Apple Pancakes

These pancakes are perfect for a crisp fall morning. There is no better way to describe them.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
2 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
dash of salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 tablespoon butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sweet apple, finely chopped

Directions:
In a medium bow, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a small bowl combine milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. It's okay if mix has some lumps; you don't want to overmix. Fold in apple.

Grease a skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup batter on the skillet. Cook until small bubbles form on the edges of the pancakes, about 1 or 2 minutes, then flip. Cook other side until golden brown, about 1 minute. Repeat with remaining batter.

Serve with maple syrup.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Apple Recipes:
Baked Apple Chips
Savory Apples Stuffed with Sage and Sausage
An Apple Cider Birthday Cake
Apple Cider Cookies with Spiced Rum Glaze
Applesauce Cookies with Caramel Frosting
Delicious Apple Pie 
Apple Rings!
Peanut Butter Baked Apples

Cinnamon Glazed Apple Muffins

This was the third year in a row we missed out on picking apples. The first year it was a bad crop and no one had apples. Last year our favorite orchard closed the weekend before we planned on going at the end of October. This year, we went in early October so not to miss out again. Well, we did. There was a rush of people the weekend before we planned on going and they picked the orchard clean. But they did have some pre-picked apples we could buy. So I've been going apple crazy. Some were sucesses like these muffins and my apple pie salsa. The apple and sausage mac and cheese, not so much.

Next time, I'm going to give these muffins a crumb topping and drizzle them with a cinnamon glaze. A muffin just isn't a muffin without a crumb topping.

Recipe adapted from here.
Makes approximately 2 dozen muffins.

Ingredients:
Muffins
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups diced apples, peeled and cored (about 3 apples--I used Mutsu)

Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Muffins
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffan pan with paper cups.

In a large bowl, cream sguar, eggs, oil, applesauce, and vanilla. In a second bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ones and mix until well combined. Fold in diced apples.

Fill the muffin cups about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 20 to 24 minutes or until muffins are set in the middle. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Glaze
In a bowl, whisk together all the ingredients until well combined. Dip the tops of the muffins in the glaze.

Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Breakfast Recipes:
Basic Homemade Bagels  
Blueberry Muffins
French Toast in a Mug  
Homemade Hash Browns 
 Individual Bacon and Cheese Quiches
Monkey Bread Muffins  
Only the Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls 
Pancakes with Raspberry Sauce
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes  
Pumpkin Oatmeal
Quiche in a Mug
Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

Peanut Butter Baked Apples

I've been really inspired by apples this season. I have been meaning to make baked apples for a while now. Well, there were only two Fuji apples left in the fridge so I knew it was now or never (maybe that's a little dramatic. Now or wait until I make it to the store again). I have looked through a dozen different baked apple recipes and they're all pretty much the same: oatmeal, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Some add raisins. Some add pecans or walnuts. I wanted something a little different. Then I found one with peanut butter. Apples and peanut butter, there nothing else like it.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
2 large apples
1/2 cup instant oatmeal
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons, plus 1 teaspoon creamy peanut butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice the tops off the apples and scoop out the core, seeds, and flesh. I used a regular spoon, but a melon baller probably would have been easier. Discard the insides.

In a small bowl, mix together the oatmeal, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Add peanut butter and mix until it forms a crumble. It's easiest to use your hands.

Stuff the apples with the mixture and place them in a glass baking dish.* Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the apples are tender. Remove the foil for the last five minutes to allow the tops to crisp.

*My apples were small so I cut the recipe in half and used ramkins to bake them because, honestly, I didn't want to dirty my 8x8-inch glass pan for two little apples.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Apple Recipes
Baked Apple Chips
Savory Baked Apples Stuffed with Sausage
Delicious Apple Pie
Apple Cider Cupcakes with Caramel Filling and Spiced Rum Frosting

Savory Baked Apples Stuffed with Sage and Sausage

I've been dying to do a savory apple recipe. When I told Eric that I planned to make apples stuffed with sausage, he was less than excited. I should have taken a picture of the face he made. But I wasn't going to let that deter me. And I'm glad I didn't. These turned out fabulous. I fell in love with them at first bite. It took Eric a couple more bites to come around. After the first bite, he said it was different. And it did have a different palate than what we're used to. But he finished every last bite of the stuffed apples and then declared that they were good. I honestly can't wait to make them again.

Recipe adapted from here.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons yellow onion, minced
1/2 pound spicy pork sausage
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
salt
pepper
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I made my own by toasting a couple pieces of white bread and crumbling them)
4 to 5 apples (I used Fuji)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sausage to skillet. Break the meat up and cook until it's no longer pink, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the sage and thyme. Season with salt and peeper. Stir in breadcrumbs and remove from heat.

Cut off the tops of each apple. Scoop out the insides of the apple including the core, seeds, and flesh. I used a regular spoon, though a melon baller probably would have made it easier. Discard the insides.

Divide the stuffing among the apples, packing each apple full. Place the apples in the baking dish. Dot each apple with a small dab of the remaining butter.

Bake apples until the flesh is tender, 45 to 60 minutes.

Because Eric was so unenthusiastic about this dish, I only made 3 apples; that way he'd have leftover sausage to eat for dinner in case he didn't like the apples. Thankfully he did! But I could have easily stuffed 5 apples with the sausage.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Apple Recipes
Baked Apple Chips
Apple Rings!
Delicious Apple Pie 
An Apple Cider Cake
Apple Cider Cupcakes with Caramel Filling and Spiced Rum Frosting

More Sausage Recipes
Black Bean and Sausage Stovetop Casserole
Cheesy Sausage and Potato Casserole
Pasta with Vodka Sauce and Sausage
Pumpkin Penne Casserole
Roasted Sausage, Potatoes, and Peppers 
Sausage and Bean Casserole
The Tale of Two Quiches: Spicy Sausage and Spinach Quiche

Delicious Apple Pie

I'm going to start right off the bat by telling you that the photos in the post are deceiving. I made a spicy sausage quiche for dinner the other day. I had a few scraps of dough left over from the crust, and I remembered Eric giving me puppy dog eyes when he found out I had a delicious apple pie recipe that I had never made for him. So being an awesome wife, I made a couple of mini apple pies in ramekins. I used my usually apple pie recipe but just eyeballed the ingredients instead of measuring them out like I usually do for this blog. So this is a recipe for one apple pie, not mini apple pies.

I make my pastry from scratch, but you could very well use store-bought pie crust.

 Ingredients:
Pastry Dough
2 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening
5-7 tablespoon cold water

Apple Filling
4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced
3/4 cup white sugar
1 table cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl mix together the flour and salt. Cut in the shortening using two butter knives until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until the mixture is evenly moistened and clings together when pressed into a ball. Divide the dough in half, shaping each half into a 1/2-inch thick round. Wrap each dough round in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 10 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss the sliced apples with the sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch. Set aside.

Roll out your first dough round with a rolling pin until the dough round has about an 11-inch diameter. Place the dough over a 9-inch pie plate. Press the dough evenly onto the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Be careful not to stretch the dough. Trim any excess dough that hangs over the edges of the pan. Reserve trimmings for another use if desired (see cinnamon-sugar pastries). Fill the pie with the apple mixture.

Roll out your second dough round as you did the first and place over the filling. Trim the top crust so about 1/2 inch fall over the edge of the plate. Fold the edge of the top crust under the edge of the bottom crust, pinching the edges together to form little ridges. Cut several slits near the center of the pie to allow steam to escape.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until the juices form bubbles that slowly burst.

Allow to cool before eating.

Dress your pie up:
1. Turn your trimming into decorations for the pie. Use small cookie cutters to cut shapes out of the left over dough and place on top of the pie. I usually make leaves.

2. Give your pie a shiny top by lightly beating  an egg white and brushing it on top of the pie before baking it.

3. Or if you want a golden brown top, beat a whole egg and brush the top of the pie before baking.

4. Like your pies to have a little sparkle? Brush the top of your pie with a beaten egg than sprinkle a tablespoon of white sugar on top.

Homemade Streusel Topping 
You may have noticed that my mini pies have streusel on top instead of another layer of pastry. This was the first time I made my own streusel. It is sooo good with this pie. It might just become the new way I make an apple pie.

Streusel recipe comes from here. It will make enough to cover the top of an 9-inch pie plate.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. You can use a fork or your fingers to do so. I cut the ingredients together with two knives like I did to make the pastry. You could also toss all the ingredients in a food process and pulse until the mixture becomes crumbly.

Sprinkle over pie (or muffins or coffee cake) before baking.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

More Apple Recipes!
Apple Chips
Apple Cider Cake
Apple Cider Cupcakes with Caramel Filling and Spiced Rum Frosting
Applesauce Cookies with Caramel Frosting
Spiked Apple Cider Bon-bons

Apple Cider Cupcakes with Caramel Filling and Spiced Rum Frosting

Last February I made Eric an apple cider birthday cake. However, apple cider was not in-season so I used powdered apple cider mix. The cake turned out delicious, but I just knew it'd be better with real apple cider so I have impatiently been waiting for the fall drink to come back into season. But instead of a cake, I made them into cupcakes. Every time Eric hears the word cupcake he tells me that I should make those cupcakes again, the one with the chocolate ganache filling. He's referring to my St. Paddy's Day cupcakes. He loves cupcakes with filling. So I gave the apple cider cupcakes a caramel buttercream filling and topped them with a spiced rum buttercream frosting. It was a lot of buttercream, so next time I will use caramel sauce as filling. The spiced rum butter cream was the perfect pairing for this cupcake. I have to say, the cake is so much better with real apple cider.

Apple Cider Cupcakes
You can make this cake two ways. The easiest way is to just substitute out the water in a spice cake mix for apple cider. Or you can use the doctored cake mix recipe listed below:

Ingredients:
1 spice cake mix
1 3-ounce package instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1/2 cup apple cider
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

Directions:
Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, pour into cupcake pans that are greased or lined with cupcake wrappers. Bake according to package directions. Allow the cakes to cool completely.

Caramel Sauce
I made my own caramel sauce to use in the buttercream frosting. I didn't feel like getting my candy thermometer out so I tested out this new recipe where you make caramel sauce in the microwave. It actually works. But . . . you don't have control over the color of the caramel sauce like you do when you make it on the stove top. In other words, my caramel sauce wasn't rich enough for my taste. Next time I make caramel buttercream, I'm going to make my caramel sauce on the stove top. But I will keep this microwave caramel sauce in my back pocket because it really is convenient to have. You could also use store bought caramel sauce.

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup
2 tablespoons water
1/8 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup heavy cream, warmed
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
In a medium glass bowl, mix the sugar, corn syrup, and lemon juice together. Microwave the caramel until it just barely has an amber color, 5-8 minutes. If you microwave it for too long, you can burn the sugar. Allow the caramel to sit for about 5 minutes. As it does, you'll see the caramel continue to darken. I microwaved mine for 5 minutes, waited 5 minutes, and got this result:

Next time I may try to microwave it for longer to see if I can get a more intense color and flavor. Keep in mind that all microwaves cook differently.

While waiting for the caramel to darken, heat the whipping cream and vanilla extract in a small sauce pan. You don't need to bring it to a boil, just warm it so it doesn't cause the caramel to seize up.

Add the cream to the caramel a few tablespoons at a time. Beware that the sauce will bubble as you do this. Stir.

Once the cream is incorporated, stir in the butter until it's melted and well combined. Allow to cool, pour into a jar, and store in the fridge.

Basic Buttercream Frosting
You will use this buttercream frosting for the base of both the caramel filling and the spiced rum frosting.

Ingredients:

3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 to 2 tablespoons milk, half and half, or whipping cream


Directions:
Place the the butter into a large bowl and cream with a hand mixer or standing mixer. Add vanilla and mix. Add 1 cup of sugar and blend on low speed until well incorporated. Then add another cup of sugar and beat until well blended. By now your buttercream is getting thick. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons milk and mix. Blend in the the final cup of sugar. To get light, smooth buttercream you need to blend the buttercream for 15 to 20 minutes on low. This is when I really wish I had a standing mixer. Doing it with a hand mixer is tedious but worth it in the end. 

Caramel Buttercream
Even though I wouldn't use this caramel buttercream as filling for apple cider cupcakes again, I will definitely use the caramel buttercream again.


Place about a third of your prepared buttercream into a medium bowl. Add the caramel sauce a few tablespoons at a time, blending it into the buttercream, until you reach the desired flavor. I had to use all the caramel sauce I made (about 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups--sorry, I forgot to measure it out) to give the buttercream a caramel flavor. However, I think if I used a different caramel sauce or made the sauce darker, I could have used less.

Spiced Rum Buttercream
You can make the spiced rum buttercream as strong or weak as you'd like. I used 4 tablespoons of Captain Morgan and my frosting had quite the kick to it. 2 tablespoons of rum should do nicely for a less boozy frosting. Just add the spiced rum to the buttercream and blend.

Assemble
When your cupcakes are completely cooled, use a 1/2 tablespoon measuring spoon to scoop out the center of the cupcakes. Reserve the centers for another use. Spoon or pipe the caramel buttercream (or caramel sauce) into the cupcake. Frost the top with the spiced rum buttercream.

Now I know these cupcakes look like a ton of work, but they're really not that bad. Tomorrow, I will tell you what you can do with the scooped out cupcake middles.

These cupcakes were a huge hit with everyone.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

For more autumn recipes, click here.

Apple Rings!

Source

I can tell you right now that these apple rings are going to become a yearly tradition in our house. It's kind of like eating apple pie but in onion ring form. They are best right out of the oven, hot and crispy, and everything a fall treat should be. I found the recipe here, changed it just a little, and reduced the servings since these delectable treats are best right out of the oven and don't keep for long. Two apples fed four of us.

Ingredients:
2 apples
1 large egg white
1/3 cup water
splash of vanilla
1/3 cup flour
pinch of salt
canola oil for frying
cinnamon-sugar*

Cinnamon Glaze:
1 tablespoon, butter, melted
large pinch of cinnamon
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1-3 tablespoons of milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk egg white until foamy. Whisk in the water and vanilla. Set aside. In another medium bowl whisk together flour and salt. Set aside. Pour cinnamon-sugar in a shallow dish. Set aside.

Peel your apples. If you have a coring device, core your apples then slice them into 1/2-inch slices. If you don't have an apple corer--I don't--slice your apples into 1/2-inch slices then use a paring knife to cut the centers out of each apple slice. It didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would.

Heat your oil over medium-high heat. Dip each apple slice in the egg mixture, then the flour, and carefully set it in the oil. Working in small batches, repeat with the rest of the apple rings. When the rings turns a golden brown, place them on a towel paper-lined plate. Once the rings have cooled enough to handle, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Place the apple rings on a cookies sheet and place them in the oven to crisp up. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes or until the rings become crisp.

While the rings are in the oven, make the glaze. Mix all the ingredients together except for the milk. Add the milk a tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency.

Remove the apple rings from the oven and drizzle the glaze over them. Serve warm.

I went a little heavy on the glaze since I was making the plate up for Eric.

*We usually have cinnamon-sugar on hand. Mix 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon. Store in an air-tight container at room temperature.

Next time I makes these, I plan on doing two things differently.

Number 1: Have Eric do the frying since he is the superior fryer (I may or may not have filled the kitchen with smoke while making these)

Number 2: Eat these amazing fall treats with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Also Check These Fall Recipes:  
Acorn Donuts
Applesauce Cookies with Caramel Frosting
Cheese Tortellini in a Pumpkin Sauce
Cinnamon-Sugar Pastry with Pumpkin Dip
Mini Pumpkin Pies
Baked Apple Chips
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies
                                                      Pumpkin Caramels!

Baked Apple Chips

Every autumn Eric and I go to the cider mill in St. Johns, host a fall dinner party, and go apple picking. Sadly, this year there will be no apple picking. The dry, scorching hot summer hurt a lot of farmers, including the apple orchards. Even if we can't pick our own apples this year, we can still buy them at the grocery store. So I am starting my apple cooking/baking with apple chips, a tasty, healthy autumn snack.

Ingredients:
1 apple
1 tablespoon cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 tablespoon sugar
pinch of salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. 

Mix cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, and salt together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Cut both ends of the apple. Using a mandoline, slice the apples as thin as possible. The thinner the slices, the crisper your chips will be. Remove any seeds from the slices.

Place the apple slices on the baking sheets in a single later. Rub the spice mixture onto one side of the apple slices.

I almost forgot to take a picture of the unbaked apple chips.

Bake for 30 minutes, flip the chips over, and bake for another 30 to 60 minutes or until the chips are lightly browned and crisp. Allow to cool.

I love how the edges become wavy.

Enjoy!

~Krissy

Also Check These Fall Recipes:  
Acorn Donuts
Applesauce Cookies with Caramel Frosting
Pumpkin-Black Bean Soup with Spicy Sausage 
Cheese Tortellini in a Pumpkin Sauce
Cinnamon-Sugar Pastry with Pumpkin Dip
Mini Pumpkin Pies
Pumpkin Bread!
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies
Pumpkin Caramels!
Pumpkin Oatmeal



More Chip Recipes:
Banana Chips
Potato Chips in the Microwave
Zucchini Chips in the Microwave
Homemade Pita Chips