Apple Pie Pancakes

Ingredients:
Serves 4

3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, seeded
4 tbs granulated  sugar or brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Juice from 1 lemon
1 box of your favorite pancake mix or your favorite pancake recipe

Pancakes are a family favorite here. I make batches and serve them up and freeze them up. Truth be told I prefer the boxed variety (Aunt Jemima) over the home made. I really can't taste the difference. And they're a bit easier to make. (Everything's in the box. If the recipe calls for milk I'll make buttermilk.) My toppings can range from sliced bananas or strawberries or fresh, plump blueberries. Sometimes I cook the fruit inside. Sometimes I cook it and toss it on top. These baked apple like pancakes are a favorite of ours.

To serve 4 people, to generously cover 6 - 8 nicely sized pancakes, you'll need 3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, seeded and cored, thinly sliced as though you are making an apple pie.

Place apple slices in a large bowl or dish and cover with about 4 tbs of brown or granulated sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon. Cover dish with plastic wrap and shake so that the mixture covers the apples well. Pour the lemon juice over the apples and let sit a few minutes.

In a non-stick pan add your apple mixture and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Turn heat off or to low and keep on the burner.

Meanwhile in another pan prepare your pancakes.
When the pancakes are ready, place on warm plates. (I like to place plates in oven to warm prior to serving.) Place a generous amount of the cooked apples on top and then drizzle syrup lightly over the top, careful not to add too much. You really need just a small amount.

A bite of heaven, right?!

Apple Pie Muffins

 Pardon my lack of photo but the muffins disappeared before I could get a picture!

2 eggs
1/3 cup of canola oil
1/2 - 3/4 cup of sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 - 1 tsp cinnamon, optional
2 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 cups of apple pie filling
3/4 cup of raisins or cranberries

Preheat oven to 375

In the bowl of a large mixer add eggs, canola oil and sugar and beat well. Add in the vanilla, the baking powder and cinnamon*. Slowly add flour to the mixture, one cup at a time. When well blended add the apple pie mixture until well blended. Lastly, toss in cranberries or raisins.

Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop out batter in to muffin tin. Bake 20 - 25 minutes.

Makes 12

* Some pie filling brands contain cinnamon and others do not.
Comstock and Lucky Leaf are readily available in your grocery store in the baking aisle.

How 'bout them apples?

I had this idea that I just had to try... My kids love peanut butter and apples... my kids love peanut butter and honey on apples... but what would happen if, let's say, we took the apples and the honey and peanut butter and dipped them in the granola? I was going for a sort of a candied apple treat that had no candy and was somewhat healthy... So I had to test out my idea... as a lover of crunchy apples and all things peanut butter and all things granola I have to say that this was one WOW of an afternoon snack!

Ingredients per medium sized apple:

2 tbs of peanut butter, regular or chunky
1-2 tsp honey
1/2 cup of granola -- you will not use it all

Directions:

Wash and slice apples
In a bowl place peanut butter and honey and place in microwave for about 35 seconds
Using a fork blend the peanut butter and honey mixture
Using a knife spread some of the mixture onto the apple
Either dip the apple into the granola or using a spoon sprinkle a very generous amount of granola over the apple slice... you may need to repeat another time or so.
Repeat until all the apple slices have been covered.

We ate this as our afternoon snack but this would be fabulous for breakfast...

It would also be great over bananas!

Apple Cranberry Loaf with Pumpkin Pie Spiced Sugar

So, you've gone apple picking with the kids -- or friends kids... or the boyfriend or the family dog and you've once again come home with more apples than you know what to do with... Apple pies are good and lovely but you can only make so many... and you can only eat so much without spending every waking hour on the treadmill. And your children's teachers don't have any more room left on their desks for the sweet, crisp apples you have kindly given them...

Yes, you have bowls of apples strategically placed around the house to give a fall-like ambiance to your decor. But if not used they will start to break down... and they must be used within... a certain amount of time. And you have some cranberries because you like to decorate with them too and they are on sale... and you realize that apples and cranberries make the perfect combination. It is fall, after all, and the oven is beckoning you... and there is nothing as soothing or as comforting as the aromas of fresh baking from the oven... especially when the aroma comes from apples and cinnamon and sugar...

Ingredients:

2 apples, peeled, cored and cut into bite sized pieces
2 cups of fresh cranberries
1 cup plus 1 tbs sugar
1/8 cup water
2 cups flour
2 eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
In a saucepan place cranberries, water and 1 tbs sugar
Bring to boil and then turn heat off. Let simmer a few minutes. You will hear cranberries start to pop
Meanwhile prep apples
In a large mixing bowl add sugar and oil and beat high until smooth and pale yellow. Add eggs, vanilla and baking powder. Mix well.
Add flour, mix well.
Add apples and cranberries with all the juices.
Mix well. Batter should be moist but not too wet. If too wet add small amounts of flour. If by chance it is too dry add a couple of tablespoons of milk or water.

Place well mixed dough into a well-greased loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour, checking for done-ness with toothpick. (Depending on calibration of your oven you may need a few more minutes.)




My youngest thought the cranberries to be a bit tart. I sprinkled some Pumpkin Pie Spiced Sugar over the warm bread and let it all melt in. It was divine! Pumpkin Pie Spiced Sugar is a wonderful substitute to ordinary Cinnamon Sugar.

Pumpkin Pie Spiced Sugar

1/4 Cup granulated sugar
4 - 5 tbs  Pumpkin Pie Spice
Mix well. Store in airtight jar. If the flavor is too strong or too sweet, adjust either the spices or the sugar.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins... hot out of the oven!

Nothing says fall like apples. Nothing speaks to me like apples cooking... It's my all-time favorite scent. Warm apples... cinnamon... brown sugar.... If I'd had enough apples I would have baked a pie... or an apple crisp... or cobbler. But I only had three. And truth be told they were almost past their prime. So I decided to cut them up, let them sit in a little brown sugar and cinnamon and toss them in to some muffin batter. The best part of these muffins was that the work was done at night. I simply took the batter and placed it in the refrigerator overnight. All I had to do this morning was scoop them out into muffin tins and bake them! These apple cinnamony delights were gobbled up in no time!

Ingredients:

3 apples, peeled, cored and cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 cup, plus 1 tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbs butter
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup lowfat milk
2 1/2 cups of unbleached flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375

In a medium sized bowl add cut up apples and 1 tbs of brown sugar and cinnamon, set aside.
In a large bowl add butter, oil and brown 1/2 cup brown sugar, mix well.
Add eggs, vanilla and mix well.
Add baking powder
Add alternating, 1/2 the flour, milk, 1/2 of the flour and combine well.
Fold in apples and all the cinnamon and brown sugar.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap overnight or scoop into muffin tins and bake for about 20 minutes.
If left in fridge over night, take out batter about 15 minutes prior to baking to bring to room temperature.


let cool before serving and enjoy!

Cinnamon Apple, Raisin and Cranberry Oatmeal -- A Breakfast to Warm Your Soul!

 

We're always in a rush, it seems, these days. We never seem to have the time for a proper breakfast. As the kids race out the door I toss assorted granola bars their way. Too much sugar, I know. I do make the effort to read ingredients in the stores so that I know that they are loading up on protein, minerals and fiber. So all is not lost. It's not like I'm tossing cookies their way. Close, but not quite.

On Saturday we had to leave the house, for two wakes sadly, at Noon. I need to get something filling in to the children. I needed something that would not leave them feeling empty and hungry an hour later. They love oatmeal (not the instant crap) but get bored with it. I decided if I added lots of "goodies" to the mix they'd be a bit more enthusiastic.

I tossed in some dried cranberries, raisins and apples. I had the apples sit in a mixture of cinnamon and brown sugar for a while so that the apples would be nice and sweet before I even cooked the oatmeal.

I made enough oatmeal, (following the directions on the box) for all of us. I added a handful of raisins and cranberries to the water as I let it boil so the fruit would plump up and get juicy.

As the water rolled to a boil I added the oats, the seasoned apples and oodles of brown sugar.

Our wholesome breakfast tasted more like dessert! Not a drop was left over!

Ingredients:

Old Fashioned oats, NOT the quick cook version -- followed recipe for 4 people
1/2 Cup of raisins

1/2 Cup of dried cranberries
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, seeded and cut into small cubes
3Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon of brown sugar (or to taste)
1 Teaspoon of cinnamon

I'm Smitten with this Fabulous Apple Cake!

I made the most amazing and moist and delicious apple cake today. I've been looking for recipes for my $45 worth of hand picked apples. And yesterday I landed on this recipe by the Smitten Kitchen. It is to die for good. It is to die for amazing! My only regret was having not really read the recipe yesterday. I had all the ingredients except for the tube pan. So I used a Springform. It took a little longer to cook the inside and the bottom outside edges got a little overdone. But it doesn't matter now. I still think the cake was divine. Amazing. One of my all-time favorites! But next time I will make it using a tube pan.

Jewish Apple Cake

6 apples, her Mom uses McIntosh apples (I used freshly picked Macouns)

1 tablespoon cinnamon
5 tablespoons sugar
2 3/4 cups flour, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
1 cup walnuts, chopped - optional (I used them and pulsed them through a food processor)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tube pan.
Peel, core and chop apples into chunks. (Because the skin on the Macoun was so thin I did not peel the apples)
Toss with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.

Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones, then add eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated.
Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Spread half of apples over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean.

We served it warm... and it was oh so ooh la la delish!!!

A is for Apple (muffins)

School is but a day or two away. Most likely you will want to spend the last day of summer outside, in the yard, at the beach or park with family and friends. Unless it's raining where you live. Or you have a sick little one. Then you'll want to bake. Why not bake something healthy and nutritious and delicious? Give the kids this treat before school starts tomorrow. You'll thank me!

Ingredients:

1 cup of granulated sugar

1 cup of brown sugar

3 cups of flour, unbleached

2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 cup of canola oil

2 eggs

1 tsp of vanilla

1 cup of unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup of skim or 1% milk

2 small or 1 large apple cut into 1/4 inch pieces (leave the skins on for extra fiber!)

1 cup of raisins (dried cranberries could be substituted)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

- In a large mixing bowl add your dry ingredients, mix well
- Add eggs, oil, milk and vanilla, mix well
- Stir in apples and raisins

Line muffin tins with paper liners or spray with a non-stick cooking spray.

Fill each cup about 3/4 to the top.

Bake for about 25 minutes.

(My muffin tins are 2 different sizes. This made 48 muffins, medium and large.)

We gobbled up a few initially and then placed the rest in a Ziplock bag and tossed them into the freezer. For future use.)

Deep Fried Apple Oatmeal

Ok, so it's not really deep fried. Nor is it as unhealthy as it sounds! But this spur of the moment concoction was as delicious as any deep fried dish should be!


Ingredients:

*Oats, enough for 4 servings, about 2 cups
*Water, 3 1/2 cups plus 4 Tbs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
6 tbs of brown sugar
3 tbs. butter
2 crisp apples such as Granny Smith or Pink Lady
1 handful of raisins
1 handful of cranberries

* Be sure to follow the cooking directions as listed on your particular oats box.

We had just gotten back from Maine. The kids were hungry. They did not want cereal. Christopher requested oatmeal with apples. I would have to somehow divvy up the one apple to serve four. I rummaged through my Well Stocked Pantry to find the oatmeal and brown sugar. I had one lone apple (that I did not eat on the car ride home.)

I cut up my crunchy and delicious Pink Lady into thin slices. I then Tossed them into my non-stick Calphalon pan with about 2 tbs. of butter, 4 tbs. of brown sugar and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon.

I let the butter melt then I added the sugar and cinnamon and mixed well. Then I added approximately 4 tbs. of water and tossed in the apples and let them simmer in the sugary, buttery goodness.




In a pan I measured enough water for 4 servings of oatmeal. I used Quaker Oats, NOT the quick cook variety. When the water came to a boil I tossed in the oats, a generous handful of raisins and a generous handful of dried cranberries and let it all cook. I am a stirrer. For fear of sticky oatmeal I stir the pot constantly. After about 7 minutes or so (it does take longer when you double the portion) I added 2 more tbs. of brown sugar into the oats, turned the heat up until the water evaporated.

When the oats were done I removed the pan from the heat and set it aside.

Back to the apples. When they were done --the burnt (caramelized) ones were the best -- I removed them from the pan and set them aside. I then poured the oatmeal in to the sugary buttery deliciousness and mixed it up so that the oatmeal and the sugar mixture were well blended. I placed the apples on top.

This was a HUGE hit and one that will be made on many a school morning! Next time I will be sure to use more apples!

Warm Applesauce with Homemade Granola

I had a bag of Macintosh apples sitting on the counter. I bought them to use for baking. I'm not a huge fan of them raw. Picked off the tree they are close to being the perfect apple, but as soon as they separate from the branch and end up at the store they've become too mealy for my liking. They are, for me, the perfect cooking apple, however.

I decided to make some applesauce yesterday. I had just whipped up a batch of our all time favorite granola and thought that the granola might taste quite nice sprinkled over some warm apple sauce. I was envisioning a healthier version of an apple crisp -- one of my all time favorite desserts next to apple pie.

So I cut my macs in half. I do not have an apple corer. I have always meant to get one but never have. Instead I used my melon baller. And it worked wonderfully! I just scooped out the seeds and the stems came right off.

I love to cook the apples with their skins on. I love the color the skins turn the apple sauce. And also, I am pretty darned lazy! Once the apples have cooked and cooled the skins peel right off -- no vegetable peeler or knife needed!

I just added some water to my large pot. About 2 cups.

Then I added my apples (use 10 -12) to the boiling water

I placed 2 Tbs of ground cinnamon* into the water and let cook about 20 minutes.

If there is too much water left over do not worry, just place the apples in a colander and let the water drain. On the other hand, if you see your pot needing more water add about a cup to the apples.

The apples, when done, should mash like a mashed potato.

Remove the apples from the pot and place in a colander to drain.

Let cool.

Add about 2 Tbs. of brown sugar -- taste while you add as this should not be overly sweet.

Remove skins prior to or after mashing.

Depending on how you like your texture you may want to use a ricer, a potato masher or simply a fork.

*If the applesauce appears too brown you may want to wait and add your cinnamon after the apples have cooked. I just like the extra flavor you get from the cooked cinnamon.

Caramel Apple Cookies

As soon as I saw these caramel bits (at Tarjay, of course!) I knew exactly what I was going to do with them! (If you hop over to my other blog, you'll see all the other fun things I picked up over there as well!)

I made two varieties for this experiment. Both were good but the oatmeal version were outstanding. If you want to bake up a batch with and without the oatmeal simply cut the amount of oats in half and add to half the batch.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cup of flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

3/4 Cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature

3/4 Cup packed brown sugar

3/4 granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 Cup rolled oats

2 cups of dried apples, diced

1 package of Kraft Caramel bits (minus whatever you have already eaten!)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. In a large bowl combined softened butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla

3. Add flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Mix well

4. Fold in apples and caramel bits and oats

5. Drop by large spoonfuls (or small ice cream scoop) onto ungreased baking sheet -- If you have silicone baking sheets I would recommend them for this!

6. Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned at the edges

7. Let cool in fridge before removing. (Caramel when hot is very sticky and if you attempt to remove the cookies before they have hardened the caramel will stick to the baking sheet and the cookies will crumble apart. They will still be tasty but not so pretty!)

8. Makes 3 -4 dozen depending on their size!

A is for Apple pancakes

I made the kids a special breakfast for their first morning back to school. Since we are very limited on time I used a packaged pancake mix. I prefer Aunt Jemima. I followed the directions on the box substituting fresh apple cider for the milk and I added 1 cup of chunky organic apple sauce. The pancakes were so light and fluffy!

Directions:

Heat pan, griddle or skillet, coat with butter or a non-stick spray.
Prepare pancakes per direction on the box substituting the apple cider for the milk
Add 1 cup of applesauce.
Mix well
Using a small scoop (like you would use for making cookies) place scoopfuls of mix on to the pan, skillet or griddle. Be sure to leave a good bit of space in between each pancake to ensure room for flipping!
As soon as the pancake puffs up you can flip it over. When they are golden brown they can be removed from the griddle.

Serve immediately with fresh maple syrup!

Strawberry Apple Breakfast Loaf

If you think strawberries and apples do not seem a likely pair -- think of strawberry applesauce. It's pretty tasty. This is even better. We added raisins to our because my youngest was baking with me. He has to add raisins to everything. If you wish to leave the raisins off your list of ingredients feel free to do so, but they were wonderful!

I am baking up a breakfast storm. Cooking up (and freezing) pancakes, muffins, breads, French Toast, etc so that starting next week I can pull something out of the freezer and heat it quickly. Mornings are crazy as it is and my daughter won't eat eggs or cereal. Toast is boring. So I am baking up batches of breakfast goodies now so that I can use them later.

One of the items I baked today was this breakfast loaf. We all had a small sample and it was deelish!

2 Cups unbleached flour

3 large eggs

1 1/2 Cups of sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 Cup of canola

1/2 pt strawberries, cleaned, hulled and diced

1 Cup spiced apple chunks or chunky applesauce

1 Cup raisins, optional

Preheat oven 350

Mix eggs and sugar
Add vanilla, baking powder, mix well

Add flour and oil, mix well

Fold in fruit and pour in to loaf pan

Bake 1 hr, 15 minutes until nicely brown

Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 15 minutes or so before removing from pan -- Let cool further once removed from pan as it will be easier to slice when cool to the touch.

Apricot Apple Mini Muffins

I love the combination of cooked apples and apricots in muffins. There is almost enough fruit in these mini muffins to count as a serving! I will be bringing these to Alexander's preschool play date/orientation tomorrow. These bite sized treats should be a big hit!

2 Cups unbleached flour

1 1/2 Cups sugar

2 lg. eggs

3/4 Cup canola oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. baking soda

5 small apricot peeled, pitted and cut into small pieces

1 Cup spiced apple chunks or chunky applesauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine eggs and sugar, mix well

Add vanilla, baking soda, mix well

Add oil and flour, mix well

Fold in apricots and apples

Cook for approximately 25 minutes, until golden brown

Let cool for 20 minutes before serving

Makes 24 nicely sized mini muffins

The Perfect Kid-friendly After School Snack

Mu kids love apples and peanut butter. My kids love apples and honey. They love apples and honey and peanut butter too. Toss in a few raisins and we have a healthy treat that is a fun snack as well. My kids are really into how food is presented. Aren't we, after all, too? Restaurants strive for the perfect presentation. I started making this simple flower by arranging the apple slices in a circular pattern around the edge of the plate. The spoon serves as the stem and the center of the flower. The raisins are the embelishment. For fun variety we use colorful paper plates and plastic spoons. Sometimes the kids dip the apple slices in to the peanut butter. Other times they save the peanut butter for last and lick it off the spoon. Personally, that's my favorite way to eat peanut butter. If you or your child suffers from a peanut butter sensitivity or allergy sunflower and soybean butters work as a great subsitute.

Apple Crisp

I love apple crisp and could eat it every day warm, just out of the oven topped off with a scoop of Haagen Dazs Vanilla ice cream. This dish lends itself wonderfully to the cool Winter temperatures, and yet a wonderful way to end a Springtime meal outside on the porch in the twilight.

1/2 Cup all purpose flour

1 Cup old fashioned oats

1 Cup light brown sugar

2 tbs. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 Cup cold butter, cut into small pieces

8 large *Granny Smiths, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4 inch slices

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, rub in butter until the mixture resembles very coarse crumbs.

Place apples in a large, shallow baking dish, sprinkle with lemon juice and cover with oat mixture. Bake until the top is browned and the apples are tender (about 45 minutes)

Serve warm or at room temperature

If you live in an area where local apples are available for picking in the fall by all means go local. It's better for the environment and you are supporting local economy. My kids and I love to go apple picking. We turn this daytime activity into a dinnertime/cooking activity. Just be sure to use apples that are firm enough to hold up in the oven.

For a little variety add in 1 Cup of fresh cranberries or raisins