Tag: apples (Page 3 of 6)

Cozy Apple Spice Cake

December 5, 2014 / Dragonfly Home Recipes / 14 Comments

Sometimes you just need a simple, satisfying dessert to make an evening more enjoyable. Sometimes you crave something sweet, but somewhat healthy. Sometimes you want something to offer your kids for a snack besides a plate of pretzels or chips. Or sometimes you want your kitchen to have that iconic scent of apples and cinnamon baking away in your oven. That’s when I like to make this apple spice cake. It is still making something from scratch, which is a satisfying and healthy thing to do, but it doesn’t take much thinking, and the margin for error is pretty small (unlike making a pie with a homemade pie crust, which I also really like to do, but mostly only when I have the time and energy). The most time-consuming part of this recipe is peeling and chopping the apples, but even that isn’t too bad, since the recipe calls for just about 4-5 apples (3 cups chopped). This apple cake recipe is something you can pull out in a pinch when you need a comforting dessert or snack, and don’t want to go to too much trouble. It is made up of mostly basic things I usually have on hand. The wheat germ is the only ingredient that may not be a staple for everyone, though I like to keep it on hand to add to smoothies and muffins. Wheat germ gives this apple cake a little extra heartiness and lots of health benefits, since it is full of fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals. Of course, if you have a wheat allergy, this cake is probably not for you, but otherwise, I highly recommend it as a delicious, cozy, simple dessert.

Apple Spice Cake

Servings: 6-8
Time: about 15 minutes for preparation, about 45 minutes for baking
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Ingredients:

3 cups apples, peeled and chopped
3 tablespoons butter, softened
3/4 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup wheat germ

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease an 8 x 8 inch baking dish with butter. In a medium mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the flour mixture to the butter/egg mixture. Stir in the apples and wheat germ. Stir until just combined. Pour and spoon the batter into the baking dish. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the cake is lightly brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve with vanilla ice cream or on its own. Enjoy!

Festive Apple-Filled Acorn Squash

November 14, 2014 / Dragonfly Home Recipes / 20 Comments

I love it when I find a recipe for a dish that is fun, seasonal, healthy, and pretty. This month, I had an acorn squash sitting on my counter top for longer than I would care to admit. (Luckily, they keep really well!) I wanted to use it, but I just kept putting it off. Then a couple of days ago, I was leafing through one of my many favorite cookbooks, Mrs. Chard’s Almanac Cookbook: Hollyhocks and Radishes, by Bonnie Stewart Mickelson. This cookbook is so much fun to simply look at, with lots of stories and beautiful illustrations about life in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. And the recipes are beguiling too, with many of them based on local, seasonal produce. I found a recipe for acorn squash that caught my eye, and I am so glad I found it that I wanted to share it as soon as I could get a blog post together. The recipe combines acorn squash with apples and a brown sugar/lemon juice/ginger mixture. Not only does this combination taste really great together, but it also looks so festive. And it is super-easy–most of the time it is simply baking away in the oven, warming up your kitchen and making it smell divine. You can scoop out the apple/squash mixture and serve it in bowls, but if you find small enough acorn squashes, they serve as their own pretty bowls. The only thing I did to change the recipe is that I cut it down by thirds, since I was only making enough for my husband, myself, and our children this time. And truth be told, not everyone in the family is a squash-lover. But some of us are, and we really enjoyed this side dish. (I even converted one non-squash-lover into a squash fan!) For the recipe I post below, I will use the amounts given in the above-mentioned cookbook. However, if you are cooking for a smaller group, just divide by half or thirds. If you are looking to jazz up a standard squash dish or need a fun dish to make for guests, this is a good one to use.

Apple-Filled Acorn Squash

Servings: about 6
Time: 15 minutes for preparation, about 60 minutes for baking
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Ingredients:

3 acorn squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
4 tart apples, peeled and sliced
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
about 6 Tablespoons butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place squash halves, cut-sides down, in a buttered baking dish. Bake 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine apples, lemon juice, brown sugar, and ginger.

Turn baked squash over and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Fill with apple mixture, then dot with butter. Return to oven for another 25 minutes. Enjoy!

This recipe comes from Mrs. Chard’s Almanac Cookbook: Hollyhocks and Radishes by Bonnie Steward Mickelson.

Thanksgiving Inspiration and Louisa May Alcott’s Recipe for Apple Slump

November 3, 2014 / Dragonfly Home Recipes / 10 Comments

In anticipation of the Thanksgiving holiday, my mind has been filling up with visions of warm, wonderful homemade food shared with family and friends. For me, baking is a way to stretch across space and time and connect with people from the past and the present. One book that I like to pull out for inspiration around Thanksgiving time is An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by James Bernardin. I have been a fan of Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel Little Women since I was an adolescent. That novel made a huge impact on me as a girl growing into a young woman and aspiring writer. When I became a mother and my children were young, my mother gave me the above-mentioned adaptation of Alcott’s An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving. It is a book geared for young children, full of scenic illustrations and a simple, heart-warming story of a New England family in the 1800s. I was so excited to read a book by one of my favorite authors to my children, and they have enjoyed it too. Along with the story there are descriptions of the food the family ate for their Thanksgiving meal. One of those dishes was apple slump. With a name like that, I was really curious what it would taste like. Luckily, at the back of the book, there is Louisa May Alcott’s recipe for apple slump, so my daughter and I made it a few years ago. I have been making it around Thanksgiving time ever since. The spiced, baked apples are topped with a slightly sweet, rich cake-like batter. The recipe suggests we serve it with whipped cream, and I also think vanilla ice cream is lovely with it. Today, I served it on its own, and my family ate it gladly for dessert. I personally like to eat any baked apple dish with thick slice of cheddar cheese. My grandma always said apple pie was best that way. I have posted Louisa May Alcott’s recipe for apple slump below, as it appeared in the book An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving. This is a delicious dessert, and a very fun baking project to do with children in conjunction with reading the book, if you are so inclined.

Louisa May Alcott's Apple Slump

Servings: 6
Time: about 15 minutes preparation, plus about 50 minutes for baking
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Ingredients:

4 to 6 tart apples (3 cups sliced)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg (well beaten)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pare, core, and slice the apples. Lightly grease the inside of a 1 1/2-quart baking dish (I used a 9 in. x 9 in. square baking dish) with butter. Put the sliced apples into the dish. In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Sprinkle the mixture over the apples and stir to mix. Bake apples uncovered until they are soft, about 20 minutes.

While the apples are baking, stir together into a bowl the flour, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and sugar. Mix into this the beaten egg, milk, and melted butter. Stir gently. Spread this mixture over the apples and continue baking until the top is brown and crusty (about 25 to 30 minutes). Serve with whipped cream. Enjoy!