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10 Apple Recipes to Sweeten the Fall

apples

Apple desserts begin here.

How Do You Like Them Apples?

If you have a few apples on hand and the basics (flour, sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla) you’ve got the makin’s of a quick and tasty dessert. I’ve found these 10 recipes especially handy over the years: apple cake, apple pie, baked apples, Swedish apple cake, homemade applesauce, French apple cake, and fried apples.

I also include a couple of entrees: pork chops with sauerkraut and potatoes and another with sausage and onions. Also a broccoli-apple salad.

Grab a bag of apples the next time you’re at the grocery and treat yourself, family, and friends to one of these favorites.

Apple of My Eye

Apple Cake

This moist, spicy apple cake is baked with chunks of apples and nuts for old-timey taste and comfort. As the days shorten and the nights grow cooler, apple cake make the perfect dessert for any occasion. I prefer this one because it has a glaze rather than a heavy icing.

Apple Pie

Apple Pie with its flaky, buttery crust loaded with sweet and spicy apples has become a symbol of Americana. Most popular apples for pie baking are Granny Smith, Gala or Macintosh or a combination.

Baked Apples

When you don’t want something too elaborate, baked apples make an easy, warm dessert. Served with a scoop of ice cream, it’s a simple autumn delicacy. My mother made them often, especially when we had an abundance of the fruit following our annual apple pickin’ trip to the orchards of Winchester, VA. This is a good gluten free dessert and perfect for breakfast the next day.

Swedish Apple Cake

Swedish Apple Cake

Swedish Apple Cake, or Swedish Visiting Cake, is a foolproof recipe that comes together in under 10 minutes. It’s named for the haste in which a homemaker could throw together the cake for company. 

Homemade Applesauce

Turning apples into applesauce is pretty easy and can be done with peeled or unpeeled apples, sweetened to your taste, and spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. A mix of apples gives a better dimension to the sauce. Kids and seniors love applesauce and it goes with most any meal. I always offer it at Thanksgiving.

French Apple Cake

French Apple Cake

French Apple Cake is soft, tender and brimming with fruit—actually more apple than cake. This recipe is one of Dorie Greenspan’s favorites from her book Around My French Table. There’s a touch of rum!

Fried Apples

About all you need for Fried Apples is a cast iron skillet and a few simple ingredients: butter, apples, a bit of brown sugar and lemon juice. The sliced, flavorful apples are perfect for any meal of the day, but I like them best at breakfast with pancakes or with pork dishes.

Sausage with Apples and Onions

This recipe is easy and adaptive. With a salad and chunk of artisan bread, the dish makes a tasty meal, that’s just right for this time of the year.

Pork Chops, Sauerkraut, Potatoes and Apples

A complete casserole meal. Recipe.

Apple Broccoli Salad

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Baked Apples: A Core Dessert

apples

The appeal of apples

Apples don’t have to be served overly sweet, or creamy, or cakey.  Sometimes they can just be themselves: fruity and flavorful.  Baked apples are so easy to make and chance are you have the ingredients on hand.

I made my first baked apples using the Joy of Cooking, that I had gotten for a wedding gift in the 50s. The recipe seemed a lot like what my mother made, so I stuck with it over the years.  But recently I’ve added rolled oats, (not instant), or granola and nuts for a crunchier texture.  I use big Honeycrisp apples—but a Rome, Braeburn, Jonagold, or Granny Smith will work fine.

coring an apple

Cut the skin from around the top of the apple and core it about one inch wide and within a half inch of the bottom.

Baked apples

Combine a mixture of Mueslix (or rolled oats), brown sugar, raisins, pecans, flour, butter, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Stuff into opening in apple.

The direction here allow for tailoring the dish to your taste.  Really, you don’t need a recipe at all, just a few basic guidelines, or watch this quick video.  Even so, I’ve included a recipe below.

baked apples

Pour about a cup of apple juice, water or cider into cooking dish, and set in the stuffed apples.  Cover loosely with foil and bake in a 425 degree oven for about 30-45 minutes. 

Baked apples

Pour the syrup that forms in the dish over the baked apples.

Baked apples

Easy enough for tonight’s dinner and tasty enough for a company dessert.  Any leftovers work well for breakfast with a dollop of vanilla yogurt.

Baked Apples

  • 4 apples, (Jonagold, Fuji, Rome, Granny Smith or Honeycrisp)
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup Mueslix or rolled oats (not instant)
  • 2 Tbs. flour
  • 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
  • 4 Tbs. butter
  • 1 cup apple juice, cider, or water

Optional extras: Orange zest, lemon zest, raisins, dried cranberries, and chopped nuts.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°.  Remove the core of the apples, cutting to within a half-inch of the bottom of the apple and creating a well about 1-inch wide. (Use a melon baller or paring knife.)

Mix the brown sugar, Mueslix or oatmeal, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and chilled butter cut into small pieces.  Divide this mixture between the apples, packing the wells firmly.

Arrange the apples in a baking dish, like an 8×8-inch Pyrex dish. Pour the juice or water into the bottom of the dish and cover loosely with aluminum foil.

Bake for 30 minutes and remove foil. Continue baking uncovered until the apples are soft and the brown sugar has melted into a syrup, an additional 20 minutes. You can test the apples by poking a paring knife through the oatmeal mixture and into the interior of the apple; it should slide into the apple easily without resistance. The skin on the apples will also become wrinkled and soft when done.

Serve with: Ice cream, crème fraiche, whipped cream, Cool Whip or yogurt sweetened with honey.

 

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