Apples with Toffee Dip

I was introduced to this yummy fall treat years ago when we were grad students in Connecticut. Our dear friend Lynnette was such a gourmet cook that it was always great when she shared something so simple like this that I could put together. She has inspired me to learn more about cooking and enjoying it over the years of our friendship. Here is her recipe word for word:

Every time I make this I get requests for the recipe, so here it is. I know it seems a little pampered chef-like, but I promise it's really good. Don't use fat free cream cheese because it turns into a watery mess. Also, the toffee bits will eventually dissolve, so you might want to wait to stir them in at the last minute. 

¾ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (8-ounce block) 1/3-less fat cream cheese, softened

¾ cup toffee bits

apples for dipping

Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl, beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add toffee bits, mix well. Cover and chill.

Apple Crisp

Nothing says its fall like the smells of apples baking in the oven! Here is one of our favorite classics.

Apple Crisp

Apple Filling (What I use for my freezer apple crisp filling in the fall)

6 cups cored, sliced, peeled apples

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons All-purpose flour or 1 Tablespoon quick Tapioca

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8-1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Mix together all ingredients and pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan.

Topping

1 cup oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup chopped pecans, optional

1/2 cup butter, melted

Mix together well and crumble over the apple filling. Bake as desired-oven or crock-pot.

I put this in the oven at 350 for 45 minutes or in my crockpot for 2 hours on high or 4 hours on low.

Serve warm or cold, but at our house its always al-a-mode!

Crock Pot Caramel Apples

Every year I remember my mom making three things around Halloween or on Halloween night-Homemade chili, breadsticks, and caramel apples. She always makes hers from scratch and so did I until I tried this simple crock pot method. Nothing tops homemade caramel, but this recipe wins my heart because it was so kid friendly and the boys could work with the caramel and learn to dip them because the caramel was the perfect temperature.

Crock Pot Caramel Apples

Ingredients:

• 2 packages (14oz each) caramels

• 1/4 cup water

• 8 medium apples, such as McIntosh, Gala, or Fuji

• sticks for apples

In slow cooker, combine caramels and water. Cover and cook on high for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until caramels are melted, stirring frequently.

Meanwhile, line a baking pan with wax paper; butter the paper.

Wash and dry the apples. Insert a stick into stem end of each apple. Reduce crockpot heat to LOW.

Note: If the caramel does happen to scorch, put it through a mesh strainer and discard any dark particles. Put the sauce into a saucepan or back into the cleaned slow cooker and keep warm while you dip the apples.

Dip apple into hot caramel; turn to coat entire surface. Holding apple above pot, scrape off excess accumulation of caramel from bottom apple.
Place coated apples on prepared wax paper in pan. As you near the bottom of the pot, use a spoon to spoon hot caramel over apples. Put the pan of coated apples in the refrigerator to set thoroughly. Use caution if children are helping; the crockpot will probably be quite hot to the touch and the caramel could scald.

Makes 8 caramel apples-med to large in size. (I got almost 20 *small apples) *If I can get this size of apples again I will always use them. They were the perfect size for eating without getting the caramel all over your face. I also didn't feel bad about allowing my kids to eat the entire apple.

I will have to post my mom's caramel apple recipe later.

Praline-Apple Bread (Southern Living)

**Picture coming soon (Have the picture; need to find the disk!)

As promised I'm sharing the recipe I tried for Apple Bread. I personally didn't give this a 5 star, but many of the friends I shared it will loved it and asked me for the recipe. I thought it would be sweeter, more like a Banana Bread or Zucchini Bread. One friend suggested it might be that the apples I used might not have been as ripe or juicy as another variety. (I can't tell you what variety it was because they were off my sister-in-laws tree and they don't know what kind there are-came with the house;-) ) Give it a shot and if you have suggestions and thoughts on how to improve this bread, please share! Maybe I should have tried the Granny's!

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, divided (I cut cost here and only used 3/4- 1 cup)

1 (8 oz) container sour cream

2 large eggs

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups finely chopped, peel Granny Smith apples (about 3/4 lb)

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Bake 1/2 cup pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 6 to 8 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring after 4 minutes.

Beat sour cream and next 3 ingredients at low speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes or until blended. Stir together flour and next 3 ingredients. Add to sour cream mixture beating just until blended. Stir in apples and 1/2 cup toasted pecans. Spoon batter into greased and floured 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup chopped pecans; lightly press pecans into batter.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour to 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted comes out clean, shielding with aluminum foil after 50 minutes to prevent excessive browning. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.

Bring butter and brown sugar to a boil in a 1 quart heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stirring constantly; boil 1 minute. Remove from heat, and spoon over top of bread; let cool completely (about 1 hour).

Note: To freeze bread, cool completely; wrap in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil. Freeze up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.

Southern Living Magazine September 2009 P. 120

Microwave Applesauce

My sister-in-law Echo gave me this recipe when I was telling her I was going to make applesauce with my boys "Joy School" this week. It was so fun. The kids had fun helping peel, core, and slice the apples with the little apple core machine. They gobbled it up asking for seconds and thirds. The four children would have eaten the entire recipe had I allowed it. I highly recommend this recipe if you like apple treats. We ate it warm! What a great fall snack, treat, or dessert. I love that it is simple and quick as well.

3 Golden Delicious Apples

3 Fuji Apples (Have also used Gala)

1 cup Apple juice (I used 1 Capri sun 100% juice pouch)

2 Tablespoons butter or margarine

3 Tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Peel, core and quarter apples (I used my apple peeler/core/slicer.) Combine everything in a microwave safe bowl with a lid. Place lid on bowl and leave on side partially opened for a vent (or use plastic wrap with a vent hole). Microwave on high for 10 minutes. Mash with a potato masher to desired consistency.