Baking Junkie

Tag: Apple

Sunday, November 27th, 2011

Apple Toffee Blondies with Brown Sugar Frosting

Recipe adapted from Sweet Pea’s Kitchen and Cookies and Cups

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I certainly did. I don’t want to see any ham, stuffing or mashed potatoes for a while though! With Christmas right around the corner I am sure many of you are busy decorating and planning out your holiday baking. While these may not be a very traditional holiday treat, they are certainly a very delicious one! I have actually made these three times already, which rarely ever happens for me anymore. The first time I made them without the frosting (mainly to save time), and they were fabulous by themselves. The second (and third) time I added the frosting, and it takes them to a whole new level. They are by far the the most moist and chewy blondies I have ever eaten. The apple and toffee combination is fantastic, and I would love to try it again with other recipes. Enjoy!

Apple Toffee Blondies with Brown Sugar Frosting
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Blondies:
⅔ cup butter, softened
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
1 medium apple, peeled and chopped
¾ cup toffee bits

Frosting:
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the butter and brown sugar. Add eggs one at a time and mix until combined. Add vanilla. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add to liquid ingredients. Add chopped apple and toffee pieces. Spread into a well greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake for approximately 30 minutes.

To make the frosting combine butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add powdered sugar and milk. Spread over cooled bars.

Tags: Apple, Bars, Blondies, Buttercream, Cinnamon, Fall recipes

Posted in Blondies | 2 Comments »

Sunday, November 20th, 2011

Apple Pie Dip with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

Recipe adapted from The Peach Kitchen

Last year I must have been craving pumpkin, because that was the base for most of my fall desserts. This seems to definitely be the year of the apple! I still have one more apple dessert to share with you all after this one, but don’t worry, I have a pumpkin recipe I’ll post soon as well (I better get busy)!

I made this dip for a jewelry party I attended last week and then brought the leftovers into work. I love almost any kind of dip, and I’ve been wanting to try making my own cinnamon tortilla chips for a while now so I was very excited to try this recipe! I decided to double it, which is reflected in my version below. If you’re making it for a smaller crowd then just cut the ingredients in half. This was a little more time consuming than I was expecting. Peeling, coring and cutting the apples is kind of a pain, but worth it in the end. The tortilla chips also took a little longer than I expected, mainly because I had to keep reusing my pans and waiting for the chips to cool a bit in between. The end results were definitely delicious, and I had several people mention making this for a Thanksgiving appetizer. Enjoy!

Apple Pie Dip with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips
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Chips:
10 medium whole wheat flour tortillas
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
4 ½ Tbsp sugar

Dip:
4 medium apples; peeled, cored and chopped
4 Tbsp lemon juice
6 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sugar
3 Tbsp flour

To make the chips, preheat the oven to 410 degrees. Brush the melted butter on a tortilla, then sprinkle with some of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Use a pizza cutter to cut into “chips”. Repeat with all of the tortillas. Place in a single layer on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 5-8 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown (I used two different cookie sheets and put them each in the oven twice). Let cool before serving.

To make the dip, place the apples, lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon and sugar in a medium sized pan. Mix together and heat on medium high heat until boiling. Add the flour and continue heating until mixture has thickened slightly. Serve either warm or cold with tortilla chips.

Tags: Apple, Cinnamon, Fall recipes, No Bake

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Sunday, November 13th, 2011

Dutch Apple Pie

Crust recipe from Annie’s Eats, Pie recipe adapted from AllRecipes

Can you all believe that Thanksgiving is in less than 2 weeks? I wanted to make sure I shared this recipe with you before the holiday, in case you decide to add it to your baking line-up. This is actually the first time I have ever made an apple pie, and I have to admit I was a little nervous. Both Derek and I LOVE dutch apple pie with the crumb topping, so there was no question I would be making that. I found this recipe on AllRecipes and it had a lot of positive reviews. I only made a few changes. The crust was the part I was most nervous about, but it was easier than I ever imagined. Everything I have ever read about making pie crust emphasizes using cold butter and cold water, and as long as you do that the crust should turn out fine. Enjoy!

Dutch Apple Pie
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Crust:
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp sugar
¼ tsp salt
8 Tbsp (1 stick) cold, salted butter, cut into small pieces
3 Tbsp cold water

Filling:
5 cups apples; peeled, cored and sliced thinly
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
⅔ cups sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
⅛ tsp ground cloves

Topping:
¾ cup all purpose flour
½ tsp cinnamon
½ cup brown sugar
¾ cup quick cooking oats
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Add in the butter pieces and mix together on medium speed until the butter pieces become smaller, about the size of peas. Add in the cold water and continue mixing until a dough forms. Form the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes. Remove dough and let it warm just slightly, until it becomes easy to work with. Roll out on a lightly floured surface, then place into your pie pan. Trim off excess dough around the edges.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place the apples in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Pour over the apples and toss to coat. Lightly brush the pie crust with egg white, then pour in the apples. Cover the filling loosely with aluminum foil, place the pie plate on a cookie sheet and place in the oven for 10 minutes.

While the filling is in the oven, begin the topping by mixing together the flour, cinnamon, sugar and oats. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter or fork.
Remove pie from oven and reduce temperature to 375 degrees. Sprinkle streusel topping over pie filling and again cover loosely with aluminum foil. Bake for another 35 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and return to the oven for approximately 10 more minutes, until the topping and crust appear browned.

{Mingle Monday}

Tags: Apple, Cinnamon, Fall recipes, Oatmeal, Pies, Streusel

Posted in Pies | No Comments »

Sunday, October 30th, 2011

Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake with Praline Frosting

I can’t believe I haven’t talked about this yet, but have you guys heard of Pinterest? If you haven’t, I beg you to please click over and check out the site. It is a visual bookmarking system that for the past several months has taken up more of my time than Facebook (hard to believe, right?). If you want to see or follow my Pinterest page click here.

This is one of the recipes that I have found on Pinterest. My sister-in-law not so subtly hinted that this would make a good birthday cake, so that’s exactly what it turned into. The original recipe calls for baked pecans in the cake batter. I did attempt this, but ended up throwing them out after I completely forgot about them in the oven. Oops! If you burn your pecans too, or if you just prefer the cake without them don’t worry, it still tastes delicious! The cream cheese filling adds a nice flavor and contrast, but the frosting was personally my favorite. It is made on the stove and will seem thin and runny at first. If that is how you like things then pour it on the cake right away. I wanted mine to be a little thicker so I let it sit for several minutes first. Enjoy!

Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake with Praline Frosting
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Cake:
3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp nutmeg
3 eggs, beaten
¾ cup vegetable oil
¾ cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1 large apple, peeled and chopped

Filling:
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
½ cup sugar
1 egg
2 Tbsp flour
1 tsp vanilla

Frosting:
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter
3 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and nutmeg. Stir in the eggs, vegetable oil, applesauce and vanilla, mixing just until moistened. Add in apples and set aside.

To prepare the filling beat together the cream cheese, butter and sugar using an electric mixer. Add egg, flour and vanilla and beat until combined.

Pour half of the cake batter into a well greased bundt pan. Spoon the cream cheese mixture over the cake batter, making sure to keep it away from the edges of the pain. Swirl the filling gently through the cake batter using a knife. Spoon remaining cake batter over top of filling layer. Place in oven and bake for approximately 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

To make frosting place the brown sugar, butter and milk in a medium saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Boil for one minute (continuing to whisk constantly), then remove from heat and add vanilla. Gradually stir in powdered sugar until smooth. Continue to stir gently for several minutes until frosting begins to thicken and cool. Once it has reached your desired consistency pour over the cooled cake.

Tags: Apple, Cake, Cinnamon, Fall recipes

Posted in Cake | No Comments »

Monday, November 22nd, 2010

Caramel Apple Trifle

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home

Trifles just may be my new favorite dessert. There’s always some form of cake which is a plus in my book. There’s also always some sort of pudding or cool whip mixture, which also ranks really high with me. Throw in some other related ingredients and you’ve got one heck of a dessert. I have been dying to make this recipe since last Fall but just never got around to it. We all know how much I love any kind of caramel and apple combination so needless to say I loved this! The original recipe called for a pound cake, and if you really like it or are pressed for time it would work well, but I made my own yellow cake. I think a spice cake would also be delicious. The apples have an amazing aroma, and the cream cheese caramel layer is surprisingly very tasty. I am posting the recipe as I made it, but next time I might make more of that layer. Or maybe I just need to get a smaller trifle bowl! This was one of those desserts where I really had a hard time stopping myself once I started eating. Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Trifle
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1 box yellow cake mix
Ingredients on box + 1 additional egg
3 Tbsp butter
4 cups peeled, chopped apples (3-4 large apples)
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp apple pie spice, divided
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 jar (12 ¼ oz) caramel ice cream topping, divided
12 oz cool whip, room temperature, divided
Cinnamon

Make cake according to directions on box. Set aside and let cool, then cut into cubes. In a large skillet melt butter over medium heat. Stir in apples, brown sugar, and ½ tsp of apple pie spice. Cook 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until apples are tender. In a medium sized bowl beat the cream cheese until smooth. Mix in ½ cup of the caramel topping and remaining ½ tsp of apple pie spice. Fold in 2 cups of the cool whip.

In a trifle bowl or glass serving dish layer half of the cake cubes. Spread cream cheese mixture over the cake, then top that with the apples. Repeat once more with layers of cake, cream cheese, and apples. Top with remaining cool whip. Sprinkle with cinnamon and drizzle with caramel if desired.

Here’s a recap of my other caramel apple recipes, in case you love them as much as I do!

Dutch Apple Cheesecake

Graham Cracker Caramel Apple Cookies

Caramel Apple Bars