It's Apple Season!

It’s apple season!

So many wonderful things to make with apples and so little time!

The orchards have started their fall schedules, and the weather feels a bit more “fall-ish”, especially in the mornings.

This week, try a new recipe and maybe a new apple or two!

Big-Batch Apple-Cinnamon Pancakes

Active Time: 10 min.

Total Time: 50 min.

Servings: 12

2-1/2 C all-purpose flour  

2 T. baking powder 

3/4 tsp. kosher salt 

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 

1/4 C., plus 1 T. granulated sugar, divided 

2 C. whole milk 

1/2 C. sour cream 

6 T. unsalted butter, melted 

1 tsp. vanilla extract 

2 lg. eggs 

1-2 Honeycrisp apples, thinly sliced (about 2 C.) 

Maple syrup and butter, for serving 

Preheat oven to 425°F. Grease a 13- x 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and 1/4 C. of the sugar in a large bowl. Create a well in center of dry ingredients; whisk in milk, sour cream, melted butter, vanilla, and eggs just until combined. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven until puffed, about 6 minutes. Stir together apple slices and remaining 1 T. sugar in a medium bowl. Top pancake evenly with apple mixture, and continue baking until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving. Slice and serve with maple syrup and butter.

Instant Pot® Applesauce

Active Time: 15 min.

Total Time: 1 hr. 50 min.

Servings: 16 

1-1/2 lbs. Honeycrisp or other sweet apples (about 3 med), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

1-1/2 lbs. Granny Smith or other tart apples (about 3 med), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

1/2 C. water

2 T. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 C. packed dark brown sugar

Stir together apples, water, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a programmable pressure multicooker (such as Instant Pot®). Cover cooker with lid, and lock in place. Turn steam release handle to sealing position. Select manual/pressure cook setting. Select high pressure for 5 minutes. 

When cooking has finished, let the pressure release naturally for 20 minutes. Carefully turn steam release handle to venting position, and let steam fully escape This will take 1 to 2 minutes. Remove lid from cooker.

Mash apples or blend: 

For a chunky applesauce, mash apples with a potato masher until desired consistency is reached. For a smoother applesauce, use an immersion blender to blend until smooth (or, alternatively, transfer to a blender and blend until smooth).

Add sugar, and cool: 

Stir in brown sugar; let cool completely, about 1 hour, before storing in airtight container up to one week.

Apple & Cranberry Roasted Chicken

Prep Time:  10 min.

Total Time:  55 min.

Servings: 4

1 C. frozen or fresh cranberries

2 T. packed light brown sugar

1 T. cornstarch

2 tsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce

1/2 C. plus 1 T. dry white wine, divided

6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 T. extra-virgin olive oil

1 lg. shallot, very thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 C. low-sodium chicken broth

2 Honeycrisp apples, cored, cut into 8 wedges

1 T. chopped fresh thyme leaves, plus more for serving

Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for serving

Preheat oven to 425°. In a medium bowl, toss cranberries, brown sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce, and 1 T. wine.

Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a large, high-sided skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. Cook chicken, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, 5 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.

Reduce heat to medium. Pour off all but 1 T. fat in skillet. Cook shallot, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until garlic and shallot are fragrant and light golden, about 1 minute more.

Add remaining 1/2 C. wine, increase heat to high, and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is mostly evaporated, about 2 minutes. Pour in broth and bring to a boil.

Add apple and cranberry mixture, scraping any extra sugar mixture in bottom of bowl into skillet, and stir to combine. Nestle chicken skin side up into skillet and sprinkle with thyme.

Bake until chicken is cooked through and fruit is tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Top with parsley and more thyme.

Baked Apples

Prep Time: 10 min.

Total Time: 50 min.

Servings: 4 

6 T. unsalted butter, diced and softened

1/2 C. old fashioned oats

6 T.  light brown sugar

1/4 C. dried cranberries 

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

4 medium Honeycrisp apples

1/4 C. apple cider

2 T. honey

Ice cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 375°. Combine the butter, oats, sugar, cranberries, cinnamon, and salt with your fingertips in a medium bowl until well combined. Set aside.

Using a paring knife, cut out the core and stem of each apple, leaving the bottom about 1/2-inch of the apple intact. Using a small spoon or grapefruit spoon, scoop out any remaining core and seeds to form about a 3 T. cavity in each apple. Stuff each apple with an equal amount of the oat mixture.

Pour the apple cider and honey into the bottom of a pie plate; whisk to combine. Arrange the apples, crumb side up, in the pie plate. Bake until the apples are tender when pierced with a fork, 30 to 40 minutes, basting the sides of the apples (avoiding oat filling) every 15 minutes with apple cider mixture from the bottom of the pie plate. Serve warm with big scoops of ice cream. 

Apple Cider Donut Cake

Prep Time: 15 min.

Total Time: 1 hr. 5 min.

Servings: 10-12 

1 1/4 C. granulated sugar, divided

1/2 C. light brown sugar

1 C. chunky applesauce, room temperature 

1 C. apple cider, room temperature

3 lg. eggs, room temperature

3/4 C. vegetable oil

2 tsp. vanilla extract 

3 C. all-purpose flour

2-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Baking spray with flour

1/4 C. unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, whisk together 1 C. of granulated sugar, light brown sugar, applesauce, apple cider, eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla until well combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, 1-1/2 tsp. of cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg until well combined. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the apple cider mixture, mixing until just combined.

Spray a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan with baking spray with flour. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a wooden pick comes out with a few moist crumbs, 50 to 55 minutes. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Place a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/4 C. of granulated sugar with the remaining 1 tsp. of cinnamon.

Invert the warm cake onto the prepared rack. Brush the cake with the melted butter and sprinkle it thoroughly with the cinnamon sugar, pressing to adhere. Let the cake cool completely before slicing and serving.

Butterscotch-Cornflake Apple Crisp

Prep Time: 30 min.

Total Time: 1 hr. 30 min.

Servings: 4-6

Crisp:

3 lg. crisp red apples (about 3 pounds), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces

1/3 C. granulated sugar

2 T. fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. kosher salt, divided

3/4 C. all-purpose flour

1/4 C. packed lt. brown sugar

1/2 C. salted butter, cubed, at room temperature

1-1/2 c. cornflakes

Butterscotch Sauce:

4 T. salted butter

1/2 C. packed dk. brown sugar

1/2 C. heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Butter pecan ice cream, for serving

Crisp: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. In a large bowl, toss the apples with the granulated sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Scrape the apples and juices into a 2-quart baking dish.

In the same bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and remaining 1/4 tsp. salt. Add the butter and mash with your fingers until the butter is incorporated and crumbs form. Add the cornflakes and use your hands to fold the cornflakes into the mixture. Squeeze into clumps and sprinkle over the apples in the baking dish.

Place the baking dish on the prepared baking sheet and bake until the crisp is golden and bubbling, 55 to 60 minutes. (Cover loosely with foil for the last 15 minutes if the top is getting too brown.) Let cool about 10 minutes.

Butterscotch sauce: In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool about 10 minutes.

Drizzle the apple crisp with some of the butterscotch sauce. Serve with ice cream and the remaining sauce. 

Quote of the Week:

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” 

~  Robert Louis Stevenson