Crockpot Caramel Apple Butter

Crisp, autumn apples BEG to be simmered for hours with cinnamon and sugar and turned into a delectable treat to top toast, pancakes, muffins, scones, yogurt or whatever your heart desires, with.  This recipe is easy peasey lemon squeezey because it utilizes one of my favorite appliances... the crock-pot.

What you need:
5 and 1/2 pounds of apples - peeled, cored and chopped
1 cup of white sugar*
1 cup of brown sugar*
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt

* I like to start out with just the two cups of sugar.  Depending on the type of apple you are using you may want more sugar.  I suggest letting it cook for a while then tasting it.  You can add more sugar if you would like it to be sweeter. I would add it slowly though... maybe 1/2 cup at a time, let it cook for a bit, taste, and then add more if needed.

Optional: blender or food processor
If you want a finer apple butter you can run your chopped apples through a blender or food processor until they are smaller bits before proceeding with the recipe (not completely pureed like applesauce) or if you like it a bit chunkier then skip this option and carry on.

1. Dump apples into crockpot.

2. Mix sugar and spices into bowl and dump over apples.  Give a good stir.

3. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour.

4. Reduce heat to low and cook for 12 more hours, stirring occasionally. Go ahead and taste it when you stir it... if you desire more sugar then add some in.  If I am going to let the apple butter cook overnight I use my "keep warm" setting.  The longer your butter cooks the deeper in color it will get... do not worry about the dark brown hue it is taking, it just means it is going to be delicious!  :)

5. For the last hour of cooking I remove the lid to let it thicken up.  Once it is the desired thickness go ahead and either put it in jars to freeze, refrigerate or give away OR you can process it.

To process in a hot water bath:

1. Make sure your hot water bath is ready and boiling and that your jars are warm and lids are hot.

2. You want your apple butter to be hot.  You can put it up to high in crockpot for 10 to 15 minutes and that should do the trick.

3. Ladle butter into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch head space.  Wipe rims/threads with damp cloth.  Cover jars with hot lids and screw on the rings.

4. Process half pint jars in water bath for 10 minutes and pint jars for 15 minutes.

This recipe makes about 8 half pint jars.

Homemade Pop Tarts

   by  mealmakeovermoms 

I  , my kids, get a little excited over pastry covered in frosting... so I decided to whip up some homemade pop tarts on a whim.

Here is what you need:
Double batch of your favorite pie crust
Filling of your choice (jam, brown sugar and cinnamon, pumpkin pie filling, Nutella, ect.)
Icing


For Brown Sugar Cinnamon I combine:
 1/2 cup brown sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon
I brush melted butter onto the rectangles and cover the rectangle with brown sugar mixture.  Then top with another pastry rectangle.  :)

For jam fillings mix 1 cup of jam with 1 Tbsp of tapioca starch that has been mixed with a 1 Tbsp of cold water.  This will help your jam thicken as the tarts cook.


Prepare your dough and divide in half.  Roll out each half into a large rectangle and cut into small rectangles roughly the size of a pop tart.

On one half of the rectangles you will want to brush the dough with a bit of water, a beaten egg, or some butter.  This is what will help adhere the top of your tart to the bottom portion.

Plop your filling into the center of half of the rectangles leaving some space on all sides.

Place another rectangle over the top of your filling and press down on all sides to make a good seal.  I use a fork to make cute hash marks all around my tart.  It looks more authentic that way.  :)  Poke a few holes with your fork, into the top of each tart so the steam can escape.

Place your tarts on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown.

Serve as is or drizzle some icing on each tart once they have cooled.

For icing:

• 1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
•  2 Tbsp milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Mix ingredients and drizzle over pop tarts.  Dot with rainbow sprinkles to add a bit more sugar and extra smiles to your day!  :)

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Perfect Pumpkin Muffins

   by  tibbygirl 

With Autumn comes my obsession for pumpkin everything... these muffins make the perfect accompaniment to a pumpkin latte and they are HEALTHY for you! It's a win, win people.  The whole family LOVES them.  In fact, my son requested these to be served at his birthday party instead of cake.  We did add chocolate chips to make them more cupcake like... oh, so good!  Enjoy! 

   by  Sarah Cady 

Ingredients:

• Cooking spray
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole-grain pastry flour (I  use white wheat)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsulphered molasses
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
• 1/4 cup raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.

In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, molasses, oil and 1 egg until combined. Add the other egg and whisk well. Whisk in the pumpkin and vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Whisk just until combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin pan and sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of one of the muffins comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the muffins to loosen them and unmold. Cool completely on the rack.

yields 12 delectable muffins.

Homemade Honey Smacks

Sometimes I just have a hankering for a sugary cereal from my childhood.  Honey Smacks used to be a favorite of mine and I was bound and determined to try to whip up something healthy for the kids that could be a throwback to my youth.  The results were awesome.

Ingredients:
Bag of puffed rice cereal
1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses
sprinkle of cinnamon

Place puffed rice on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 6 minutes.  Meanwhile, melt the remaining ingredients in a pot on the stove.  Pour honey mixture over puffed rice and stir well.  Return to oven for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring every five minutes.

Cool on baking sheet.  Cereal will crisp up upon cooling.  Once cooled, store in an airtight container.  I enjoy eating it plain but it was good tossed into yogurt, eaten as cereal or used in granola bars.

Leave a comment below and let me know what  you like to dish up for breakfast.

Gingerbread Scones

 On a rainy morning I enjoy serving up something warm out of the oven alongside a cup of tea.  As the children tottle down the stairs the smell of ginger and molasses entice them to make their way to the table and conjure up memories of Christmastime.  This recipe from Serious Eats was a big hit in our home.  We used whole wheat flour instead of all purpose and the scones were still flaky and delicious.  Enjoy!

Kiwi Banana Muffins

I awoke from a nap last week to find 16lbs of kiwi on my porch.  Yup, that's right... SIXTEEN POUNDS.  We have been eating kiwi daily but I needed to find a way to use up more of it, so this week I made four batches of kiwi banana muffins and three batches of kiwi banana bread.  I was not sure how it would turn out but this recipe received rave reviews.  They are moist and delicious as well as good for you.  The recipe is as follows:

 
 by  Craig Damlo 

Dawna's Kiwi Banana Muffins/Bread
yields 12 muffins or 1 quick bread
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 bananas, mashed
3 kiwis, mashed
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Mix melted butter and sugars together.  Add egg and mix well.  Add fruit and mix well.  In a separate bowl whisk/sift together flours, baking soda and salt.  Add to fruit mixture.  Spray muffin tins/loaf pan with non stick cooking spray and pour in batter.
For muffins:  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes
For bread: Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes
Let cool in pan for ten minutes and then remove to cooling racks.

*Easy way to mash kiwi... cut kiwi in half, scoop fruit out onto a cutting board w/spoon and mash with a fork.  Sure beats peeling the furry skin off of the little buggers.  :0)

Enjoy!