Apple Turnovers

I had this brilliant idea to make apple crisp and as I was chopping the 4th apple I remembered that Claire had used the last of the oatmeal and I hadn't replaced it yet. 

No worries, I had a pie crust.  I could make a pie without a pan like I did here.  Yes, I actually had a pie crust.  Unfortunately, it expired in January and it looked a bit scary.

It was late and I was tired, so I poked around in the fridge.  SAVED...I had crescent rolls.  You can do anything with crescent rolls and the result is typically yummy.

So, I threw the apples in a pan and this is what I got.

4 chopped apples ~ these were braeburn

2 t Cinnamon

1 t Nutmeg

1/2 T of Sugar

3 T Butter

Cook on low for a couple of minutes.

 Add 1/3 C Brown Sugar and continue to cook on low for a few more minutes until it thickens up.  You want the apples to soften but not be mushy or at least I don't like mushy.

 

Press the seams of two crescent rolls together and put a few tablespoons of apples in the middle.  Carefully wrap dough around the filling.

Like this

 

 

As you can see, I got bored so there is all kind of variations.  Some with double crescents.  Some with single.  They all worked and they were all yummy.  Just make sure you seal your seams the best you can.

 When they come out of the oven and are cool.  Make yourself a little glaze with 3 T Powdered sugar, 1-2 teaspoon of milk and 1 t vanilla.  The glaze should be really thin.  Brush on top and serve.

Apple Hearts

I realize that it's the day before Valentine's Day but these are so easy you can throw these together for a fun treat. Seriously it takes about 10 minutes plus baking time.

What you'll need:

2 cans of crescent rolls
1 can Apple Pie filling~or whatever is your favorite
Red Sprinkles
1/2 C Powdered Sugar
2-3 T Milk

Roll your crescents out. You'll need to make the 8 triangles into 4 rectangles by sealing the seam. In the middle of each rectangle put a couple of apples and some of the sauce. Fold over, seal edges, shaping into a heart as you do this. Put on a sprayed cookie sheet, sprinkle with red sprinkles and bake at 350 for about 12 minutes.

Optional...Mix powdered sugar and milk together so it's a thin frosting and drizzle over the top.

I would use about half the amount in this photo, will make for easier folding.

Shape into heart

They aren't perfect once they're cooked, the one on the bottom left is seriously bad (I'm being honest here) but with the red sprinkles, your sweetie will get the idea.

Drizzle with frosting and serve.

Makes 8 hearts:)

Apple Pie without a Pan

I had a pie crust and I had some apples so I decided to make this. I think this technically falls into the "crostata" catagory but since I didn't know that when I made it...it's called Apple Pie without a pan:)

It really was SUPER easy.

What you'll need:

Refrigerator Pie Crust
3 Granny Smith Apples, peeled and sliced thin
3/4 Brown Sugar
1/4 C Sugar
2 t Cinnamon
1 t Nutmeg
1/2 stick of Butter chopped into little pieces

Spread pie crust out on a cookie sheet. Mix everything else together. Pour apples into middle of crust. Fold edges up over the filling. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until crust is golden. Top with caramel ice cream topping and serve.

Apples

How thin you want them and make sure they are consistently sliced so they cook the same.

Mix in your sugars, spices and butter.

Pour in the middle.

Out of the oven...Drizzle with caramel sauce if you wish. It's equally good without it

Apple Strudel

Apple Strudel was something I've never made or really thought about until a friend told me it was his favorite apple dessert. I looked on the internet and all the recipes were pretty similar but I chose Paula Dean's version because I like the way she bakes. Easy, yummy, comfort food and this turned out exactly like that. I only changed a tiny bit and I actually doubled it so I could bring some to work. If you're nervous, Paula has a video showing you how easy it is on the above link as well.

What you'll need:

1/4 C Apple Juice
1/2 C Golden Raisins~these can be omitted
2 -3 C Apples, peeled, cored, halved, and thinly sliced
1/2 Lemon, juiced
1/2 Lemon zested
1 t Cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1/2 C crushed Animal Crackers ~ she called for shortbread and I didn't have any. I bet graham crackers would work too
1/4 C Pecans chopped
2 T Butter, cut into pieces
5 sheets phyllo dough from 1 pound package of frozen dough thawed
3 T Butter, melted, for brushing phyllo sheets, plus more if needed

Glaze:
1 C Powdered Sugar
1 T Milk
1 t Vanilla

If it seems to thick, add a tiny bit more milk until you get the consistency you are looking for...which is like thick milk.

For the Strudel:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, pour the apple juice over the raisins and microwave on high for 45 seconds. Let sit for 15 minutes and drain excess liquid.

Combine the raisins, apples, lemon juice, lemon zest, cinnamon, brown sugar, cookie crumbs, pecans, and butter in a large bowl.

Remove the phyllo dough from the box, unfold, and cover with a damp towel. Place 1 sheet of phyllo on the work surface and brush lightly with melted butter. Repeat with the remaining sheets, brushing each with melted butter, stacking when done, being sure to keep the unbuttered phyllo covered.

Place the apple mixture on the nearest third of the phyllo stack, being sure to leave a 2-inch border. Gently lift the bottom edge of the phyllo stack to cover the filling and fold the side edges over. Continue to roll the stack away from you until the filling is completely sealed in and the seam is on the bottom. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown. Pour over the glaze and sprinkle with cinnamon

Apples good to go

Slice the apples thin

Zest your lemon

All the dry

Chop your pecans

2 handfuls

All rolled out

Chop the butter

Phyllo dough..you're going to brush the dough with melted butter, lay another piece of phyllo dough and repeat. I kind of pressed the dough together after each addition.

Lay out your filling

Fold edges in

Fold

Rolled and ready for a pan..lift gently with two pancake turners

Cut some slits

My filling must have been too wet so they leaked a bit while cooking. I switched pans to a dry one when it came out so the studel didn't get mushy.

Drizzle with glaze

Share with your friends

Apple Pike

Are you tired of apples yet?? This is the last recipe I made. Someone at work gave me this when she heard about my abundance of apples. I added the cinnamon and nutmeg because I thought it sounded like it needed a little something more but maybe that's because I don't think I've made an apple recipe that didn't include cinnamon and I wanted to keep it consistent;).

I also had to increase the cook time from 15 to 30 minutes but that might have just been my oven?? So, give it a check at 15 minutes and see if yours is done and go from there.

I thought it was very similar to an apple bread pudding. I think I would have liked it better warm with ice cream or whipped cream but it was good without it and super easy.

What you'll need:

1 C Flour
3/4 C Sugar
3 Eggs, beaten
1 t Vanilla
1 t Cinnamon
1/2 t Nutmeg
4 C Apples peeled and chopped

Beat the eggs until well blended, then add Vanilla, Flour, Sugar, Cinnamon and Nutmeg. Mix and then fold in the apples. Pour into a greased 9 inch pie plate. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated 400 degree oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Caramel Apple Coffee Cake

This was my favorite thing that I made during Apple Fest 2011 and it was a hit at work.

What you'll need:

2 Eggs
1/4 C Butter
1 C Apple Butter
1 C Sour Cream ~ light
2 t Vanilla
1/2 C Sugar
2 C Flour
1/2 t Salt
1 t Baking Powder
1 t Baking Soda
1/2 t Cinnamon
1/2 t Nutmeg
1 C Apples chopped small
1/2 C Caramel Bits ~ they are little caramel balls made by Kraft...if you can't find them, it will be good without.

Mix all the ingredients together and put into a sprayed bundt pan. Cook for about 40 minutes at 350 until tester comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and invert onto a plate. Drizzle Apple Butter Frosting and serve.

Apple Butter Frosting
1/4 C apple butter
1/4 C butter
3/4 C brown sugar
2 T milk
2 t cinnamon
2 C sifted powdered sugar

In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add the apple butter and brown sugar. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to medium low. Continue to boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the milk and the cinnamon and bring to a boil, still stirring constantly. Cool to lukewarm. Gradually add the powdered sugar and beat until thick enough to spread.


Chopped Apples

Dough all mixed up, add chopped apples

Spread in the pan

out of the oven

YUM!!

Apple Crisp

Told ya, it's gonna be an all APPLE week and Apple Crisp is probably my favorite apple dessert. It totally reminds me of fall. I made this recipe twice and it was a hit both times. I did this recipe plus half to make a 13x9 those measurements are after ingredients in bold but don't worry if you aren't exact..this recipe has wiggle room.

Apple Crisp
4 C peeled and chopped Apples (6 C)
1/2 C Sugar (3/4 C)
1/2 C Brown Sugar plus about 3-4 T (3/4 C plus 5 T)
1 t Cinnamon (2 t)
1/2 C Flour (3/4 C)
1/2 C Oats (3/4 C)
1/3 C soft Butter (1/2 C)
3/4 t Cinnamon (1 1/4 t)
3/4 t Nutmeg (1 1/2 t)

Toss apples, sugar and 1 t cinnamon and put in 8x8 pan that has been sprayed with Cooking Spray. Sprinkle 3-4 T of Brown sugar on top. Mix together the other ingredients and dump on top of apples. Bake about 40 minutes at 375 or until top is golden and bubbly. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
Here's what you need. It's about 6-7 lunchbox sized apples to make 4 Cups or 4 large ones.
You can slice or chop apples, I just personally like chopped. Just make sure you cut them equally so they cook the same. If you don't, they will cook inconsistent and some will be squishy and some crunchy. If you want to avoid all the hassle, use a can of pie filling, just adjust cooking time to about 25 minutes;)
Spread chopped apples evenly in the pan.
Make sure your dry ingredients are mixed evenly with the butter.
Ready for the oven.
I'll confess and tell you it hasn't been my week and I forgot this in the oven for an extra 10 minutes. It still tasted fine, it was just a bit darker than usual. I can't eat ice cream but if I could, it would be scooped right next to this.

Apple Cupcakes

These were so easy that everyone will think you slaved in the kitchen. You'll be the only one that knows it all started with a box mix and some super yummy frosting.

What you'll need:

Box of Spice Cake Mix ~ I used Duncan Hines
3/4 C Apple Butter

Make cake mix according to box directions, except use milk instead of water. Add Apple Butter. Bake per box recommends.

Frost with Apple Butter Frosting

What you'll need:

1/4 C apple butter
1/4 C butter
3/4 C brown sugar
2 T milk
2 t cinnamon
2 C sifted powdered sugar

In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add the apple butter and brown sugar. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to medium low. Continue to boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the milk and the cinnamon and bring to a boil, still stirring constantly. Cool to lukewarm. Gradually add the powdered sugar and beat until thick enough to spread.

Melt your butter

Frosting

Easiest way to frost..dip and flip

May I have another one please?

Apple Butter Frosting

I found this recipe for Apple Butter Frosting And, it was really yummy. I added one more cup of powdered sugar because than it was thick enough to dunk my cupcakes in. I'll tell you how to make the cupcakes next.

What you'll need:

1/4 C apple butter
1/4 C butter
3/4 C brown sugar
2 T milk
2 t cinnamon
2 C sifted powdered sugar

In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add the apple butter and brown sugar. Bring to a boil and lower the heat to medium low. Continue to boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the milk and the cinnamon and bring to a boil, still stirring constantly. Cool to lukewarm. Gradually add the powdered sugar and beat until thick enough to spread.

Melt your butter

Frosting