APPLE SNACKING CAKE

This old fashioned, super moist, snack cake is quick, easy and only takes ONE apple!! It is the PERFECT snacking cake and goes wonderfully in a lunch box.

 

 

1/3 cup brown sugar lightly packed

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2/3 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter (room temperature)

2 eggs

1  1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1  1/2 cups flour

1  3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup milk

1 large apple

 

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease and flour a 9"x5" loaf pan.

 

Core and peel the apple then pulse it in the food processor a few times until the pieces are about the size of a green pea.

 

Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together and set aside. 

 

Beat white sugar and butter together until smooth and creamy; beat in eggs, one at a time; add vanilla, flour and baking powder and beat until smooth, then stir in the milk and chopped apples, until the batter is well mixed.

 

Place 1/3 of the batter in the loaf pan and top with 1/3 of the sugar-cinnamon mixture; do that two more times, ending with sugar cinnamon.

 

Bake at 350°F for 30-40 minutes (my electric oven takes 40 minutes) or until toothpick tests clean.

 

Let cake cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then turn it out on a rack to cool.

 

This snacking cake definitely does NOT need any frosting, ENJOY!!







OLD FASHIONED APPLE CRISP

I've been tweaking this apple crisp recipe for most of my married life. I've tried a variety of spices, crusts, topping ingredients, apple types, nuts/no nuts, oats/no oats, baking times, etc. After many years of trial and error, we are happy with this final version. The apples are cut smaller than for a pie (see note) and the topping bakes into a sweet, crispy, nutty perfection.

I like to make this in a 2 piece 10" tart pan because it is very easy to serve and makes a pretty presentation, but any 9" or 10" pie plate would work well also.

(1) 9" or 10" single pie crust, placed into a tart pan (or pie plate) and chilled until the apples are ready.

6 Granny Smith apples (see note)
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar packed
¼ cup all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

TOPPING
2/3 cup light brown sugar packed
2/3 cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter
½ cup chopped walnuts

Peel and core the apples and slice them very thinly. Blanche the apples in boiling water for one to two minutes (depending on how thin you cut them). Don't cook the apples all the way through, they should still be slightly crunchy.

Drain very well and add the sugars, flour and spices (stir to coat evenly).

Make the topping: mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and cut in the cold butter until it is crumbly, stir in nuts. Place apple mixture into chilled crust and spread with topping mixture.

Bake in preheated 375 oven for 40-45 minutes or until the filling looks bubbly. Cool before serving (see note).

NOTE: I like to serve this before it has completely cooled. When it has cooled down enough so that I can hold my hand (without burning it) on the bottom of the pie pan, it is time to eat it. I serve it with vanilla ice cream.

NOTE: I cut the peeled and cored apples into quarters and then cut the quarters in half before I start slicing them. This gives me smaller slices that work well with this crisp recipe.

NOTE: I encourage you to use freshly grated nutmeg if possible, it makes a WORLD of difference (so mellow compared to pre-ground nutmeg).

NOTE: Place your unbaked apple crisp on a cookie sheet before putting it into the oven. The heat from the cookie sheet will help brown the bottom of the pie crust. It will also help with any potential spill-overs.

THREE LAYER APPLE CRISP

Sweet, spiced, apples are tucked between two layers of oats, nuts and brown sugar. This is a classic apple crisp with a twist.

 1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg (see note)
¾ cup packed brown sugar
¾ cup cold butter
4 cups sliced and peeled apples
1 cup pecans chopped
.In a large bowl, mix the flour, oatmeal, cinnamon,nutmeg and brown sugar. Cut in the cold butter until mixture looks crumbly. Stir in chopped nuts.
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Spread half of this mixture into the bottom of a 10" pie plate and pack it down.
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In a heavy pan, saute the apple slices in a tablespoon of butter, ½ cup brown sugar and ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg, JUST UNTIL THE APPLES BEGIN TO SOFTEN. Place this layer on top of the crumb crust.

Top the apples with the rest of the reserved oat mixture and gently pat down. Bake in 375 degree preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream.

NOTE: I have never been a big fan of nutmeg until I recently started using freshly grated nutmeg seed. It is an entirely different taste than you get in the pre-ground nutmeg. A jar of seeds has a LONG shelf life and they really make a huge difference in baked goods.

CANDIED APPLES

What says summer fun, more than candied apples? They are very easy to make (if you follow a few tips at the end of this post) and would be a nice addition to any summer birthday party, barbeque or even for a 4th of July picnic!

 The ingredients are very basic:

10 small (snack size) apples
10 popsicle sticks
2 cups white sugar
1 cup light Karo syrup
1 & 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon cherry UNsweetened Kool Aid powder

Wash any wax or soil from the apples and thoroughly dry them (remove stems). Insert wooden stick into the stem end of the apple (push about half way into the apple).

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper and spray it with cooking spray (keep this close to your work station).

In a medium size, heavy-bottomed sauce pan, attach your candy thermometer and make sure that the glass tip is not setting on the bottom of the pan (it will give you a false reading). Put all of the candy ingredients in the pan and cook on medium high, stirring constantly, until it comes to a boil. DO NOT STIR THIS AFTER IT COMES TO A BOIL. Turn the heat down just a little, so that you have a nice gentle boil and then keep an eye on the thermometer. Cook until it hits 300 or hard crack stage; this can take up to 30 minutes, but on my stove it takes about 25. Keep a close eye on the candy after it reaches 285 because those last 15 degrees go faster than you think. DO NOT STIR!!

Remove the pan from the heat and work fast. Holding the apple by the stick, dip it into the pan (hold the pan at a tilt, so the candy will "pool". Twirl the apple and then let the candy drip off of the apple for a few seconds and then place on the prepared waxed paper. DON'T GET THIS STUFF ON YOUR SKIN!!!!! Apples will be hard and ready to use five to ten minutes after they are dipped. If you are going to add sprinkles or any decorations, you will have to add them with lightening speed because these cool off and become hard FAST (an extra person would be a big help if you are going to add sprinkles).
NOTE: Keep a bowl of ice water near your work station just in case you get some of this on your fingers (definitely not safe for younger kids).

NOTE: In the first stage of making the candy, try not to splash any liquid onto the sides of your pan (it can make crystals in the candy).

NOTE: I keep an electric frying pan, preheated to 200, at my work station. When the pan of candy comes off of the stove, I set it on the DRY, warm frying pan so that it doesn't cool down too fast and lengthens the amount of time you have to dip the apples.

NOTE: The best tip I can give you is to have EVERYTHING at your fingertips BEFORE you start dipping the apples. Once you are at that stage, you have zero time to run to the pantry and find something.
NOTE: Any candy left over can be poured out onto a pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. When it's cooled, you can break it up and eat it (tastes like cherry life savers.

NOTE: There is a teaspoon of UNsweetened Kool Aid powder in each small envelope, so you can get two batches of candied apples per Kool Aid envelope (any flavor will work).

NOTE: Clean up can be a pain if you don't have a dishwasher. If you have a dishwasher, just put all of the stuff in the hot cycle.

NOTE: These are best eaten the day they are made. If you HAVE to make them a day ahead of time, do NOT cover them because the moisture from the apples will degrade the candy coating.

NOTE: Someone told me (I haven't tried it) that you can candy grapes, cherries and other small fruit (use their stems to hold onto instead of using a stick).

(FAUX) ENTENMANN'S APPLE COFFEE CAKE which is my 100th post!!

If you like Entenmann's coffee cakes, you will adore this recipe. It is similar, but OH! so much tastier. It is basically a sweet (yeast)dough that is easily mixed in your stand mixer for 3 minutes, then it sits for 20 minutes, is formed and stuffed with apples, then put in the fridge for two hours and finally baked for 30 minutes. It is SO worth the little effort it takes and it makes two nice big coffee cakes. I hope you try it this weekend! (Click on this photo to see the full Yummm factor).

 Make the apple filling first so it can cool. In a large frying pan, melt 1/3 cup of butter and saute five Granny Smith (peeled, cored and sliced) apples over medium heat for about eight minutes or until almost tender. Stir in 3/4 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Cook gently, stirring, until thickened (about 15 minutes). Set aside to cool.

For the dough, put the following in your stand mixer:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 heaping tablespoon yeast

Whisk the above ingredients together to mix well.

In a small bowl, whisk the following ingredients together and then add them to the dry mixture.

1/3 cup melted (but not hot) butter
1 egg
3/4 cup hot tap water

Knead the dough with your machine, on medium speed, for three minutes. If it seems too dry, add an extra tablespoon of water. After three minutes, scrape down the sides of the bowl (dough will be very soft and sticky), cover and let it sit for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, divide dough in half (makes 2 coffee cakes) and roll each half out on floured surface to a 12x14 rectangle. Place each rectangle on its own parchment lined cookie sheet. Put apple filling down the center and then cut the sides like this: Fold the little strips back over the apple filling (no need to pinch it, just lay them over). Cover each coffee cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours. After two hours, take out of fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, top each coffee cake with struesel topping (which is made with 3/4 cup sliced almonds + 6 tablespoons all purpose flour + 1/4 cup powdered sugar + 3 tablespoons butter + 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon - cut butter into dry ingredients until fine crumbs).
Bake at 375 for 15 minutes, then turn heat down to 350 for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack. Drizzle simple vanilla glaze over the top and decorate with more sliced almonds.

This is what the luscious coffee cake looks like inside...Yummmm!

This sounds like a lot of steps, but it really is easy to make. Once you make it, you'll never be happy with Entenmann's again!

APPLE TART

There is nothing quite as American as apple pie, isn’t that the old adage? I started experimenting with apple pie recipes many years ago because it is one of my husbands favorites. This recipe is pretty easy, as pies go; it has a no-roll shortbread type crust and you pre-cook the apples so they bake quicker. I like this recipe because it makes a pretty presentation and it is baked in a two piece tart pan, so you can just life the tart out of the pan and set it on a pretty serving plate.

CRUST
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup butter flavored Crisco
1½ teaspoons white sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup ice water
1 egg
1½ teaspoons distilled white vinegar

With your electric stand mixer, mix the flour, Crisco, sugar and salt together. Add the ice water, vinegar and egg, beat just until smooth. Divide dough in half and pat one half into the two piece tart pan, pushing it up the sides, to the top of the pan, set in the fridge for a few minutes. Cover the other half of the dough while you do the apples.

APPLE FILLING
Peel and cube 5 granny smith apples. Boil them in some plain water for about 4 or 5 minutes until they just start to get tender, then drain well. To these apples, add:
½ cup of brown sugar
½ cup of white sugar
¼ cup of white flour
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
dash of salt
Stir gently until everything is wet, set aside.

Roll out the second half of the dough and cut into narrow strips. Put apple filling into tart crust and dot with 2 tablespoons of butter (tiny little dots). Lay the crust strips over the apples. Brush the strips with egg wash (1 egg beaten with a little water). Sprinkle strips with a light dusting of white sugar.

Bake in a pre-heated 375 oven for 40-45 minutes or until the crust strips are nice and golden. Let the pie cook to room temperature before you try to remove it from the two piece tart pan.

NOTE: You do not HAVE to pre-cook the apples, but if you do it this way, you will not get a soggy crust, or have any loose (watery) pie filling.
NOTE: If you do not want to do the whole roll out strips on top of the pie, just mix the following ingredients and sprinkle it on top of the apples and bake the same way.

APPLE CRISP TOPPING (ALTERNATIVE)
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup all purpose flour
½ cup quick cooking oats
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
1/3 cup butter softened