Apples

Trick or Treat: Caramel Apple Cocktails

/ Fiddle Dee Dee / Leave a comment

Happy Halloween!

Things are a little different this year without the kids at home for this fun holiday. Trick or Treating went by the wayside years ago, but you’re never too old for a bonfire or holiday themed food with teenagers.

But here we are; our first empty nest Halloween!

And Audley and I plan to treat ourselves!

One of my favorite fall highlights is apple season. This year I didn’t get to pick my own, but I still made a trip up to my favorite north Alabama orchard with Momma. Crow Mountain really has the best apples!! It’s always fun to decide how to use them, and this year I changed it up from dessert to a delectable and over-21 grown-up Halloween treat ….

Caramel Apple Cocktails

The ingredient list is short: large apples (I love a Granny Smith) that you’ve hollowed into a “glass”, melted caramel to rim your apples, apple cider (try to find local), Crown Royal Vanilla, Ellington Reserve Salted Caramel Whisky (use airplane bottles), and brown sugar.

Wash and dry your apples, then slice the tops off and hollow out the inside of the apple. Don’t go all the way to the bottom or your cocktail “glass” will leak. I used a spoon for hollowing out the apple.

Rim the edge of your apple with melted caramel. Since you will be working around juicy apples, this works best when spooned around the edge. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Also sprinkle a little brown sugar inside the apple.

To mix the cocktail (for 2) heat 5 ounces of apple cider, then add 1.5 ounces of the caramel apple whisky, 1 ounce vanilla Crown, and stir. Pour into the apples you’ve made into glasses.

Pour into the apple glasses, garnish with a cinnamon stick and enjoy!

These take just a few minutes to prepare; keeping you in a Halloween frame of mind while toasting an empty nest!

And don’t waste your apple! When you’ve finished your drink, slice the apple to eat for a spiked caramel apple treat!

Old-Fashioned Apple Jelly

/ Fiddle Dee Dee / 2 Comments

My favorite orchard in North Alabama announced last call on apples over the weekend.

The trees are no longer producing quality fruits, and apple season is ending as the first frosts are threaten the South. This doesn’t mean you have to wait another year for that tasty autumn flavor! Nothing is as delightful (nor as cozy) as homemade jelly topping hot, flaky biscuits on a cold weekend for breakfast, brunch or even supper with the family!

Fresh Picked Orchard Apples

Apple jelly, while a little time-consuming, is really quite worth the small amount of work as you savor each bite throughout the year. I stepped out of my comfort zone this year and made our apple jelly without commercial pectin.

Did you know commercial pectin is actually a derivative of apples? This delicious fruit is loaded with natural sugars which make it an ideal experiment for old-fashioned jelly making.

Old Fashioned Apple Jelly

Taking about 6 pounds of Granny Smith and Rome Beauty apples, I chopped them up (core and all) and placed in a large stock pot with six cups of water. When choosing apples for your jelly keep in mind that tart apples (Granny Smith, Fuji, Honey Crisp) have more pectin. Also, the more an apple ripens, the less pectin it will have, so choose slightly underripe apples. This is where picking your own at an orchard comes in handy!

Apple Jelly Prep

I allowed my apple mixture to simmer about 25 minutes until the apples were nice and soft. Lining a colander with cheese cloth over a large bowl, I carefully and slowly poured the entire pot of apples and juice into it, allowing the juices to start draining so I didn’t overfill. I had about 7 cups of juice, which is slightly more than you need for this recipe.

Pulp for Apple Jelly

{Save what’s left, chill and drink it. The taste is unforgettably delicious !}

Fresh Apple Juice

Next, I added the juice to a large stockpot along with sugar and lemon juice, then brought it all to a boil. Even though your juice mixture might hit the 220° mark fairly quick, working without commercial pectin can be tricky. Test the jelly several times to see if it’s going to gel. Keep stirring it, so that it does not boil over while you’re waiting! To test for gel I took a cold spoon and dipped it into the boiling jelly, then dropped it over a cold plate. If the jelly forms a gel or began dripping very slowly, it’s probably ready. This was my first time making jelly without pectin, so there was a lot of uncertainty in my judgement!

Apple Jelly in Weck jars

Once the jelly was ready, I ladled it into sterilized jars, sealed with bands and lids, then processed in a water bath to seal them up for future use.

homemade apple jelly

Click Old Fashion Apple Jelly for the full, printable recipe.

Audley opened a jar the next day to top a Bojangles biscuit and deemed it absolutely perfect ! His seal of approval is all I need.

How do you preserve your favorite harvest flavors for later use? I would love to hear what your favorite ways to extend the season!

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Deep Dish Apple Crisp

/ Fiddle Dee Dee / 2 Comments

Between picking apples with Audley as well as a trip back home for a visit with my Momma to one of our favorite orchards, we have a house full of apples right now! We have Granny Smith, Rome Beauty, Macintosh, yellow and red Delicious… so many flavors, which means there are so many ways to use them!

And Audley has been enjoying the many ways I’ve found to use all of nature’s bounty in baskets and on our kitchen table and on our cabinets….

Besides snacking on them, my oatmeal has been quite tasty the last several days as they make a yummy add-in. I also made some fabulous apple jelly and put up a few for later use.

Deep Dish Apple Crisp / Fiddle Dee Dee Blog

By far the absolute best way I’ve used the apples was in the apple crisp I whipped up for us to enjoy last weekend!

Y’all, it was absolutely delicious.

It was also so unhealthy.

But, It was so delicious!

What made this even better was mixing the different types of apples and their unique flavors to create a symphony in your mouth!  Combining the juicy tart flavor of a Granny Smith apple with a sweeter Rome Beauty is just the beginning of flavor.  Audley really loved the mixture of flavor.

It was THAT noticeable.

Deep Dish Apple Crisp

Making an apple crisp may seem difficult, but honestly, while it takes several steps, it is so easy to create.  Everyone will love you for it, and the unexpected ingredients raise this crisp far above any other you will taste! This recipe has the traditional ingredients of an apple crisp as well; oats, flour, vanilla, apple pie spice, etc… but the filling is really special. I mean who combines butter and heavy cream into the filling of their apple crisp?

I did, and it is over the top scrumptious!

And guess what?

The topping has butter in it as well.

Deep Dish Apple Crisp in Lodge pan

Whether you pick your own apples or buy them at the grocery store; mixed a variety of apple flavors or just stick to one, this apple crisp is perfect for your next potluck, family dinner, or to sit and eat in the corner, keeping it all to yourself!  If you show up to Thanksgiving dinner with this dessert you will be the family hero.

Apple Crisp / Fiddle Dee Dee

Y’all, I promise, it is that good!

You can find the full, printable recipe by clicking  Deep Dish Apple Crisp.

Bite of Apple Crisp / Fiddle Dee Dee

If you want to elevate the unhealthiness deliciousness of this recipe, Serve it warm topped with vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream.

Autumn Deep Dish Apple Crisp From Fiddle Dee Dee

After serving this, if you don’t hear from your husband for a while, he is probably passed out on the couch with football playing in the background in a dessert coma.

Take this moment to change the channel to Hallmark, savor your own dish of Apple Crisp, and enjoy the peace and quite.

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