Apple Cider Bread

This recipe was suppose to be donut holes but I decided to turn in my oven and bake since we have had chilly weather. I used all of my ingredients I was going to use in the donut holes. I am glad I went with this bread. It’s incredibly delicious, moist and just perfect for fall.

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter, melted

1 cup of sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup real buttermilk

1/2 cup apple cider

1/2 cup applesauce

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 apple, peeled and diced I used Honeycrisp, Granny Smith or Braeburn can be used

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare loaf pan 9″x5″ size with nonstick baking spray.

In a mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar. Blend well. Combine eggs (one at a time), vanilla, buttermilk, apple cider and applesauce.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda. Whisk to combine. Gradually dry ingredients to wet ingredients.

Peel and dice apple to the batter. Pour into a loaf pan. Sprinkle top with cinnamon sugar. Recipe below.

Bake for 55-60 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Cool and glaze bread.

Cinnamon Sugar Topping Ingredients:

I make own but you can purchase pre-made in the spice isle at the grocery store. If you choose to make your own, I use 1 Tablespoon cinnamon to 1/4 cup sugar. Leftover cinnamon sugar is great on toast.

Apple Cider Glaze:

1/2 cup powder sugar

1 Tablespoon apple cider

Stir to mix an drizzle over cooled bread.

Apple Pie Churro Cheesecake

This is my first fall recipe of 2017 since I broke my hip and leg. It’s been a rough couple of months but I am back in the kitchen doing what I love to do. This recipe is very tasty. I made this dessert in an 8 x 8 pan but I will also supply the directions if you prefer to make a 9 x 13 size to serve more people. 

Ingredients:

1 can of crescent rolls 

2 8 ounce packages of cream cheese, room temperature 

3/4 cup sugar 

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 can apple pie filling

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, leave in jar to sprinkle, optional*

Putting the apples on top of the cream cheese mixture. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8 x 8 pan with non-stick cooking spray. Place 1/2 of the crescent rolls in the bottom of the pan. Press seams together and bring edges out to all edges of the pan. 
In a bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Carefully spread on top of crescent roll sheet in the pan. 

A quick sprinkle of cinnamon before adding the other crescent on top. 

Pick apples out of the can of pie filling. Lay apples on top of the cream cheese in a single layer so you have enough fruit to cover the cream cheese. Sprinkle cinnamon on top of apples. *The canned apple pie filling I purchased had no high fructose and no cinnamon in the apples. If your can has cinnamon in your canned apples, I would omit the sprinkling of cinnamon. I tasted my apples and they were on the bland side so I added cinnamon to my recipe. 

Second sheet of crescent rolls on top with melted butter, sugar snd cinnamon. Ready to go into the oven. 

Take the remaining 1/2 sheet of crescent rolls and place between 2 sheets of wax paper. Roll out until it’s 8 x 8 and place on top of apple pie filling. Make sure the edges come out to the sides of the pan. 

Finished product!

Churro Topping:

1/2 stick of butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon 

6 Tablespoons of sugar

Garnish with whip cream or a scoop of ice cream if desired 

Mix butter, cinnamon and sugar together and spread over top of the top crescent. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool and serve with whip cream or ice cream. Or both! 😉  Enjoy!

***For a 13 x 9 size pan, use the following measurements. 

Ingredients for 13 x 9 pan:

2 cans of crescent rolls, 1 entire can for the top and one for the bottom

3 8 ounce packages of cream cheese, room temperature 

1 1/2 cups of sugar

3 teaspoons of vanilla

2 cans of apple pie filling

1 teaspoon of cinnamon, optional

Follow the instructions for the 8 x 8 pan for assembly. 
Churro topping for 9 x 13:

1 stick of butter, melted 

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

3/4 cup of sugar

Follow the instructions for the 8 x 8 size.  Baking time will increase to 40-50 minutes. 

Apple Pie Cupcakes

Fourth of July and apple pie.  Here is the best of both worlds, an apple pie cupcake. I think you will love the outcome. 

Ingredients Cupcakes:

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick of butter, room temperature 

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line tin with 24 cupcakes liners.  Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Whisk ingredients together. 
Combine butter, oil and sugar until they are light and fluffy and well combined. Add eggs one at a time. With the mixer on low, add in vanilla and sour cream. Once combined, mix in the flour. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake 18 – 20 minutes or until a cake tester come out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack before cutting a hole in the cupcake and filling. 

Filling:

1 can of apple pie filling, I recommend Duncan Hines Comstock More Fruit (it’s not too sweet and there is more fruit than liquid in the filling)

Cut a hole in the cupcake (see photo). Spoon filling into the cupcake and replace the top.  If the apple slices are too large, slice in half.  It doesn’t have to be perfect, you are covering the top with whip cream frosting. Frosting fixes everything!  😉

Whip Cream Frosting:

1 8 ounce bar of cream cheese

2 teaspoons of vanilla

1/2 – 3/4 cup of powdered sugar (taste after 1/2 cup, add more to sweeten to your liking)

24 ounces of heavy cream

1 – 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, either add it whip cream to blend or sprinkle on top, optional

Sprinkles optional

Place bowl and mixing attachment in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Whip cream cheese until fluffy. Add heavy cream and vanilla and whip into stiff peaks. Add sugar and pipe onto the cupcakes. 

Caramel Apple Cider Muffins

I love apples. I love caramel apples, apple cider, you name it. This recipe has a very light batter that is chocked full of Granny Smith apples. It’s apple heaven on a plate! The muffins have been made 2 ways. One with streusel topping and one way without. The batter for these muffins is light and thin, so if you choose to bake with the streusel topping, you will need to bake them for 10 minutes first before adding the streusel and then returning them to the oven. Either way, they are equally delicious.

Muffin Batter ingredients:
1 egg, I used jumbo
3/4 cup apple cider
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
2 Tablespoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, medium dice
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Optional Streusel Topping:
1 cup flour
8 Tablespoons light brown sugar
Pinch of salt
6 Tablespoons of butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400. Line 12 muffin tins with liners.

Mix egg, cider, sour cream, vanilla and oil in a bowl. In a large mixing bowl, whisk dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry and do not over mix. Add walnuts and apples and stir gently. Fill muffin tins with batter.

For the streusel topping, combine flour, brown sugar, and salt. Stir in butter. You should have at least pea size crumbles. It’s ok if some are larger. Top muffin batter with crumb mixture. Bake muffins 10 minutes, remove from oven and add streusel topping. Continue to bake an additional 8-10 minutes.

Bake until golden brown 18-20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Caramel Glaze:
1/2 cup of Kraft Caramel bits
1 Tablespoon of milk

Melt caramel bits and milk in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave. Check every 30 seconds and stir. Once melted, drizzle over muffins.

Toffee Caramel Apple Cobbler

This is a fast, quick and simple dessert to make. Prep time is 5 minutes, bake time under an hour!

Ingredients:
2 cans of apple pie filling
1 jar of caramel ice cream topping, divided
1 box of yellow cake mix
1 stick of butter, melted
Cinnamon, optional
1 bag of toffee bits, divided
Ice cream, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9 pan with Pam. Open up pie filling and spread on the bottom of your pan. Sprinkle cinnamon over the top of the apples. Pour 1/2 cup (more or less) of caramel sauce over the cinnamon apples. Sprinkle half of the bag of toffee bits over the caramel apples. Sprinkle cake mix over the entire pan. Pour melted butter on top of cake mix. Bake for 50 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Top with ice cream, more caramel sauce and toffee bits. Enjoy!