Apple Blondies

Imagine if you will, you have an apple, and you throw it into a doughy brownie like batter, pop it into the oven and out comes the unmistakable taste of Apple Pie.

Yeah, something like that.

I know it's not exactly Fall and some people tend to only gravitate towards these kind of desserts, when it's around that season, but for me, food is about eating and enjoying, any time of the year, so I don't even think twice about making some apple cinnamon concoction in Winter, or Summer, or having ice cream in the cold months.  It is what it is :)

I'm going to start by saying that I'm trying to lose some weight, it's not much, about 5 pounds that I seem to inherited from Thanksgiving and Christmas (thank you good food and wine).  This recipe is everything I shouldn't be eating, but I am not one to diet completely, I can't do that, I always lose weight by controlling portions and not over doing certain things, without having to give up the food I love.

I will probably only have one of these, just enough to curb that sweet tooth craving, but I'm pretty certain my husband and children will enjoy the rest :)

The recipe comes from Allrecipes.  I changed it slightly in that I doubled the ingredients and used a 9x13 instead, aside from that everything is the same.

Apple Blondies

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup apples, diced (a tart baking apple is best like granny smith)
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
2 Tablespoons white sugar
2 Tablespoons cinnamon


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a 9 x 9 square dish with cooking spray.
In a bowl, mix together butter, brown sugar & 1/2 cup white sugar.
Add egg, vanilla, cinnamon, salt & baking powder, mix well.
Add flour and mix again. Batter will be thick, don't worry!
Add apples and walnuts if desired and mix well. Batter should begin to thin to more brownie like consistency.
Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan.
In a small dish, mix 2 Tablespoons sugar and 2 Tablespoons of cinnamon. Sprinkle on top of apple mixture.
Bake for 45 minutes or until brownie consistency then remove from oven.
Allow to cool. Once cooled, cut into bars and devour immediately by itself or with a large scoop of ice cream!

Lucky Leaf for Valentine's Day - Review and Giveaway

I've been working with Lucky Leaf for a long time now and before I even started doing so, Lucky Leaf Pie fillings were already my favorite pie fillings to use.

I've tried others before but to me, nothing tastes like homemade like the Lucky Leaf ones.



With Valentine's day right around the corner, this is the perfect time to bake up some delicious goodies to share with your sweetheart, whether that be your significant other, your little ones, friends and family or even for yourself.  We all deserve a little pie in our lives don't we?

Lucky Leaf sent me a few Pie Fillings to try along with some delicious sounding recipes, which I plan on trying, but for this review I decided to go with one of our favorites, Apple Pie.



Ginger Spice Apple Pie and oh my, it is delicious.

So let me show you how it's made and if you're a fan of Apple Pie, you have to try this one :)

Lucky Stars Ginger Spice Apple Tart

1 15-ounce package rolled refrigerated unbaked pie crust (2 crusts)
2 21-ounce cans LUCKY LEAF ® Apple Pie Filling
1/2 cup butter
1 tablespoon finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
Butter-flavor nonstick cooking spray
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Frozen whipped dessert topping, thawed, or vanilla ice cream (optional)
Chopped crystallized ginger (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Let pie crusts stand at room temperature according to package directions. Unroll one of the pie crusts. On a lightly floured surface, roll crust to a 13- to 14-inch circle. Transfer pie crust to a 10x2-inch round tart pan with removable bottom or a 10-inch deep-dish pie plate. Trim crust to the edge of the pan. Set aside.



Don't be afraid of pie.  I used to be and I will tell you right now that I'm not the best baker or pastry maker, it still intimidates me especially when I see those beautiful crusts and lattice work and whatnot, but I've learned to just dive right in and not be scared.  Try it :)



2. Unroll remaining pie crust. Using a 2- to 3-inch star cutter or other desired cutter, make 5 to 6 cutouts in the pastry. Set pastry and cutouts aside.



3. In a large saucepan heat pie filling, butter, 1 tablespoon crystallized ginger, vanilla, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, and fresh ginger over medium heat until butter is melted, gently stirring frequently.

4. Pour apple filling into pastry lined tart pan.



Place the pastry with the cutouts atop the filling. Trim pastry to edge of tart pan and gently press the top pastry to the bottom pastry to seal.



If using a pie plate, fold top pastry under bottom pastry and pinch to seal; crimp edge as desired. Place star cutouts atop the pastry, leaving most of the openings in the crust exposed. Lightly coat pastry with nonstick cooking spray. In a small bowl combine sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon; sprinkle over pastry. Place tart on a foil-lined baking sheet.



5. To prevent overbrowning, cover the edge of the tart or pie with foil. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil. Bake about 10 minutes more or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack about 1 hour.



Remove sides of the tart pan. Serve warm. If desired, top with whipped topping and additional crystallized ginger. Makes 8 servings.



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And now for the Giveaway.  Lucky Leaf are kind enough to be giving one of my readers a package of Lucky Leaf Products...this is what you'll received:

- Lucky Leaf Premium Pie Filling

- The New Bake Your Heart Out Recipe Book

- Crisp mix

- Pot holder

The giveaway is open to US residents only.  I will draw  a winner using Random.org next week Wednesday the 8th.

Just leave me a comment, please make sure there is an email included or a link to your blog or some way for me to contact you if you are the winner.  The winner will have 2 days to claim the prize, if I don't hear back from them, I will draw a new one.

Be sure to like the Lucky Leaf page on Facebook too if you wish, it's not a prerequisite for this giveaway, but they do have many interesting things going on, including some how to video's you may enjoy :)

Good Luck!

Slow Cooker Apple Butter

We're finally getting cooler temps and though I don't know how long they will last, I'm planning on squeezing every available moment out of it.

Fall to me is all about pumpkins, and changing leaves, cooler temps, cinnamon, stews, soups and apple butter.  Yum!

Honestly,  I could buy apple butter and sometimes I still do when I go to the farm to pick pumpkins, but it's SO easy to make at home and tastier too, in my opinion.

Now I know there are a gazillion and one recipes out there floating around for homemade apple butter, on the stove, in the oven, in the crockpot etc.  Some take two days, others take 10 days, but I don't have the patience to wait that long because once my house starts smelling like baked apples and cinnamon it takes everything out of me not to shove my face in that pot.

I've been making this apple butter for years and I don't really have a recipe for it, per say, it's just what I've come up with in my attempt to use both a slow cooker and not have to wait days to taste the result.



Slow cooker Apple Butter

Peeled and cored apples, cut into chunks (If you're going to can the butter or make it for gift giving and want a lot, then just use as many apples as needed to fill the crockpot)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (sometimes I just use all white sugar, so if you don't have brown, then it's fine to omit)
cinnamon
nutmeg
vanilla extract

Fill the crockpot with the apples, add the sugar and sprinkle on cinnamon and nutmeg to taste. Add the vanilla extract, I add about a tablespoon depending on how much I'm making, again just eyeball it and add to taste.

Cover the crockpot and cook on LOW for 8 hours. When it's done cooking, take a potato masher and start mashing the apples. Some people like it chunky, others like it really smooth, if that's how you prefer then just give it a good blitz with an immersion blender. I find that for us, I just mash it with the masher, then mash it again, then again etc until I get it smooth but still has a few little pieces floating around.

Pour into mason jars, put the lid on and set it on the counter overnight. By the time you wake up in the morning, you'll have some delicious apple butter for breakfast :)



I don't need to can these because I didn't make too much, just enough for two small jars and they will be gone FAST.

If you're making a big batch, just remember to can the butter accordingly.

EDIT:  You can use tupperware to store it in as well, it will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 1 week :)

Afternoon Snack - Apple Sandwiches

I love making fun snacks for my kids, I think as with everything else, if the food looks fun or has vibrant colors, it's going to make you want it and enjoy it more.

This was another super quick one for this afternoon.

Nothing to it, just core an apple, slice it into thick slices....smear on some peanut butter then add some mixed nuts and some marshmallow and top with another apple slice.  It's like a little apple sandwich :)

You can also do peanut butter, chocolate chips and mini marshmallows, or leave the marshmallows out, it's up to you.

Enjoy :)

Apple Puff Pancake!

The morning started out with the delicious scents of butter, sugar and cinnamon, as I put together this wonderful breakfast dish from The Farmchicks Cookbook.

Another winner and OH SO YUMMY drizzled with maple syrup.

APPLE PUFF PANCAKE
Credit: The Farmchicks Cookbook

1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
5 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup all purpose flour
Dash of salt
Maple syrup or confectioner's sugar for serving

Heat the oven to 425 F. Place the buttern, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a 9-inch glass pie plate.

Heat in the oven until the butter is melted and bubbly - 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, stir well and mix in the apple slices. Return to the oven and bake for 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the eggs, milk, flour and salt in a blender or food processor and process until frothy - 1 minute.

Pour over the apple mixture. Bake until the cake is puffed and the center is set - 18 to 20 minutes.

Serve warm with maple syrup or sprinkled with confectioner's sugar.

Apple Biscuits!

Here I was fixing dinner when the kids asked me if I would make something for dessert. I said yes, but then I realized I really didn't have anything on hand and am out of eggs.

This to me is what I love about cooking because you create something out of nothing and using just what you have available. It's at these times that I've ended up with really good recipes.

So I grabbed a few apples and a big can of large buttermilk biscuits and set to work....or rather, while I was fixing the steaks, I set everything out for Jasmine and instructed her and SHE made them. You wouldn't believe the happiness and excitement exuding from this child :)

One of the things I really like about these Apple Biscuits is that they're not rich and super sweet, just perfect!

APPLE BISCUITS

1 can of large buttermilk biscuits (8)
2 apples peeled and cored and chopped into chunks
cinnamon
brown sugar


In a small bowl, mix together the apples, cinnamon and brown sugar. Just eyeball it and add more or less as needed.

Open the biscuits in half and spoon some of the apple mixture into the middle.

Squeeze the seams together to seal and using a fork or a toothpick or whatever, poke 3 or 4 holes on the top.

Bake in a 375 degree oven until golden brown.

Now take a big bite....yum, look at that apple....