Caramel-Spiced Apple Butter

I am so happy Fall is here! I love autumn flavors and colors and the bright crisp in the air. Recently, my co-worker was telling me about her canning equipment. "That sounds so cool!" I said, "I would love to make my own apple butter..." The next day she brought me her canning pot, rack, tongs and a great recipe book by Ball. I was so excited to experiment! I ended up making a caramel-spiced apple butter, perfect for sunday morning toast.

I used a recipe from Ball Jar's Blue Book. Here is a similar one. It is exactly the same except I used 3 lbs of apples instead of 4, and cut the rest of the ingredient in half.

It yielded 3, 1/2 pint jars. These are great holiday gifts for friends or family. Enjoy!

Apple Crisp

I don't normally bake, but today I looked over at my fruit basket and saw a high pile of apples that I left for Adam when I was out of town this week (he did not eat any of them!) So, I instantly thought to make apple crisp because it's gooey and delicious and I love that crunchy topping. Plus, my favorite part — no pie crust to worry about! This is a spectacular dessert and very easy, even for an amateur baker like me.

You start with some cinnamon sugar mixture tossed with about 7 peeled sliced apples.

Then the streusel topping. Flour, brown sugar, butter and oats!

And into the oven it goes at 350 for about an hour. And it comes out like this: Hot and bubbly and crisp on top.

And of course, a la mode is highly recommended.

Yummmmmm.

Note: I did sort of step-by-step photos for this recipe because it was easy to transport the baking dish to my large window in my living room. I usually don't show step-by-step photos when I cook because it is too difficult to take the pan, skillet, saucepan to the living room every step for a photo. I hope I have a window in my next kitchen! Let me know if you like the step-by-step or not. I will try to do more if you do. Enjoy!

Apple crisp

via joy the baker

about 7 apples, any type will do, peeled, cored and sliced

3 tbs sugar plus 1.5 tsp cinnamon mixture

Topping:

1 1/3 cup flour

1 1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 stick butter, slightly softened

1 Preheat oven to 350. In an 8x8 baking dish, arrange a layer of apples and top with some cinnamon/sugar mixture. Repeat, alternating apples with cinnamon/sugar until all apples and remaining mixture are in the baking dish. Toss all together.

2 In a separate bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon and butter. Using your hands, mix well together until butter is evenly mixed throughout. Take a handful and mix the topping in with the apples. Sprinkle the rest on top, covering all the apples.

3 Bake for about an hour until bubbly and hot. You might want to bake it on top of a baking dish in case the liquid bubbles over while baking. Serve warm with ice cream.

Apple-Cinnamon Coffee Cake

I still have apples left, can you believe it? After using some to sauté with cinnamon and butter, I decided to make an apple cinnamon cake with crunchy pecan topping for my mom. Just 'cause. I found a great recipe and I loooove the crunchy topping. It's the best part. I ate the topping and just picked at the cake part, even though it was tasty.

Next time I have apples laying around, I think I will try an apple crisp — more crunch. What's your favorite way to use up apples?

On a side note, don't you love this baking dish? It's so bright and festive. Love it. Always puts me in a good mood when I use it.

Apple-Cinnamon coffee Cake

adapted by my recipes

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk, I used skim

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 cup sliced apples

Streusel

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Stir. In a separate bowl, combine milk, melted butter, vanilla, and egg.

2 Add wet ingredients slowly to the dry and stir until just moist.

3 Pour batter into an 8 or 10 inch baking dish.

4 Arrange sliced apples in a circular pattern on top of the batter.

5 Prepare the streudel by mixing the brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans and cut butter until it resembles clumpy sand.

6 Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the batter and apples. Bake for 45 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean from the center.

Sautéed Apples with Butter and Cinnamon

I bought a big bag of red delicious apples and besides eating them whole as a snack I wanted to make something with the remaining 3 I had left. Then cracker barrel popped in my head, as it often does, and I thought "sautéed apples!" I peeled and sliced up the 3 apples I had, sauteed them with butter until soft, then seasoned with cinnamon. You see that brown sugary syrup in the pan? That's the good stuff you want. MMM-mmm. It was a nice little side dish or can even be served as dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Delicious, fast and versatile!

Soft sliced apples with butter and cinnamon

3 apples, any type, peeled and sliced

1-2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 Heat a skillet over medium high heat and throw in the sliced apples and butter. Sauté until soft, about 3 minutes.

2 Season with cinnamon, stir and serve!