Apples of Your Eye - and Dessert

Apples are a wonderful food. You can eat it alone, or fix it in any sort of meal, especially desserts. Today's six apple desserts can make almost anyone smile. Check out the Caramel Apple Pizza, the Apple Empanadas Mini Taco Bowls, or any of the other yummy appley desserts. Enjoy!

MICROWAVE APPLE CRISP

This yumminess is from Betty Crocker, and begins, "Make a classic, favorite apple dessert even quicker when you cook with a microwave."

Prep Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 25 minutes; Servings: 6

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

4 medium tart cooking apples, peeled, sliced (4 cups)

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

2/3 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup Original Bisquick™ mix

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

In ungreased 2-quart microwavable casserole or 8-inch square microwavable dish, arrange apple slices. In small bowl, stir remaining ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle over apples.

Microwave uncovered on High 7 to 10 minutes, rotating dish 1/2 turn after 5 minutes, until apples are tender. Serve warm.

Expert Tips

Good choices of cooking apples include Rome Beauty, Golden Delicious and Greening.

You can bake this simple dessert in the oven. Grease 8-inch square pan or glass baking dish with shortening or cooking spray. Decrease oats to 1/2 cup; increase butter to 1/3 cup. Bake in 375°F oven about 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender.

Serve this warm, fragrant dessert topped with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of cinnamon ice cream.

APPLE CRISP

This is from Genevieve Ko in The New York Times cooking enewsletter. Genevieve wrote, "This warm dessert can quickly satisfy sweet tooth cravings, especially if you forgo peeling the apples, which adds a nice chewiness to the crunchy toasted topping and juicy, saucy apples. Choose a variety of apples, then adjust the amounts of sugar and lemon juice to strike the right tangy balance for the filling. Or customize your crisp by using your favorite spices and nuts. The dessert tastes particularly comforting hot out of the oven, with the caramelized apple juices bubbling around the nutty cookie-like clusters, but it’s just as good cold for breakfast the next day."

Yield: 6 to 8 servings; Time: 1-1/4 hours

This was featured in "Baking That’s Simple, but Always Satisfying", and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022569-apple-crisp.

Ingredients

For the Topping:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, cardamom or nutmeg, or a combination

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, or a combination

1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

For the Apples:

1 to 4 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, cardamom or nutmeg, or a combination

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

3 pounds apples, preferably firm, with a mix of tart and sweet-tart (8 to 10 apples)

1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preparation

Make the topping: Rub together the flour, both sugars, the spice and salt in a medium bowl. Toss in the butter and nuts to coat, then pinch the butter into the dry ingredients until no floury bits remain. Add the oats, and gently rake and squeeze them through the buttery mixture to form peanut-size crumbles. Freeze while you prepare the apples. The crumb mixture can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Prepare the apples: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Use 1 tablespoon sugar for all sweet apples; 2 to 3 tablespoons for sweet-tart apples or a mix; and 4 tablespoons for all tart apples. Mix the sugar with the flour, spice and salt in a 10-inch cast-iron or other heavy ovenproof skillet.

If you’d like, peel the apples. Cut into 1/2-inch chunks, discarding the seeds and cores. Add to the skillet and drizzle with 1 tablespoon lemon juice for tart apples and 2 tablespoons for sweet-tart and sweet ones. Mix until evenly coated, then spread in an even layer. Crumble the frozen crisp mixture on top. (There will be gaps.)

Bake until the topping is golden brown, and the apples are tender and bubbling, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool for at least 15 minutes on a rack before serving hot, warm or at room temperature.

APPLE PIE



I got the original recipe for this from an old Betty Crocker Cookbook, years ago. I've tweaked the recipe a bit; the original called for butter, which mine doesn't, while I add apple cider or apple juice, which isn't in the original. Here's the semi-tweaked, originally Betty Crocker apple pie.



Ingredients

Crust for a 9-inch two-crust pie

3/4 + 1 tablespoon cup sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour (do not use self-rising flour, but if you must use it, omit salt)

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

dash salt

6 to 7 cups apples (6 to 8 apples), peeled and thinly sliced

1/4 cup apple cider or apple juice

Directions

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare crust and line pie pan with bottom crust.

Placed cut up apples in large bowl. Add sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and (lastly) apple cider or juice. Mix apples and additions with hands, then pour apples and additions into crust-lined pie pan.

Cover with top crust, cut slits into top crust, then seal edges of crusts. (Note: You can replace top crust with a lattice crust.) Cover top of pie with aluminum foil to prevent excess browning; remove foil last 15 minutes of baking.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust.

MINI APPLE PIES

This is from Kristina Vanni on The Spruce Eats. Kristina wrote, “These deep fried hand pies are a fun and whimsical way to enjoy a mini apple pie! They are best when served warm with a light dusting of powdered sugar.

“They are shaped like turnovers, with a classic cinnamon and apple filling surrounded by a delicate baking powder pastry crust.”

Prep Time: 30 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes; Total Time: 50 minutes; Yield: 1 dozen

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Baking Powder Pastry:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cold unsalted butter

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

Apple Pie Filling:

3 cups sliced, cored, and pared tart apples

2 tablespoons water

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 cups vegetable oil

Powdered sugar

Directions

Gather the ingredients.

Start by preparing the baking powder pastry. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Using a pastry blender or two knives in a criss-cross fashion, cut in the cold butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the milk and egg.

Gradually stir the egg mixture into flour mixture with fork until just combined and the dough cleans the side of bowl.

On a lightly floured surface, lightly knead for about 1 minute to form a soft dough.

Divide dough in half and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Refrigerate while you prepare the rest of the recipe.

To make the apple pie filling, heat the apples and water, covered, in a medium saucepan to boiling, then reduce heat to low. All to simmer, covered, until apples soften slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove the cover and cook, stirring constantly until liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the granulated sugar and butter. Cook, uncovered for 3 minutes and then stir in the cinnamon.

Mash the mixture with a fork or potato masher to form a chunky puree. Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.

When you are ready to prepare the pies, roll one half of dough 1/8-inch thick on floured surface. Cut out 4-to-5-inch circles with floured cutter. (If you don't have a cutter large enough, you can trace around the edge of an inverted bowl to form the circles.)

Spread some of the apple mixture over half of each circle, leaving a 3/4-inch border.

Lightly brush borders with a little water. Fold the pastry in half and pinch the edges lightly with fingers. Seal the edges with a fork. Turn the pies over and again press the seams with a fork. (Do not pierce the dough). Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

Heat oil in a large skillet to 375 degrees F. Fry the pies, 4 at a time so as to not crowd the pan. Turn the pies once, until they are golden brown on both sides, about 4 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, lift the pies out of the oil and drain on to a paper towel lined plate.

Dust the pies with powdered sugar and serve immediately.

CARAMEL APPLE PIZZA

This comes from the infamous long-since-forgotten emailing list. It begins, “Friends and family will go nuts for this simple-to-fix spicy fruit dessert.”

Ingredients

Caramel Syrup (See Below)

2 medium cooking apples, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 package (17.3 ounces) frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 cup chopped nuts, toasted

Directions

Heat oven to 400ºF. Line 2 cookie sheets with aluminum foil or cooking parchment paper. Make Caramel Syrup.

Toss apples and lemon juice in medium bowl. Stir in sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Beat cream cheese in small bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla on medium speed until blended.

Roll each sheet of pastry into 10-inch square on foil-lined cookie sheet. Cut each sheet into 10-inch circle. Place scraps in center and roll into pastry.

Spread half of the cream cheese mixture over each pastry circle. Arrange apple slices on cream cheese. Sprinkle with nuts. Drizzle about 1/4 cup syrup over each circle.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until puffy and golden brown. Pour remaining syrup over hot pizzas. Serve hot.

Caramel Syrup

Ingredients

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1/3 cup corn syrup

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1/3 cup whipping (heavy) cream

1 teaspoon rum extract or Vanilla

Directions

Heat brown sugar, corn syrup and butter to boiling in 1-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened; remove from heat. Cool about 30 minutes. Stir in whipping cream and rum extract.

Time Saver

Use 1 cup caramel ice-cream topping instead of making the Caramel Syrup and don't peel the apples.

APPLE EMPANADAS MINI TACO BOWLS

This is from Old El Paso, and begins, "Old El Paso™ brings our Tex Mex take on the perfect fall apple cinnamon taco dessert with these Apple Empanadas Mini Taco Bowls. This recipe deep fries our Old El Paso™ Soft Tortilla Mini Bowls to make them warm and crispy and then dusts them with cinnamon sugar for an easy to fill, easy to eat apple pie taco dessert. Delicious Granny Smith apples are spiced and served up with cinnamon sour cream and caramel sauce to make for a warm, delicious end to any taco night."

Prep Time: 10 minutes; Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes; Makes 20 servings

To view this online, go to https://www.oldelpaso.com/recipes/apple-empanadas-mini-taco-bowls.

Ingredients

Vegetable oil for deep frying

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

20 Old El Paso™ Taco Bowls™ mini soft flour tortillas (1 Party Pack)

3/4 cup sour cream

6 medium Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 6 cups)

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup caramel topping

Preparation

In deep fat fryer or heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat at least 2 inches oil to 350°F. Add 3 tablespoons of the granulated sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of the cinnamon to a 1-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.

Place bowls in batches in preheated oil; fry 1 minute on each side, using tongs to turn bowls halfway through, until lightly brown all over. Drain bowls upside down on paper towel-lined cookie sheet until slightly cool; toss 4 bowls at a time in cinnamon sugar to coat. Remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

In small bowl, beat sour cream, remaining 1 tablespoon granulated sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of the cinnamon with whisk. Set aside.

In 12-inch nonstick skillet, mix apples, brown sugar, lemon juice, remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon and the salt over medium-high heat. Cook 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates and apples are tender.

Divide apple mixture among fried bowls; top with cinnamon sour cream, and drizzle with caramel topping.

Expert Tips

Pears can be substituted for apples in this recipe.

Using a candy thermometer/deep frying thermometer helps to ensure correct temperature when frying to give best results.

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