apples Archives - Makin' it Mo'Betta

Apple Pie Cookies & Dessert Mash-Ups Cookbook Review

Kim

I just realized that my last post was also apple pie related, but you will want to stick around for this one too. The cookies are delish, but the cookbook it came from is divine!

It’s from Dorothy Kern, the woman behind the fabulous blog . I have been following her blog for quite a while now and love all the desserts she comes up with. This cookbook is a compilation of dessert “mash-ups”…two-in-one treats like these Apple Pie Cookies. I have several recipes bookmarked, like Chocolate Chip Cookie Toffee Bark (definitely going on my Christmas “to make” list), Cookies ‘n’ Cream Magic Bar Pie (my kids really want to make this!), Oreo Peanut Butter (holy yum) and Pumpkin Pie Magic Bars (I have a thing for magic bars and all things pumpkin. These will be made very soon!)

I’ve been given permission to share the recipe for these Apple Pie Cookies…but if apples aren’t your thing, Dorothy offers variations, like Reese Cups or Hershey Kisses. My kids came up with some of their own variations as well…

Apple Pie Cookies

Yield 30 cookies

Prep Time 20 minutes

Chill Time 30 minutes

Bake Time 11 minutes

1⁄2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1⁄2 cup packed brown sugar

1⁄4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided

1 large egg

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

1 1⁄2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided

1 1⁄2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all- purpose flour, divided

1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and diced small (just about 1 1⁄2 cups)

1⁄2 cup water

 Powdered sugar, for dusting *I omitted this

Tip: If apple isn’t your thing, you can simply place the cookie dough in the muffin pans, bake them, and then add a Hershey’s Kiss or a mini peanut butter cup to the top when they come out of the oven. It’s a great flavor twist!

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray three 12-cup mini muffin pans with cooking spray.

2. Cream together the butter, brown sugar, and 1⁄4 cup of the granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat in the egg and vanilla.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the baking soda, salt, 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon, and 1 1⁄2 cups of the flour. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

4. Place the diced apple in a small saucepan with the water. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, just until the apples begin to turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Drain well and let cool for 10 minutes.

5. Scoop 1-tablespoon balls of cold cookie dough and place one in each cavity of the mini muffin pans. Press down to flatten slightly, and use your finger to create an indent in the centers for the apples.

6. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, and 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon over apples. Stir to combine. Place 1 teaspoon of apples in the hole of each cookie.

7. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until the cookies are browned. Cool at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan. It’s easiest to remove them with a knife. Cool completely on a rack, then dust with powdered sugar before serving. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

*reprinted with permission from

Needless to say, these cookies didn’t last long! If you have a foodie friend with a sweet tooth on your Christmas list, this cookbook would be an excellent gift. The recipes are awesome and each has an absolutely drool worthy picture to accompany it!

*I was given a complimentary copy of this cookbook for review from Ulysses Press. I received no compensation. All opinions are my own.

I may be linking up at any of the following – (Monday) , , , , (Tuesday) , , , ,,, , (Wednesday) , , , ,, , (Thursday) ,, , (Friday) , , , , , ,, , ,, , , (Saturday) ,

Homemade Caramel Apples

Kim

Caramel Apples, or in our case, hurricane preparation. The weather has been super yucky…days of wind and rain, so to help entertain the kids, and have something yummy to eat, we decided to make our annual caramel apples. The kids always love doing this!

My 4 y/o was so funny, he meticulously placed individual sprinkles and M&M’s on his apple! While the rest of us rolled ours in pretty much everything available.

We used crushed Whoppers, M&M’s, sprinkles, pretzels, and chopped dark chocolate.

And then, of course, even better than decorating the apples…is eating them!

The caramel recipe is SO easy, and has 3 ingredients!

Caramel Apple Recipe
from

6 – 8 small apples, unwaxed, cold (*I used 4 large Granny Smiths, and have a little caramel leftover)

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup honey

Special equipment: candy thermometer, and lollipop sticks

Line a baking sheet with parchment/wax paper.
Push a lollipop or popsicle stick deep into each apple (through the stem.)
Fill a large bowl 1/2 full with ice water and set aside.
In a medium, thick-bottomed saucepan heat the cream and salt until tiny bubbles start forming where the milk touches the pan – just before a simmer.

Stir in the honey. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to an active simmer and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for about 15-20 minutes minutes or until the mixture reaches about 255-260F degrees on your candy thermometer.

To stop the caramel from cooking, carefully set the bottom of the saucepan in the bowl of cold water you prepared earlier – taking special care not to get any of the water in the caramel mixture. Stir until caramel begins to thicken up – you want the caramel to be thin enough that it will easily coat your apples, but not so thin that it will run right off. If the caramel thickens too much simply put the pot back over the burner for 10 seconds or so to heat it up a bit.

Place each apple on the wax/parchment lined baking sheets and allow the caramel to cool, but get your decorations on before it sets.

As far as Hurricane Sandy, we were fortunate where I am in eastern NC. Some localized flooding, but nothing unusual. I hope everyone is safe wherever you are!

I’m linking up at , ,, , ,, , , , ,, , , , , ,

‘Lightened Up’ Apple & Snicker Bar Salad

Kim

This is one of those dishes that isn’t really ‘pretty’, but taste oh soooo yummy! I was wondering if anyone would notice the apples in yesterday’s What was it Wednesday! I saw versions of this all over the web, and first spotted it somewhere on Pinterest. Since I sorta winged this when I made it, I don’t have any particular person to give credit to.

For Mother’s Day, I decided I wanted needed a lighter dessert, but it still had to have chocolate. (duhhh!) This fit the bill, and would be great all during the summer. Speaking of, today is supposed to be 90 degrees with 93% humidity. Yep, bring on the hot sticky NC weather!

Lightened Up Apple & Snicker Bar Salad (it seems odd to call this a salad)

4 Apples of choice (I used Granny Smith and Pink Lady)

4 regular size Snicker Bars*

1 tub of Sugar Free Cool Whip (regular size, not large)

1 small box of Vanilla Sugar Free/Fat Free pudding**

1 cup skim milk (optional – see notes)

*I used Almond Snicker Bars b/c I can’t eat peanuts

Chop apples into bite size pieces. You can dip them in lemon juice to prevent browning, but they are going to be covered in cool whip so it doesn’t really matter. If you are going to pre-cut your apples like I did, you may want to do this just so they don’t look all yucky (technical cooking term). Chop your candy bars into small bite size pieces. This is easier if you have them nice and chilled.

In a large bowl, add your container of Cool Whip and your pudding (see notes). Fold in your apples, and candy bar pieces (reserving a few to sprinkle on top if desired.) Chill for about an hour (not really necessary if you are in a time crunch).

**NOTES: Learn from my experience….if you buy the SF/FF INSTANT pudding – you need to add 1 cup milk to your pudding mix first. Mix it together and then add to your Cool Whip. If you buy the SF/FF Cook and Serve pudding, you can just add that to your Cool Whip.

Oh yeah, and I chopped up a few Hershey’s Miniatures too, b/c it didn’t seem like enough chocolate. But it’s rare that I feel like I have enough chocolate. and it was Mother’s Day and all.

You can play around with the recipe and use whatever flavor pudding and fruits you like.

I also made an apple/strawberry version with chocolate pudding! I skipped the candy bars to reduce the calories, but it would be awesome with them! My girls love this.

I’m going to link this recipe up with these fab linky parties – , , , ,

Apple Pie Cookies

Caramel Apple Recipe from

Caramel Apple Recipe
from