Apple – Cinnamon Strudel

I’m not a big fan of apple pie. I can’t really pin point the reason for that as I love apple dumplings, but the facts stand; I really don’t care for apple pie. It is fall, however, and with fall comes apple picking season. And I do love the smell of apples and cinnamon and apples baking. Mmmm… I’m not sure there is a more homey smell.

For a recent family gathering I decided to try apple strudel. I used a recipe I found in Everyday Food magazine. It turned out really well and was gone in minutes. This is best served warm (maybe with cinnamon ice cream) but is very tasty at room temperature, too. (My husband says it is a fabulous breakfast!)

The recipe “serves 6″ but those are really big pieces; you can easily serve 10-12 in my opinion.

Ingredients:
* All-purpose flour, for rolling
* 1 sheet puff pastry (from a 17.3-ounce package), thawed
* 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 3 pounds Gala or Fuji apples (about 6), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
* 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees; line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. On a lightly floured work surface, unfold pastry; roll out to a 12-by-14-inch rectangle. Be sure you reinforce the folds in the pastry or they will split and leak during baking. Place on sheet; refrigerate.

2. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium; reserve 1 tablespoon in a small bowl. To skillet, add apples, 1/2 cup sugar, and cinnamon. Increase heat to medium-high; cook, tossing occasionally, until apples are tender and liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes. Spread filling on a second rimmed baking sheet; let cool completely.

3. With one short side of dough facing you, mound filling horizontally in a strip across the center, leaving a 1-inch border on both long sides. Fold top part, then bottom part of dough over filling. Turn pastry over, seam side down. The easiest way to turn the filled pastry is to have the pastry on a piece of foil. After filling and folding pastry fold foil over the pastry and slowly turn the pastry enclosed in the foil. Bake on the foil to keep your baking sheet clean.

4. Brush pastry with reserved melted butter; sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Using a paring knife, cut steam vents in center of pastry. Bake until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Breakfast Cupcakes with Sausage and Apples

I love recipes that surprise me. And this one really did. First, it was quite easy to make. Second, the sausage and apple combination was delicious. Third, I really love that this can be made in individual portions (as the title suggests) or as one big "griddle cake".

This is a great recipe for your upcoming Mother's Day brunch. But you don't have to wait until then to try it! The recipe came from Cuisine at Home magazine.

Use a jumbo muffin tin for 6 muffins or greased 9" cast iron skillet- it will easily serve 8-10 people.

Ingredients

Cake
* 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
* 1/2 c. cornmeal
* 1/3 c. packed brown sugar
* 1 Tbsp. baking powder
* 1 tsp. baking soda
* 1/8 tsp .kosher salt
* 1/2 c. plain nonfat yogurt or buttermilk
* 1/4 c. milk
* 2 Tbs. vegetable oil
* 2 eggs
* 1 egg white
* 1/2 bulk breakfast sausage
* 1 apple sliced thin ( I like honeycrisp or fuji)
For the Carmel
* 1 c. packed brown sugar
* 1/3 c. heavy cream
* 1/4 c. maple syrup
* 2 Tbs. of a good bourbon or rum (optional)
* 1 tsp. salt


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Coat cups of jumbo muffin tin with nonstick spray, these can be baked in a greased 9 inch cast iron skillet for 30 min.
3. Combine flour, cornmeal, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
4. Combine yogurt, milk, oil, eggs, and egg white in another bowl. Set aside
5. Brown sausage in a skillet about 5 min. remove and drain on paper towel.
6. Whisk brown sugar, cream, syrup,bourbon, and salt for caramel together in a skillet over med high heat, stirring often, Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 min.
7. Stir sausage into flour mixture and add yogurt mixture. Stir just until combined; mixture will be slightly lumpy. Fan apples slices in bottom of cups (make sure each slice has some contact with cup). Divide caramel evenly between cup- about 4 T each cup; top with rounded 1/2 cup of batter.
8. Bake until toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 30 min.
9. Let them cool briefly and run a paring knife around the edge before turning out of muffin tin.

Mmmm... Baked Apples

In October I happened upon Laney Pottery's website and was instantly drawn to their apple bakers. I love baked apples. And since I was looking for affordable and useful gifts for my in-laws for Christmas I figured I had found just what I was looking for.

After receiving rave reviews from my in-laws about their apple bakers I figured I needed to try one for myself. Jayme was kind enough to send one out to me and I have- finally- gotten around to trying it! (Every time I was going to it seemed that all the apples had "disappeared"!)

Well, today the girls and I tried out our apple baker. We used the very easy recipe that Laney Pottery provides. We peeled and cored the apple (I used a small melon baller to core it quickly) and placed it in the apple baker with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon & ground cloves.

After baking for 25 minutes it was ready to eat. Hot from the oven this would be a great side dish or dessert served with caramel, ice cream or whipped cream. But I just cut it to bite sized pieces and my girls eagerly ate it without anything else.

At only $9 each these handy -hand made- apple bakers are a bargain. And they can be made in a variety of colors to match your kitchen. Visit Laney Pottery's website or etsy page to order yours.