough bread.


But the highlight of the evening was the star-studded Inauguration Pie. The recipe comes from the annals of Pilgrim history, straight from the cookbooks of the original citizens of this great country. It was an apple-cranberry pie with cornmeal crust.


The crust from this recipe was the best I have ever tasted in a pie. The cornmeal gave it a slightly more earthy flavor than your basic pie crust, and a delightful texture. I've been brainstorming other fillings I could use with this crust and perhaps a sable-type cookie, capitalizing on some of the flavors captured in the crust. I'll keep you updated... :-)

Apples and cranberries were a winning combination for this pie. Truly, they perform a perfect duet for any autumn or winter pie. I used American Cameos. It was my first experience with the Cameo. They were a perfect choice for pie apples. They reminded me of Galas.

Inauguration Pie
adapted from Colonial Times Apple-Cranberry Pie with Cornmeal Crust on epicurious.com

Crust:
2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. yellow cornmeal
5 T. sugar
1 1/4 t. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 t. salt
3/4 c. plus 2 T. butter, cold
(recipe called for room-temperature shortening but I prefer real butter in my crusts)

6 T. buttermilk (roughly, I used a little more)

Mix dry ingredients together. If using butter, cut in diced butter and mix with your fingers. Add buttermilk by the tablespoonful slowly, mixing with your hands until the dough comes together. Divide dough into two discs and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in fridge for about an hour. (Can be made a day ahead.)

Filling:
1 c. fresh cranberries
2/3 c. brown sugar
2 t. pumpkin pie spice
3 - 3 1/2 lbs. apples, peeled, cored and sliced (I used American Cameos)
1/2 c. dried cranberries (or currants)
5 T. all-purpose flour

buttermilk for brushing on top of pie


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coarsely chop cranberries with sugar and pumpkin pie spice in a food processor. Place in large mixing bowl with apples, dried cranberries, and flour, and toss well.

Roll out one dough disc between two pieces of plastic wrap and place in the bottom of a deep pie dish. Fold extra dough under edge and crimp down. Roll out second dough disc and cut out with a 3-inch or so cookie cutter of your choice, such as a leaf, heart, or animal. I used a star cutter to keep with my patriotic theme.

Place the cut-outs around the edge and over the top, overlapping the pieces together. Brush the pastry with the buttermilk. (I wanted to place a bit of blue food coloring in some of the buttermilk to achieve a red, white and blue pie, but, alas, couldn't find any in the pantry... :-( )

Bake the pie 45 minutes. Then, cover the pie with foil and continue baking until juices are bubbling, about 35 minutes. (I missed this step as I went out for a walk which singed my crust a bit on the top... It was only in the oven a total of 65 minutes.) Cool for at least an hour.

Adorn with a scoop of ice cream when serving. (The original recipe called for rum raisin ice cream. I managed to find some by Haagen Daaz but it wasn't very popular with the family. French vanilla was the flavor of preference.)

A Slice of the Pie

The activity this weekend kept me on my toes. There was ample opportunity for baking ventures.... Pie definitely was the theme of the weekend.

I offered to bake a bunch of pumpkin pies for the birthday bash on Saturday as it is a favorite dish of both the guys being celebrated. On Wednesday, I cooked and pureed a pumpkin in preparation.

The pumpkin let me down, however, as it produced enough meat for only two pies. I was forced to break out the canned pumpkin for the other three. The pies made with the fresh pumpkin turned out lighter in color than the ones made with the canned pumpkin. I wonder what kind of coloring or preservatives is placed in the canned pumpkin that makes it richer in color....?

My dear friend, Giovanna, helped me dish up the plethora of pie at the party. We had close to an hundred people at the house, ravenously hungry.

We jazzed it up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. It was very popular amongst the masses.

Afraid that we would run out of pumpkin pie, Giovanna and I scoured the kitchen for ingredients for another dessert to add to the mix. Having purchased a 20 lb. box of apples at Apple Hill earlier in the day and a couple of crusts left over the in fridge to roll out, the obvious solution was an apple pie. As I didn't feel like using both crusts, I decided to be a bit innovative and create a apple pie with a crumble topping.

I think she is enjoying this a bit too much. ;-)

My fantastic friend rolled out the crust while I mixed together the apples with some spice and flour. We then collaborated on a topping to sprinkle on top. Here is the result of our efforts:

Apple Crumble Pie

6 or 7 apples (we used Galas)
1/4 c. flour
1/3 c. sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1 unbaked pie crust

Topping:
1/2 c. oats
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (or other nuts)
1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Chop apples into slices and place in a large bowl.* Mix with flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Pour apple mixture into pie crust.
In separate bowl, mix oats, sugar, nuts and flour together. Melt butter and pour into dry ingredients. Mix well. Sprinkle evenly over top of the apples.
Cook for 35-45 minutes.

*You can peel the apples if you wish. I prefer to leave the skins on as it gives further texture and color to the pie.

As the apple pie was cooking, someone commented that the kitchen smelled like Thanksgiving. I love when the kitchen smells of the flavors and spices of autumn!

We enjoyed the apple pie later as a night-time snack after digesting the burgers, hot dogs and pumpkin pie, chatting around the kitchen table. I love opportunities to enjoy the company of wonderful friends and delicious food. :-)

Happy Birthday, Fr. Masutti and Dominic!