Apple Crumble

Many years ago, I was in a sorority in college.  At the end of the year, we put together cookbooks and each girl got to take one home.  There was a recipe similar to this in my cookbook...however over the years I seem to have lost the cookbook.  Who knows where it could be, but one place it isn't is my recipe cupboard.  Oh well, that meant that now I had to try to figure it out on my own.  

After a few tries, I think I got it right!  This dessert is perfect for a crisp fall night.  Believe me, you will want to make this over and over again.

Ingredients:

5 medium apples - pealed, cored, and diced

1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon

pinch of salt

1/4 cup water

1 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 cube) butter at room temperature

Place your diced apples is a shallow baking dish.  You can use a 9x13 or any other dish of similar size.

Sprinkle the cinnamon and salt on top of the apples. 

Now pour the water on top and stir to distribute all that cinnamon.  Be careful not to spill those apples.

In a separate bowl, add flour, sugar and butter.  

Notice that I'm not using any oats.  That's why this is a crumble and not a crisp.  I'm sure if you like oats you can think of a way to incorporate them.  However,  give this a try first.  I think you'll like it just the way it is.   Anyway.....

Using a fork or a pastry cutter, mix until a crumbly mixture forms.

Sprinkle the flour mixture on top of the apples.  You can lightly press down if you need to, but really you should be just fine sprinkling it evenly over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Your apples should be nice and tender and the topping crisp and golden.

Serve while warm, and add some vanilla ice cream or a huge scoop of fresh whipped cream.  Believe me, you will be coming back for seconds!

Caramel Apples

Do you know what my favorite part of any Fair is? I'll give you one guess - and no, it's not the rides.

By far, it is the caramel apples. Ooey gooey outside with a crunchy juicy center...mmmm. I just lapsed back into childhood memories...

Well, I decided to share some of this wonderful goodness with my family. My girls and I decided to make Caramel Apples. I know this is generally thought of as a Fall treat, but really these never go out of season. I once got a Caramel Apple as a Christmas gift and I loved it!

Ingredients:

1 14 oz package caramels - or use the 11 oz pkg of caramel bits

2 Tb. heavy cream

5 medium or 3 large apples

popsicle sticks

white chocolate chips - optional

semi-sweet chocolate chips - optional

Wash and thoroughly dry all of your apples. Some people like really tart apples for this - I, however, do not. I think we used Fuji or Jonagold - slightly tart, but not too tart.

Once the apple are dry, insert a popsicle stick into the top of the apple.

Now, unwrap all of the caramels and place in a large saucepan. This is where the caramel chips come in really handy. However, regular caramels were on sale, so we went with them.

Add the cream and turn the stove on medium to medium-low heat. This will be fairly quick if you have the caramel bits.

Stir constantly so it doesn't burn, until all the caramels are melted. Now you're ready to dip those apples.

Dip your apple until most (but not all) of the apple is coated. I like to twirl mine around over the pot of caramel so that all the excess will drip back in for future use.

Once the apple is dipped, place it on a cookie sheet covered in wax paper. Continue with all the other apples.

Place the apples in the fridge until they get nice and cold. We actually dipped ours in the afternoon and then put them in the fridge overnight. Just don't leave them in for days - not good as the apple and the caramel will both get soggy.

Now you're wondering what to do with the extra caramel - you know, when there isn't quite enough to dip another apple but still enough that you don't want it to go to waste.

Well, cut up another apple and dip the wedges into that extra caramel. Think of it as a taste test of sorts.

Once your apples have had a chance to cool down, you'll want to prepare your chocolates. Put your chocolate chips in a small microwavable bowl - white in one bowl, regular in another. You're only going to need about 1/2 cup of each kind.

Microwave each bowl on high for about 30 seconds. Stir and microwave another 15 seconds if needed.

Place the softened chocolate into a small zip-lock sandwich bag. Cut the corner off the bag (not too large of a cut) and squeeze the bag to drizzle each apple with semi-sweet chocolate and then white chocolate.

Put the apples back into the fridge and allow the chocolate to harden. The apples are easier to remove from the wax paper when they are cold.

Once the chocolate has hardened, you are ready to eat!

How do you like them apples?!

Caramel Apple Cider

Apple Cranberry Pie

*Posted by Tuesdee