Normandy Apple Tart

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Hubs and I recently returned from a trip up to Pennsylvania. We went to a family reunion for my father's side of the family. One of my father's cousins owns several apple orchards in both Pennsylvania and in Vermont. Her apples from the orchard in Vermont were ready while we were visiting. So of course we had to bring home a big bag of the Pink Paula (great name haha) apples.   

What better to do with some of my apple stash than to make an apple pie/tart of some sort. I turned to my go-to baking cookbook, Baking, From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, for some ideas. This is one of my favorite baking cookbooks. It you don't own a copy, Get. One. Now! No really, it's a cookbook every baker needs on hand. I love Dorie's Rustic Apple Tart recipe that I made here but wanted to try something different this time. This Normandy Apple Tart is a recipe I've always wanted to make but I almost never have enough apples on hand to make it. Well with a twenty pound bag of apples, that was not an issue this time! I really liked this tart. It's simple flavors really let the apples be the star.The slightly tart apples combined with the buttery crust is absolutely heavenly!!

Don't let the making apple sauce step of this tart keep you from making it. It's really quite easy. You could even use a pre-made store bought apple sauce, if you wanted but I encourage you to take the time to make your own sauce. It's well worth the little extra effort it requires!!

Sticky Bun Pumpkin Muffins

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Have you heard about the Cronut crazy? A bakery in New York came up with the idea to blend a croissant and a doughnut into to one delicious new pastry. A doughnut and croissant in one! Sounds crazy good, doesn't it? The method they use to make the Cronut is top secret and I read it was even being patented. The real Cronuts are only sold at this one bakery and people apparently will wait in line for hours just to nab one of these hybrid pastries. I live in Alabama, so I'm not able to get my hands on a Cronut unless I hop on a plane. Not a very convenient option for pastry buying. Hopefully the Cronut is still around the next time I make it to New York. Until then I've found another cross bred pastry hybrid that has made me all but forget my lust for the Cronut.

This muffin is the best of both sticky buns and pumpkin muffins. That sticky topping that makes a sticky bun a sticky bun, tops a super moist pumpkin spiced muffin. How good does that sound? Uh huh, pretty amazing. Best of all they take no time at all to make, in your own kitchen. No need to jump on a plane or wait in an hours long line.  Go make a batch. You'll thank me. Who knows you may just have people lining up at your door hoping to get one of these muffins!

Sticky Bun Pumpkin Muffins

SOURCE: myrecipes,com, Southern Living

2 cups pecan halves and pieces

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 cups granulated sugar

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup water

1 (15-oz.) can pumpkin

1 cup canola oil

4 large eggs 

Preheat oven to 350°. Place  pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan and bake about 8 minutes or until nuts are lightly toasted, stirring halfway through.

In a medium bowl, stir together melted butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup. Lightly grease 2 12-cup muffins tins. Spoon 1 teaspoonful butter mixture into each cup and add 5-6 toasted pecans on top of the brown sugar mixture. (Overfilling the muffin tins with the brown sugar mixture will cause the muffins to overflow when baking. So a nice rounded teaspoon full is plenty of topping!)

In a large bowl, whisk together together flour, sugar, spices, baking soda, salt. Make a well in center of the dry mixture. In another bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, water, oil, and the eggs. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring  just until moistened.

Spoon batter over the pecan mixture in the muffin cups , filling three-fourths full. Place an aluminum foil-lined cookie sheet on lower oven rack to catch any overflow.

 Bake at 350° on for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Invert pan immediately onto a cookie sheet. Remove muffins, and arrange muffins on a wire rack. Spoon any topping remaining in muffin cups over muffins. Let cool 5 minutes.

Part sticky bun, part pumpkin muffin....the best of both in one delicious muffin!

Linked to Tidy Mom's link party, I"m Lovin It Fridays 

Apple Cranberry Crisp with Ginger Cookie Crumble

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Yeah it's almost officially Autumn! Walkers Shortbread has sent me some cookies to use in Fall Fruit themed desserts. Since apple crisp is one my favorite Fall time desserts I decided I'd incorporate Walkers Stem Ginger Shortbread Cookies  into the crumb topping of an apple cranberry crisp. The buttery ginger-y cookies make this crumble topping really delicious. After I cooked the crisp I served the crisp topped with ice cream and crumbled a couple more the stem ginger cookies over the top. Delicious! I think the Stem Ginger Shortbread Cookies will be a regular addition to my apple crisps in the future!

Pumpkin Spice Scones

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To most,I would imagine, the day after Labor Day has no real significance. Yes it means back to school or work and maybe the vague sense of a slight shift in the universe, indicating summers imminent end. Nothing really changes. It was still 90 degrees here in Alabama that day. Still the same summertime weather as the days leading up to the day after Labor Day. Only now it's after Labor Day and we all know what that means... Right? The much anticipated return of Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes!! Of course I had to have one, in spite of the very summer-like temps and humidity. I've been craving that pumpkin spiced drink since it went away last year and it was BACK! Ok so maybe I broke a sweat and had to turn up the air in my car just so I could drink it, but whatever...totally worth it! Anyway as you might have guessed my love for pumpkin and spice runs deep.

While I was getting my PSL from Starbucks, I saw that they also sell pumpkin spice scones. I guess I've been living under a rock or something but I've never had a pumpkin scone. I did not buy one of those but did come home and look to see if I could find a recipe to make them. Apparently I was living under a rock. How had I missed these scones? Eaten along with a cup of hot coffee, it's quite possibly my new Fall obsession! 

I usually change a few things here and there in recipes that I make. I didn't change much on this one with one MAJOR exception: The original recipe said that the spiced glaze frosting was "optional"...umm I had to change that to mandatory!!  

Pumpkin Spice Scones

SOURCE: Tasty Kitchen
YIELD: 8 SCONES

FOR THE SCONES:

2 cups all purpose flour 

1/3 cups brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoons ground ginger 

1/2 teaspoons nutmeg

1 stick unsalted butter, frozen

 ½ cups pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling

 ½ cups heavy cream 

FOR THE ICING: (MANDATORY)

 1 cup powdered sugar 

½ teaspoons cinnamon 

¼ teaspoons ground ginger  

2 teaspoons corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla 

heavy cream, just enough to thin the icing to a honey like consistency 

½ cups toasted, chopped pecans 

METHOD: 

In a small bowl, mix the pumpkin and cream, keep in the fridge until you use it. In a large bowl mix together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and  nutmeg. Add the frozen butter by grating it with a cheese grater over the flour mixture. Work quickly so the butter doesn't have time to soften. Quickly mix butter curls into the flour mixture with a fork. Pour the pumpkin and cream into the flour/butter mixture. Fold with a wooden spoon just until flour is moistened well.Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured board and gently knead over a couple of times. Pat the dough into a circle about 1 inch thick. Cut the circle into 8 sections, like you would to slice a pie. Separate scones and place onto a cookie sheet. Put the scones in the freezer for about 30 minutes.

Bake at 400ºF for about 25 minutes or until just firm and golden around the edges. Let cool to room temperature. 

While the scones cool; Mix together the powdered sugar, cinnamon, ginger powder, corn syrup, and vanilla. Add heavy cream in small amounts at a time, stirring until icing reaches the consistency of honey. Use a large spoon to drizzle the icing over the cooled scones. Immediately sprinkle the toasted pecans over the tops.Store scones in an air-tight container.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

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If you've been a reader of this blog for any amount of time than you are already aware of my slight pumpkin obsession.  I can't resist a pumpkin based baked good. I've blogged about everything from my favorite pumpkin pie to pumpkin biscotti and pumpkin latte's. So it's Fall again and my obsession is back in full swing! 
A pumpkin roll (pumpkin sponge cake filled with a cream cheese filling) is one of my favorite Fall desserts. (I can't believe I haven't posted a recipe...soon!) These muffins have all the same components as a pumpkin roll, spicy pumpkin cake with a cream cheese swirl,  baked up in muffin form. Plus because it's a muffin it's now okay to eat  pumpkin roll it for breakfast, right?  

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins
Yield: 1 doz. regular sized muffins or 2 doz. mini muffins
PRINTABLE RECIPE
MUFFINS:
1 15 oz can pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
1/4 cup coconut oil or any vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt

FILLING:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 350°
In a large mixing bowl, combine canned pumpkin, oil, and sugar together.
Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one.
Stir in vanilla.
Stir the flour mixture to liquids, combining thoroughly and scraping the sides of the bowl with a spatula until well combined.

Spray your muffin pan well with cooking spray. Fill each muffin about 2/3 full. Divide the filling evenly placing a large dollop on each muffin.

With a skewer or a knife, swirl the cream cheese mixture into the the pumpkin.

Bake for 20-25 minutes for regular muffins or about 18 minutes for mini muffins. The muffins are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and remove from the pan.

*NOTES: If you want you could top the muffins with chopped pecans or walnuts.  

I made half the batch in regular-size and half mini-sized. The mini muffins are very popable!

Links:

Apple Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

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Lately I've come across several recipes for pull-apart breads. I've had several recipes bookmarked and have been meaning to make a loaf but always seem to put it off. There was a picture for this cinnamon apple pull-apart bread in the King Arthur Flour catalog that came in the mail yesterday. It was the first one I've seen that had apples in it and I had to have it. Now! 
I'm not sure what I really need to say about this pull apart bread. Just look at it! It speaks for itself...and it's saying "you know you want me!" There are several steps involved in making the bread but it's completely worth the extra effort. Seriously what's not to like about apples, cinnamon, and pecans, baked up into sweet dough? All that's missing is a cup of coffee.

Cinnamon Apple Pull Apart Bread

Source: kingarthurflour.com adapted

Yield: 1 loaf, about 12 to 15 servings. 

PRINTABLE RECIPE

For the filling:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 medium apples (about 2 cups), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped (optional)

For the dough:
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup lukewarm milk
1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast

For the glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
mix both ingredients together in a small bowl. Add more milk if necessary to get desired consistency. I like it to be the consistency of a thick syrup.

To make the dough:
Whisk together the butter, milk, water, eggs, and vanilla extract.
In the bowl mixer, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast, then add the wet ingredients. Using the dough hook attachment mix and knead, until the dough is smooth. The dough will be quite soft. If it seems too dry add a little water, if it seems too sticky add just a little flour, up to a 1/4 cup.
Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan.
Gently deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly greased surface.*  Roll the dough into a 12" x 20" rectangle.
Stir the vanilla into the melted butter. Spread the butter mixture over the entire top on the dough, Use a pastry brush to get the butter even spread over the surface of the dough. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top, using your hand to spread it evenly over the butter. Sprinkle the cinnamon evenly over the dough. Add the apples, on top of the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle on the nuts, if using.
Cut the dough crosswise into six 3 1/2" x 12" strips. Stack the strips on top of one another. Cut the stack into six pieces, about 2" x 3 1/2" each. This part is a little messy but it doesn't have to be perfect.
Turn the pieces on edge, and place them in the loaf pan one in front of the other from one end of the pan to the other, squeezing them in tight. I sprinkled any nuts or apples that had fallen off over the top of the dough after I put it into the pan.
Cover the pan and allow the loaf to rise for 30 to 60 minutes, until it's almost doubled in size. While the loaf is rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake the loaf for 45 to 55 minutes in the center of the oven, tenting it with foil after 30 minutes. Remove the loaf from the oven, and transfer it to a rack to cool for 15 to 20 minutes before turning it out of the pan to cool completely.
While still slightly warm, spoon the glaze over the top of the bread.

Roll the dough into a 20"x 12" rectangle 

Add the filling

Slice crosswise into six even pieces

Stack the pieces on top of one another.

Slice the stack into six pieces.

Turn the pieces on their side and put them into the bread pan.

*Notes: I lightly sprayed a non-stick mat with cooking spray.
I kind of diced up my apples but after making the bread, I think sliced apples would be easier to keep on the pieces of dough as you stack them. (Which is what the recipe stated but I like to do things my aka the hard way!)
The long pieces are hard to move on top of one another. I kind of rolled the ends of each slice inward toward the center to make them easier to pick up to move. I had to spread the nuts and apples back into place but it made it easier for me to get the pieces stacked. Don't freak out if your apples and nuts fall off (they will!) just put them back on the dough after you've moved it onto the stack. (Hopefully these instructions will make sense when your actually making the bread!) I cooked mine the full 55 minutes. I probably could have taken it out at about 50 minutes.

There's no need for a knife with this bread. It really does just pull apart!

Butterscotch Pudding with Salted Buttered Pecans

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I always feel at odds this time of the year. Labor Day is passed, schools back in session, and football season has started.Time for bonfires, bowls of chili, pumpkins, and all things Fall, right? Except that technically it's still summer for a couple more weeks, and here in Alabama it's still hot, like 90 degrees outside hot. It's that weird in-between seasons time. I can never decided what to wear. Too hot for jeans, not supposed to wear white anymore... mostly I stand staring at my closet hoping some perfect transitional outfit will suddenly appear.
Lately I've been feeling the same way about food. All the summery foods are still in season, but I'm ready for a change. I want the flavors of Fall, but it's still just plain too hot to even think about making much less eating, a big bowl of chili or hanging out by a bonfire. I tend to stand looking in the fridge the same way I look in the closet, just hoping to suddenly find the perfect in-between food. Of course this never happens in the closet or the fridge...
I think this butterscotch pudding is the perfect in-between dessert. It's cold which is what I want in this heat, but it's got a wonderful rich caramel flavor which satisfies my craving for Fall. Topped with a dollop of whipped cream and some salted buttered pecans, it's just what I was hoping for while staring into the fridge...now if I could just find the right outfit!

Butterscotch Pudding
source: David Lebovitz
serves 4-6
PRINTABLE RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS:
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup packed dark brown
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons bourbon (optional)*
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

METHOD:
 Melt the butter in a medium heavy bottomed pan. when melted, stir in the dark brown sugar and salt, stir until the sugar is well-moistened. Remove from heat.
 In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch with  1/4 cup of the milk until very smooth, then whisk in the eggs.
Gradually pour the remaining milk into the melted brown sugar, whisking constantly. Whisk in the cornstarch mixture.
Return the pan to the heat and bring the mixture to a boil, whisking frequently. Once it begins to bubble, reduce the heat to a low simmer and continue to cook for one minute, whisking until the pudding thickens up. If the pudding seems to have a curdled look, don't freak out! Blend the pudding in batches in a blender or pass it through a medium mesh sieve and it'll be fine. I almost always put puddings and curds through a sieve just to get out any little egg-y pieces that may be in them.
Pour the pudding into 4-6 serving glasses or custard cups and chill thoroughly, at least four hours, before serving. Just before serving, top with sweetened whipped cream and some of the salted buttered pecans.*You don't have to add the bourbon, but if you do, you'll never want to butterscotch pudding without it again, trust me!

Salted Buttered Pecans
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 teaspoon course sea salt

Melt the butter in a small pan. Stir in the pecans cooking for about 2 minutes until the pecans are evenly coated with the butter. Remove from the heat and sprinkle the sea salt over the pecans.

I've linked this post to:

Candy Corn Sugar Cookies

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Hubs tells me all the time that I like to do things the hard way. He says this when I choose to make something rather than buy it or make do with what I have rather than buy something new. Even if that something new would make my life easier. Usually it's because I'm being cheap thrifty. However sometimes it's because I get an idea and just want to see if it will work. That's how these cookies came about. I was wasting time doing important research on Pinterest. In the interest of public safety, I feel I must warn those that don't already know about Pinterest. I'm not sure what happens, maybe a quantum time leap, or perhaps it's in its own time zone or something. All I know is that when you visit Pinterest, what feels like 5 minutes in Pinterest time is actually an hour in real time. Consider yourselves warned! Anyhooo, back to the cookies, so I saw some cute candy corn shaped sugar cookies while surfing around Pinterest. I liked that they looked like candy corn but didn't have to be decorated. They looked easy, a departure from my usual way of doing things. This was a week or two ago and I didn't pin the picture, which I realize kind of defeats the purpose of Pinterest. I couldn't find the picture again so I decided I'd just wing it and see if I could make some cookies like the ones I had seen. I have since seen other ways to make candy corn cookies but I like how these came out and they really are easy to make.

These are perfect for when you need a fun Fall/Halloween dessert, like school parties. You could go super easy and use store bought sugar cookie dough to make these cookies. No judgement here! However this recipe for sugar cookies is simple to make and tastes delicious. The dough doesn't need to be chilled before using, so it's quick to make as well.

Easy No-Chill Sugar Cookies
Source: Food.com submitted by Chef.Jules
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

orange and yellow gel food coloring
candy corn cookie cutter (or you could cut out triangles)

Method:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In mixing bowl, cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl; add to butter mixture 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Divide dough into two balls.

To make Candy Corn Cookies:

Divide your cookie dough into three equal pieces. Knead orange gel food coloring into one piece and yellow into another. Leave the third piece white. Roll the dough into logs about 1 inch wide and 6-8 inches long. Put each of the logs side-by-side and slightly push them together like in the picture below.

Roll the cookie dough out approximately 12" wide and about 1/8" thick and cut out with a candy corn shaped cookie cutter. If you don't have a candy corn cutter you can just cut out triangles.

Kind of has a 70's vibe going!

I sprinkled some with sanding sugar and left some plain.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 6 - 7 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. I line my pans with parchment paper or a silpat for easy cookie removal.

I didn't waste the leftover pieces of cookie dough. I gathered them all together, added more orange gel coloring, rolled out the dough again and cut out pumpkins.

I got a little over a dozen candy corn cookies. I made small and large pumpkins and had a dozen pumpkin cookies when I was done.

Thanksgiving Recipe Round-up

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Looking for some last minute ideas for your Thanksgiving meal? Here's a round-up of a few of my Fall favorites from the past. Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Carrot Soup with Rosemary  Apple Bread

Curried Pumpkin Soup

 

 

  Cranberry Chutney

Cranberry Rum Relish

Apple and Quince Pie

 Rustic Apple Tart

Salted Caramel Pots de Creme

 Pumpkin Butterscotch Fudge

 

Pumpkin Pecan Cranberry Cupcakes

Pumpkin Butterscotch Pie

Southern Bourbon Pecan Pie 

 Caramel Cake

Cranberry All-in-one Bundt Cake