Extra Crispy Apple Crisp

Apple season is winding down as we get closer and closer to the flavors of the holidays, when even pumpkin is an afterthought behind peppermint and gingerbread. But before we say goodbye to apple, I thought I’d share one more yummy treat to send apples off with a fond farewell—a good old fashioned apple crisp.

While we picked apples, Boyfriend kept insisting I make an apple crisp for him. His one requirement for this apple crisp? Make it with tons of topping, because the “crisp” is the best part. After apple braids and handpies, I finally got around to making his crisp with the last few apples I had.

With double the crisp topping, you could barely see the apples on the bottom of my pan! But I have to say, Boyfriend is right. That topping is amazing. I’d eat an entire pan of just the crisp if I could.

I brought it over to Boyfriend’s still warm from the oven and served it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. He actually kept pausing his video game to take another bite! I left it with him to finish off, but ended up making a tiny loaf pan sized crisp for myself the next day because I wanted more. I guess I really am an apple convert now. So long, apples. I'll definitely be seeing you again next year.

Apple Hand Pies

I may have found the remedy to my baked fruit aversion. Tuck it into a tiny little pie. Then smother it with whipped cream or ice cream. Suddenly, what once was only somewhat tolerable turns into something I’ll downright eat the crap out of. I totally get the whole “a la mode” deal now.

With 8 pounds of apples left after my Apple Braid, and some apple pie spice I found hanging out in the back of the spice cabinet, I decided to get some use out of my new toy and give hand pies another shot.

I found this contraption at Target for about $5. You just roll out your pie crust, open the press up and use the back (non-textured) side to cut out your rounds. Place the round on the textured side, fill with pie filling, then fold over and press to crimp them shut! (Rub a little water around the edge of one side before you fold to help seal.) It seriously cut my pie making time in half! So incredibly easy!

And so incredibly tasty too. Warm from the oven and smothered with the can of whipped cream I’ve had hanging out in the back of my fridge-- oh man. I never thought I’d say that about an apple pie, but seriously. This won me over. The recipe only made 8, and I’m not ashamed to say I ate 2 of them myself, and contemplated eating the two I saved for pictures that I promised to give to Boyfriend, since he seemed to like them a lot. After snagging one in the car from the container of still-warm-from-the-oven pies I was taking to my parents while I went back inside to grab something, he declared them to be “pretty kick-@$$”.

My only warning—don’t overfill your pies. I learned this after my one casualty sort of exploded in the oven. But it still tasted amazing.

My other word of advice—check the expiration dates on things in your pantry every now and then. When I pulled my apple cider vinegar out, I noticed there were some gross random floaties in it. Then I realized it had expired about a year ago. Oops. (Also, feel free to substitute regular vinegar instead, so you don’t end up going to the store to buy 1 thing and walk out with $70 worth of groceries you probably didn’t really need.. Not that I’d know anything about that. And don’t forget to take the water you have chilling out of the freezer if you go to the store, because you’ll come home to an ice cube rather than ice water.. But I wouldn’t know that either.)

Apple Braid

It’s 67 degrees and sunny, and right now, this is the view outside my window.

This is perfection--the fleeting few weeks where the mornings are crisp and cool, the afternoons are warm and bright, and the world bursts into flames of vivid color. These few weeks are what I’ve looked forward to all summer.

Every fall, Boyfriend and I try to make it out to a local farm to pick our own apples and pumpkins. The last few years, we’ve only made it for the pumpkins, but this year I was determined to get some apples too. Luckily, I found myself with a gorgeous, sunny Sunday off, so it was time to hit the orchard and start picking.

 

 I always feel bad for the apples that fall on the ground.

Our bag filled up fast, and after jumping mud puddles and climbing trees, we carried home 10 pounds of gorgeous apples. I would have loved to keep picking, but I knew I would struggle finding ways to use the ones I had. After scouring my usual recipe sources, I found the perfect inspiration in what has lately become my new obsession—Pinterest.

It’s there I found the Apple Braid that Rachael of La Fuji Mama posted on Eat, Live, Run. Think of it as "cinnamon roll meets apple pie and get’s braided up into a gorgeous loaf." Incredibly simple to put together and looks like a lot more work than it really is. The best part about it? It’s a yeast dough, but you don’t even have to let it rise. Just mix the dough together, knead it like you would normal yeast dough, roll it out, cut and braid, then bake.

My braid didn’t turn out quite as defined and gorgeous as Rachael’s. (Check out the link to see step-by-step photos of the braiding) I think because I tried to roll it out a bit too big, so my strips were really thin and stretched way too much, but it still turned out nice. (It would probably have also helped if I had a pizza cutter. Cutting with my knife just wasn't working.) I have to say though, while everyone else thought it was good, it still didn’t change my mind. I’m still not a fan of baked apples at all. I thought I’d overcome my baked fruit prejudice with my Peach Cobbler and Peach Handpies, but nope. I just don’t like baked apples. I’ve still got about 8 pounds left, so I’ll definitely be baking more, I just probably won’t be eating them myself... So.. Who wants some apple treats?

Apple Rum Cupcakes

Apples—another great flavor of fall. There’s nothing better the crunch of biting into a crispy fresh apple. Except maybe pulling that crispy fresh apple right from the tree with your very own hands. There’s just something about walking through the orchard on a cool fall day, finding just the perfect ripened globe on a branch sagging under the weight of its glorious treasure. Apple picking is something I look forward to every year. I love coming home with my bag of apples bursting at the seams from trying to cram as many as I could into it. Unfortunately this year, I only had enough time to search for the perfect pumpkin at Lynd’s Fruit Farm, so my apple picking has been limited to wandering the crisp, cool aisles of the grocery store in search of the perfect fruit.