Apple Season ….. picking, baking, canning and decorating

It’s apple season and our apple trees are brimming with apples ready for picking.  This bucket was filled in no time at all.

The branches were weighed down quite low to the ground from the apples.  That made for easy picking for everyone.

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This little apple tree is a favorite of mine.  We have another one similar growing near the road. That one has become a community tree, people walking or driving by will stop and pick a few. Recently, a man came to the house and asked if he could take some apples for the deer that have been coming regularly to their property.  He didn’t have anymore apples to feed them from his trees and he didn’t want his daughters  to be disappointed if the deer didn’t come for a visit.  Such a sweet story.

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One of the many buckets of apples picked this season.

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Here are some ways I’ve used the abundance of apples from the yard….

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Placing an apple at each place setting with your guest’s name tag is a simple and easy idea to do.

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Our dining table is long and narrow.  By placing apple arrangements in containers down the center of the table along with votive candles kept the table setting clean and simple.

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Apple Cake baked in individual ramekins.

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· Plum/Apple Cake recipe ·

Apple cake was adapted from the recipe, Plum Cake that I posted about here.  Instead of plums I substituted the recipe with 4 small apples peeled, sliced {2-apples} and diced {2-apples}. Mix together the ingredients for the cake mixture then fold in diced apples.  Divide the cake batter evenly between four prepared shallow 4-ounce ramekins {5-inch size}, arrange sliced apples on top, and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 350ºF until light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

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Serve with a generous sprinkling of powdered sugar, lightly sweetened whipped cream or crème fraîche.

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Individual servings of homemade applesauce with oven-roasted cinnamon apples is a delicious combination.

· Applesauce recipe, click here ·

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Oven-Roasted Cinnamon Apples

Heat oven  to 375ºF.  In a rimmed baking pan {12-by-17-inch} lined with parchment paper, combine 5-6 cups peeled apples cut into bite size pieces, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, 2 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into small pieces, and ¼ cup brown sugar.  Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes until soft and golden brown.

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Add oven-roasted apples, mixed nuts, a sprinkling of cinnamon and brown sugar to a healthy bowl of warm oatmeal for breakfast.

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When it’s apple season, I try to make 2-3 batches of homemade applesauce that I canned for later use and to give some as gifts.  A wooden basket lined with a kitchen towel, filled with a jar of homemade applesauce attached with a spoon, and a fresh picked apple is a gift your friends will enjoy.

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Happy Picking!

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Posted by Kay