The Dining Diva

Autumn and Apples

Last weekend was just absolutely gorgeous here in KY.  After the month of August was full of severe drought and temps that soared into the 90's and 100's for weeks at a time with no relief, last weekend was just perfect.  Chilly temps, a cloudless blue sky, and lots of sunshine.  Not to mentionit was made even sweeter by  the KY Wildcats victory over the Louisville Cardnials ( Go Cats!!!), you could just taste autumn in the air.  Anyway, while I played outside in the backyard with my son, my mind turned to autumn baking and cooking.  I just love when its chilly outside, and inside my house is brimming with the scents of fall like apple, pumpkin and cinnamon.  Sooooooo, I decided for my first blog the theme would be apple recipes...hope you like them.

Caramel Marshmallow Apples

1 package (14 oz.) caramels
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 tablespoon water
5-6 small apples
Wooden skewers

Line a baking sheet with buttered wax paper; set aside. Combine caramels, marshmallows, and water in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stiring constantly, until caramels melt. Cool slightly while preparing apples. Rinse and dry apples. Insert skewers into apples. Dip each apple in caramel mixture, coating apples. Place on prepared sheet. Refrigerate until firm. For a fun change, roll apples in crushed peanuts or drizzle with melted chocolate.

Easy Caramel Apple Pie

1 frozen 9" pie crust
10 caramel candies; quartered
1/3 cup flour
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 cups Jonathon apples; unpeeled; cut into 1/2" cubes
2/3 cup caramel ice cream topping
1/2 cup pecans; chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium sized bowl, combine caramels and flour. Add apples, caramel topping and lemon juice; mix well. Pour mixture into crust; top with pecans. Bake on baking sheet at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until crust has browned. Cool.

Crockpot Apple Butter

7 cups applesauce, unsweetened
2 cups apple cider
1 1/2 cups honey
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice

In a crockpot, mix all ingredients. Cover and cook on low heat for 14 to 15 hours, or until the mixture is deep brown. Pack while hot into 4 hot pint jars. Process in hot-water bath for 10 minutes, counting the time after the jars have been immersed and the water comes again to a rolling boil. Makes 4 pints.

Apple Pancakes

Serves about 4

2/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
2 cups of apples cut into 1/4-inch slices
3/4 cups butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Sift together the flour, 2 teaspoons sugar, and the salt. Beat eggs and milk together. Gradually add flour mixture; beat until smooth. Saute apples in 1/4 cup of butter until tender. Mix 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon together; toss with apples. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 6-inch diameter, deep frypan. Pour in the batter to a depth of about 1/4-inch. When set, place 1/4 of the apples on top; cover with more batter. Fry pancake until lightly browned on both sides. Keep warm. Repeat the procedure 3 times, until all batter and apples are used. Serve immediately.

Honey Baked Apples

4 large baking apples
1 small banana, chopped
1/3 cup cranberries, chopped
3 tablespoons honey
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons water

Remove cores from apples and enlarge holes slightly to allow for filling. Peel a strip off the top of each apple. Place each apple in a 6-ounce custard cup. Combine banana, cranberries, honey, and cinnamon. Fill centers of apples. Pour 1 tablespoon water over each apple. Cook, uncovered, in microwave oven for 5 to 7 minutes, or until nearly tender. Let stand until cooled slightly.

Moist Apple Cake with Butterscotch Sauce

Serves about 8

For the cake:
4 large eggs, separated
1 cup plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon plus 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup melted butter
1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 apples, peeled, cored and cut into thin slices

For the butterscotch sauce:
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons water
1/3 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

To make the cake:
Butter and flour an 8" square cake pan. Pre-heat oven to 375 F.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks, 1 cup of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon for 3 minutes with an electric mixer on medium speed. Add melted butter. Blend in flour until the mixture is smooth.

In another mixing bowl, use a clean electric mixer to beat the egg whites until soft peaks form when you lift the mixer. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture to lighten it. Then repeat with the rest of the egg whites.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Arrange apple slices on top of batter, in an attractive overlapping pattern. Mix together the rest of the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle over apple slices.

Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Meanwhile, prepare butterscotch sauce (see below). Remove cake from oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes.

To make the butterscotch sauce:
In a saucepan, mix brown sugar, water and corn syrup. Cook at medium heat, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes or until the brown sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in butter, stirring until butter is completely melted. Remove from heat. Stir in condensed milk.

To serve, cut slightly cooled cake into 2" x 4" slices and place each slice on a dessert plate. Spoon warm butterscotch sauce over each slice.

Apple Pineapple Slaw

lettuce
3 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup chopped canned pineapple, drained
1 cup diced apples
1 cup mini-marshmallows
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup mayonnaise
apple slices
lemon juice

Line a salad bowl with whole leaves of lettuce. Combine cabbage, pineapple, diced apples, marshmallows, celery and mayonnaise in a mixing bowl until mayonnaise coats all ingredients. Transfer salad to lettuce-lined bowl. Toss apple slices in lemon juice and garnish the slaw with the apple slices.

Apple Fritters

3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/8 tsp. salt 1 egg, slightly beaten 1 tbsp. vegetable oil 1 tsp. rum (optional) 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1/2 cup beer (light, not dark) Vegetable oil, for frying 2 egg whites 4 medium size apples (such as Granny Smith's, MacIntosh, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious or Fuji apples) 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar or granulated sugar Ground cinnamon or ground nutmeg

Instructions: Sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Stir in egg, the 1 tbsp.oil, the rum, and the vanilla. Gradually beat in enough beer to make a medium-thick batter similar to thickness of whipping cream. Cover bowl and let stand 1 hour. Heat oil for deep frying to 350°F (180°C). Immediately before frying fritters, beat egg whites until stiff and glossy. Use a wooden spoon to fold beaten egg whites into batter. Peel and core apples and cut into 1/4 inch crosswise slices. Dip into batter, 2 to 3 at a time, covering completely. Lower into hot oil and fry until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Keep warm. Repeat until all slices are battered and fried. To serve, sprinkle fritters generously with confectioners' sugar or granulated sugar and ground cinnamon (or ground nutmeg). Fritters are best served very warm. Makes 24 apple fritters.

Untitled Comment

{ 12:25 , Monday, September 24, 2007 } { Posted by jocelyndixon }

Hello!
The 17th Homesteading Carnival has been posted, and I included this post!
Please stop by and check it out, and would you be so kind as to announce it on your blog for others to see!!
THC link: http://www.homesteadblogger.com/Jocelyndixon/70775

Thank you!
Jocelyn