So remember two weeks ago when I was all excited about the Ravens playoff win and those cranberry muffins? Well now I’m not so excited about the Ravens–it’s been nearly a week and I’m STILL in shock at that missed field goal. Seriously, how do you miss that? Le sigh.

But I am still excited about oat based quick breads–and I made this one that night of the football excitement. Oats just make everything so warm and delicious. Like a big thick, snuggly blanket turned into bread. And the apples allow this quick bread to be low on sugar, but still big on taste. And thanks to the oatmeal, this bread stays nice and moist…and dare I say it, even better the second day than the first?

But the bread wasn’t the only thing I was excited about that weekend–my cousin Christi was also up to visit! Christi deserves a special shout out, because I’m pretty sure she’s one of the longest regular readers of the blog, even if she isn’t a big commenter. We all grew up together, but had fallen out of touch for a few years, and I’m so happy to have her back in my life! We had a great weekend together–girl talk, Once Upon a Time, Beauty and the Beast in 3D (my favorite Disney animated movie EVER, even with an unfortunate interruption for a power surge) and sushi happy hour! And I’ve seen her three times in the last year, which means I get to cross another one off the list!

Apple Oat Bread

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1-1/2 cups (about 2 medium) chopped apple
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and oats in a large bowl. Add apple, eggs, milk, and oil. Mix until dry ingredients are moistened. Mixture will be stiff.

Put mixture into prepared pan and bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until done. Let sit for 20 minutes. Remove from pan and continue cooling on a wire rack.

Is their anything more quintessentially fall than apple picking? Being in the orchard, with the changing leafs on the hill, and a cool crisp feeling in the air? No, I don’t think there is. Maybe if we could scent the air with pumpkin pie spice it might up it a little, but it’s basically perfect.

Recently I was lucky enough to find a free afternoon to make the trip out to Larriland Farms in Western Howard County with Carlos and Eileen. Larriland is my favorite place to pick your own fruit throughout the summer and fall, and in the past I’ve picked apples, peaches and blueberries there.

Larriland, which always seems like a completely different world from Baltimore and most of urbanized central Maryland, really seems different in October, when the fall festival and Halloween decorations are in full swing. We had a really fun time checking out all of the pumpkins and gourds that were for sale up at the Barn and posing with some of the fall decor items.

And then there were the apples. Even though there were only two varieties available when we were at the farm (Stayman and Braeburn’s) we sure did pick our fill quickly.

Yeah, who knew three adults could pick 50 pounds of apples in less than half an hour? Turns out it’s not that hard when the apple trees are full of gorgeous fruit! Carlos was totally new to apple picking, but he learned pretty quickly.

We’re hoping most of these apples will soon be apple butter, which then hopefully will turn into some holiday gifts. Because if I’m left alone with all of that apple butter, someone better save me from it–I love it sooooo much!

How are all of you this fine holiday monday? Yes, I’m lucky enough to have Columbus Day off. Thank you Mr. Columbus for not actually discovering America! I really needed the extra day this weekend, since I was feeling seriously under the weather Saturday and then running/painting wiped me out yesterday! The good news is the painting is almost done, and hopefully there will be a big reveal soon!

Luckily for me (and Noel and Carlos) I wasn’t too tired Saturday morning to make this baked oatmeal, which has been making it’s way around these interwebs.

One of the things I’ve always liked about blogging and the blogging community is how things can take on a life of their own and just buzz right around the internet. Like this pumpkin baked oatmeal. When I saw it pop up on Biz‘s blog last week, I knew I had seen it somewhere. Turns out it was originally from Jen‘s blog, another one of my favorites. It’s been back and making the rounds with a vengeance this fall season!

And oh holy yum, after making this I know WHY it’s making the rounds. IT’S AMAZING. Like, I wanted to eat the whole pan myself amazing. Good thing Carlos was willing to come over and safe me from myself eat some too. This will definitely become a weekend staple in our house–it’s too easy not to make a return appearance!

Baked Pumpkin Apple Oatmeal
Adapted from My Kitchen Addiction

2 cups old fashioned oats
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 medium apples chopped with skins on

Preheat oven to 375 and spray and 8 by 8 pan with cooking spray. Mix dry ingredients (through the baking powder) in a large bowl. In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients. Combine wet and dry ingredients, then stir in apples. Spread in the prepared baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until middle is set and top is golden brown. Serve hot.

My fall baking isn’t ALL pumpkin related, I promise!

Saturday night some of our friends were having a cookout at their house. This particular friend (Elizabeth) has told me in the past that she LOVES my fruit desserts, and her all time favorite was my Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. So when thinking about what I would take to the cookout, I knew it had to be something in the pie family. But sadly, as much as I searched I couldn’t find rhubarb (it’s sadly way out of season) so I decided to go with something that’s in right now–APPLES! Because who doesn’t love classic apple pie?

When I went to find an apple pie recipe, I was surprised to find that I actually don’t have one on the blog. How could that be? During the fall it seems like I’m always baking with apples. But then I realized that I typically take the easy way out and just make apple crisp for an easy Sunday night dessert.

So I ended up scanning Google, and I was again surprised–who knew there were so many variations on classic apple pie? In the end I decided to go with a classic recipe from Martha Stewart, but with a twist inspired by Tracy at Sugarcrafter. An apple pie made with tart apples and finished with a creamy caramel sauce.

Classic Apple Pie:

Crust:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks COLD unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
1/2 to 3/4 cup ice water

Combine flour, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix. Add the butter, and with your hands (I think this works better) or with a pastry cutter, mix butter into flour until it looks like meal, with small, pea sized chunks of visible butter. If using your hands, break the butter up by mashing smaller pieces flat with the flour. This technique of working the butter in by hand takes a little practice, but its easier to get the right consistency this way.

Add 1/2 cup of the ice water (but not the ice cubes) and mix it into flour/butter mixture. You want a pie dough that JUST holds together, but isn’t sticky. If your pie dough isn’t holding together yet, add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough just holds together. Once dough is done, separate into two pieces. Form each into a disk and wrap them in plastic. Place in the fridge for at least an hour, but up to one week.

While the dough is chilling, make your filling.

Pie Filling
Adapted from Martha Stewart

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
10 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
3/4 cup sugar, plus additional for pie top
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch ground cloves
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large egg, beaten

Heat oven to 375 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pie dough into two 1/8-inch-thick circles to a diameter slightly larger than that of your pie plate. Press one pastry circle into the pie plate.

In a large bowl, combine apples, sugar, lemon zest and juice, spices, and flour. Toss well. Spoon apples into pie pan. Dot with butter, and cover with remaining pastry circle. Cut several steam vents across top. Seal by crimping edges as desired. Brush with beaten egg, and sprinkle with additional sugar.
Bake until crust is brown and juices are bubbling, about 1 hour. Let cool on wire rack before serving.

And then to serve:

Caramel Sauce

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup water
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Mix the water and sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Do not stir. Increase the heat to medium and boil uncovered until the sugar turns a warm chestnut brown (about 350 degrees F on a candy thermometer), about 5 to 7 minutes, gently swirling the pan to stir the mixture. Be careful – the mixture is extremely hot! Watch the mixture very carefully at the end, as it will go from caramel to burnt very quickly. Turn off the heat. Stand back to avoid splattering and slowly add the cream and vanilla. Don’t worry – the cream will bubble violently and the caramel will solidify.

Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is smooth, about 2 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. It will thicken as it sits.

Well another fantastic Thanksgiving has come and gone. This one was extra special, since it was our first one (and first holiday!) at the shore!

On Wednesday morning I packed up the turkey and seemingly half of my kitchen and headed to the shore. I had to make a not so brief stop off at the doctor for a running related issue, but eventually I made it to the beach!

I started cooking almost immediately, mostly because I knew I needed to get the star of our meal, a beautiful, free range 20 pound turkey into our brining solution as soon as possible. What a comedy of errors that was! First I foolishly cut the brining bag (don’t ask), then the bottom of the bag ripped out. After a frantic search at the grocery store, we ended up using this recipe and brining in a Hefty bag. Actually two Heftys.

This was one seriously fantastic turkey. Moist, golden, perfect. We barely had enough leftovers for the turkey pot pie I made later in the weekend!

But let me share credit where it’s due–everything at our potluck style meal for 18 was fantastic. We had a ton of food and everyone loved it all. Some of our old favorites–like dinner rolls and pumpkin cheesecake were there–but we also had some fantastic newbies, like a great apple sausage stuffing.

But the great food didn’t stop there! On Friday we did some black friday shopping tasting at Dogfish Head, where they were sampling dark beers to celebrate!

And then on Saturday, there was Christmas decorating! And turkey pot pie! Because nothing says bring on the next holiday like all time comfort food. I used this recipe to use up our leftover turkey–delicious!

And now, a word about the tree and Christmas decorating. In our family, we’re pretty serious about Christmas decorating. So after an exhaustive search, we settled on a 9 1/2 foot tree with 1,000 lights! It’s beautiful and fits the space great! But our decorations don’t stop with the tree…

And no, that’s not all of it!

Kori and I even decorated ourselves in matching pjs!

And finally, Sunday morning, because we weren’t ALL stuffed to the gills, I made applee cider doughnuts. Because who doesn’t love doughnuts?

All in all, a holiday weekend for the record books!

In honor of National Bundt Day and Mary the Food Librarian’s Bundt-a-thon, I want to share with you my new favorite fall cake!

Meet the Applesauce Spice Bundt–a cake that is sure to be the star of my Thanksgiving table, and could be the star of yours too! Because it’s made with applesauce and not chunky pieces of apple, this bundt is a whole new twist on the fall apple cake. It’s less a traditional apple cake and more the moistest spice cake you’ve ever had. I made this for dessert when we met up with my friend (and she should be yours too if you haven’t checked her out…she’s one amazing cook!) and fellow blogger Wendi for dinner, and it was a nice accompaniment to her fantastic dinner.

So wonderful in fact, that we all went back for seconds. And you know when food bloggers go back for seconds, it must be good!

Good thing I only made the baby bundt for dinner and made the rest of the batter into a loaf for Noel to take to work–because otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to control myself!

Not only did I discover a new favorite cake in the process, but I also discovered the joy of making applesauce! Who knew it was so easy! Take a few apples past their prime (three apples is about 1 pound) add a quarter cup of water for each pound, and then let the apples simmer for 30 minutes. A quick whirl of the immersion blender later, and you’ve gone from apples past their prime to the best applesauce ever. Really.

Now on to that beautiful bundt footage!

Applesauce Spice Bundt
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

The recipe below will make one full sized (12 cup) bundt. I used about half of the mix to fill a 6 cup bundt, then made a loaf of the rest of the batter. Make sure you spray your bundt pan well, and let the cake cool some before you flip it out, and you’ll have one beautiful cake!

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 stick salted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce

For glaze:
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
splash of vanilla extract
1/8 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 cup half and half
pinch allspice

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Spray a bundt pan with baking spray with flour.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Beat butter, brown sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in applesauce. At low speed, mix in flour mixture until just combined.

Spread batter evenly in pan and bake until golden-brown and a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Gently flip onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

To make glaze: Whip cream cheese, confectioners sugar, and vanilla in a stand mixer until fluffy. Slowly (1 tablespoon at a time) add half and half until the mixture is desired consistency (for me, this was so it would easily plop off a spoon, but wouldn’t be drippy). Add pinch of all spice. Spread on top of the cooled caked, and decorate with more allspice.

Oh I wish this bundt-a-thon came with smell-o-vision. Yumlish.

After I came down from my 5K high last week, I needed a break. So I won’t lie, I took a nap. Yeah, I know you’re not supposed to need a nap after a 5K, but I’m a girl that likes to sleep!

And then I woke up. And I was STARVING. I knew we had a date with our good friends later that night after Noel’s inaugural Mount Vernon ghost tour (have I ever told you that Noel is a tour guide with Baltimore Ghost Tours? Well he is) and we would be going out to eat. So the question was, what to eat to tie me over until a late dinner?

I suddenly had a bug in my brain to make something pumpkin–and somehow I settled on pumpkin soup. Because soup can be the ultimate holdover snack. It’s not quite enough to be a meal, but it’s just substantial enough to hold you over until the next meal.

And this is a soup that’s so chock full of fruits and veggies, it feels like a healthy snack even though it’s creamy and thick. The secret ingredients? Apples and onions, which when pureed give the soup a nice thickness without too much richness. A perfect afternoon snack. Even Ariadne was impressed.

Curried Pumpkin Apple Soup
Adapted from Family Fun Magazine

This soup screams fall, with it’s pumpkin and apple, but it’s a nice change on the pumpkin theme. Instead of the traditional fall spices, the curry powder in this recipe gives the soup a little bit of heat, which balances the bit of sweetness in the apples and the honey. This would make a delicious main or a side, and I think it’s going to make an appearance on my Thanksgiving table as an appetizer. The best thing? Because you’re using canned pumpkin, it comes together in record time.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 large apple, cored, and chopped
2 teaspoons mild curry powder
3 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups solidly packed pumpkin mash or canned pumpkin
1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/2 cup milk
2 to 3 tablespoons honey (to taste)
Sour cream and chives, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

Melt the butter in a soup pot. Stir in the onion and apple. Sauté the ingredients over medium-high heat until the onion is clear, about 5 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and sauté the mixture for another minute. Stir in 1 cup of chicken broth and cook it for 1 minute more.

Add the pumpkin and stir, then add the other 2 cups of chicken stock. Using a stick blender, puree the soup until it’s smooth.

Add the salt (to taste) then set the soup over medium-high heat and bring it to a simmer, stirring occasionally.

After 5 minutes, stir in the milk and 2 tablespoons of honey. Taste the soup, adding more salt or honey and pepper to get the desired balance of sweet and savory. Simmer it for 2 minutes more, remove the soup from the heat, and serve it hot. Garnish with sour cream or greek yogurt and enjoy!

A few weeks ago, I had a predicament. Eileen and I–pretty much without consulting our husbands–had decided to do a new years dinner party. And we had invited 12 for a formal sit down. At first, we were thinking we would do something over the top fancy, like crab, lobster, or some other spectacular seafood. But then I started to price out crab and other seafood recipes. EEK! I had no idea that jumbo lump was so expensive! Guess that restaurant markup on crabcakes isn’t quite as much as I thought after all. I love my friends, but I didn’t want to be bankrupt in January! Double EEK!

So what do you make for a whole crowd of people that’s 1) fancy enough for a formal sit down and 2) not so expensive you’re going to spend a whole month’s food budget on it?

Pork loin–it’s fantastic! And available in bulk, at very reasonable prices, at Costco. Look at that 7 1/2 pound beauty. Suitable for serving 12, half of which we expected to be very hungry boys.

Then the challenge was to find a suitable treatment for the pork loin, something that was festive and fancy, but not too much work. We found the perfect recipe at Simply Recipes–Cranberry and Apple Stuffed Pork loin. I loved the idea of traditional fall flavors like apples and cranberries, offering an echo of traditional holiday tables, with the twist of an inside stuffing. And the best part of the recipe was that we could stuff the loin early in the day and then refrigerate until we were ready to cook it in the oven. No slaving over a hot stove in party dresses required!

Looks like someone else approved of our choice of pork loin as well.

Cranberry and Apple Stuffed Pork Loin
Adapted from Simply Recipes

As soon as we mixed the stuffing for this, we knew it was going to be a hit. It had me at croutons alone, but Carlos, Eileen and I all agreed that the stuffing smelled wonderful. It really was tough not to spoon it right out of the bowl–I had to satisfy myself with a few of the extra croutons out of the bag instead. We doubled this recipe to accommodate our pork loin, so if you follow the scale below you will get enough to make one 3 pound loin. Also, if you refrigerate this after stuffing, be aware that your loin will take longer to cook through.

Ingredients:

• 1 boneless pork loin (about 3 pounds)
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup seasoned croutons
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup peeled, chopped green apples
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon minced rosemary

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325.

Rinse the pork and pat it dry. Butterfly the roast by first cutting lengthwise about halfway through the roast. Then angle the knife and cut horizontally almost all of the way through, on both sides. You are making a total of three cuts into the pork. Unfold the pork. Cover with 2 layers of of plastic wrap. Pound with a meat mallet to flatten as much as possible. Remove plastic wrap. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper and set aside.

Place croutons and stock in a small bowl and let sit for 5 minutes, until the croutons have absorbed the stock and have softened. If you’re me, mash the croutons repeatedly until they’re mushy. Stir in the apples, walnuts, cranberries, shallots, maple syrup and rosemary. Spread mixture over surface of the pork. Starting with the smallest side of the meat (which should be in the shape of a rectangle), roll up tightly and secure with kitchen string in three or four places, depending on the size of your loin. At this point you can wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate if you are making ahead.

Coat the bottom of a roasting pan with cooking spray. Place the roast in the pan and cook at 325°F, uncovered, for about 1 hour ten minutes, or until the pork reaches an internal temperature of 140-145°F. Start checking the internal temperature of the roast at about one hour. The pork may still look pinkish on the outside, so you really need a kitchen thermometer to make sure it is done! Let stand for 10 minutes. Remove the kitchen string and slice into 1/2-inch thick slices.

The loin looked just beautiful on our festive holiday table! But those boys let us down and we ended up with a whole extra half leftover! Good thing that the loin is also excellent reheated the next day. And it allowed me to fulfill Noel’s annual Pennsylvania Dutch pork on New Year’s Day tradition without eating pork cooked in saurkraut, which I really can’t stand!

Update!!

There were actually two Nikons at the pork assembly party–my baby and the Sanchez family D80. I just got the pictures off the Sanchez camera and frankly, since they’re so beautiful they made me cry, I have to share two here:

this is our beautiful loin all rolled up!

and here with some of the fantastic stuffing peaking out! Amazing pictures–thank you LS!

So I will admit, I was brought to this recipe by a joiner instinct. I’m usually not much of a joiner, preferring instead to be my own personal cruise director most of the time, but sometimes something that everybody else is doing just seems so wonderful, that I just have to try it out myself. Even if it is totally out of character.

Which brings us to apple cider doughnuts. Let me start out by saying–I don’t usually like doughnuts. When people bring doughnuts into the office, it makes me a little sad. The only doughnuts I actually enjoy are Migue’s Marvelous Minis at the Sunday Market, which I only like because they are so un-doughnut like–they’re light, fresh, and they melt in your mouth. So not the experience you get with most doughnuts, which tend to be dry, heavy, and a bit stale tasting. Honestly, I would just rather eat cake.

But when Deb over at Smitten Kitchen posted an apple cider doughnut recipe, people started going nuts in her comments section. I mean NUTS. There was all this talk about how apple cider doughnuts were the best doughnuts ever, how they brought back madeline-esq memories of childhood and apple picking and holidays. How people we’re going to use the recipe to make their own holiday traditions (i’m a total sucker for this type of stuff). I was intrigued.

And then suddenly, it seemed like there were apple cider doughnut recipes everywhere. On many of the blogs in my feed. In the newspaper. On TV. I think I even dreamed about apple cider doughnuts. It seemed there was only one thing to do. It was time to make the doughnuts. So I gathered the ingredients, found some usual suspects that would be willing to do doughnut sampling, and convinced myself that it would be okay to deep fry in the house.

Apple Cider Doughnuts
Adapted from the Washington Post via Smitten Kitchen

So about me only liking Migue’s doughnuts? Well, scratch that, because I officially like these ones too. These doughnuts are lightly cidery, moist and cakey, with crispy outsides and a wonderful crumb. Everything I like about cake, in doughnut form! Perhaps the secret to really excellent doughnuts is freshness, because I thought these were phenomenal the first 8 hours or so after they were made, but not so good the next day. I did most of mine with just a dusting of powdered sugar, and only a few with the cider glaze, but if I did these again I would glaze them all, because we were all over the moon for the glazed ones.

A few technical notes–I used skim milk with vinegar in place of the buttermilk (as always) and my doughnuts turned out just fine. Don’t skip reducing the cider, because it’s really what gives the doughnuts their cidery taste–the reduced cider is like apple cider syrup–so good. And finally, don’t be turned off if you don’t have a doughnut cutter. I just used a biscuit cutter and–wait for it–the shield from my cherry pitter! Any combination of a roughly three inch cutter and a one inch cutter will work–so be creative! And the frying is not as scary as you think–it was actually pretty quick and painless for me. I don’t even have a candy thermometer (and my ill advised attempt to use a meat thermometer TOTALLY DID NOT work) but it still turned out okay.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup apple cider
• 3 1/2 cups flour, plus additional for the work surface
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (low-fat or nonfat work fine)
• Vegetable oil for frying

For the glaze:

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoons apple cider

Directions:

For the doughnuts: In a saucepan over medium or medium-low heat, gently reduce the apple cider to about 1/4 cup, 20 to 30 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer on medium speed (with the paddle attachment, if using a standing mixer) beat the butter and granulated sugar until the mixture is smooth. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and continue to beat until the eggs are completely incorporated. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the reduced apple cider and the buttermilk, mixing just until combined. Add the flour mixture and continue to mix just until the dough comes together.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or wax paper and sprinkle them generously with flour. Turn the dough onto 1 of the sheets and sprinkle the top with flour. Flatten the dough with your hands until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Use more flour if the dough is still wet. Transfer the dough to the freezer until it is slightly hardened, about 20 minutes. Pull the dough out of the freezer. Using a 3-inch doughnut cutter, cut out doughnut shapes. Place the cut doughnuts and doughnut holes onto the second sheet pan. Refrigerate the doughnuts for 20 to 30 minutes. (You may re-roll the scraps of dough, refrigerate them briefly and cut additional doughnuts from the dough.)

Add enough oil to a deep-sided pan to measure a depth of about 3 inches. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and heat over medium heat until the oil reaches 350 degrees. Have ready a plate lined with several thicknesses of paper towels.

For the glaze: While the cut doughnut shapes are in the refrigerator, make the glaze by whisking together the confectioners’ sugar and the cider until the mixture is smooth. Set aside.

To fry and assemble: Carefully add a few doughnuts to the oil, being careful not to crowd the pan, and fry until golden brown, about 60 seconds. Turn the doughnuts over and fry until the other side is golden, 30 to 60 seconds. Drain on paper towels after the doughnuts are fried. Dip the top of the warm doughnuts into the glaze and serve immediately.

Let me just say again, I don’t really like doughnuts, but I LOVED these. So do yourself a favor, and make these while the excellent fall cider is still at the farm stands. It’s okay as long as you just do it once a year. Or for special occasions. Not that I’m trying to justify more doughnuts in my future or anything.

Hello! My name is Eileen and I am usual suspect #2! While Beth enjoys Disney she asked me to do a guest blog! Please be kind, this is my first time EVER with blogging!

It’s Beth’s fault, and by Beth’s “fault” I mean, it’s thanks to Beth that there have been so many apple-ish-ous baking experiments this month and last. You see she purchased a bushel of apples at the farmer’s market the other week, PLUS the apples she got from her mom’s coworker and we’ve been trying to bake through them before they go bad. As Beth has mentioned though: ugly fruit does make yummy dessert! She offered apples, and I took what I thought was enough for just one pie, however, these apples were quite large, so I had leftovers! I Googled “apple cakes” and found one called “Apple Cinnamon Upside-Down Cake” and the picture looked great, so I went with that one. I’m not choosy like Beth, I’ll just use the first recipe I come across! (Beth is probably wiser to search out the BEST recipe, with the BEST ingredients, but I’m lazy!)

So the hardest part about working with apples is always prepping the apples themselves. It’s not really hard, but it takes forever! That does give the butter time to soften, though, so I suppose it all works out! While getting the apples ready, I didn’t pull out all the ingredients like I normally do before I start baking something, and came to find out in the middle of the process, that I didn’t have enough granulated sugar!! I barely had enough brown sugar to toss with the apples!! Since Beth was at the U2 concert I couldn’t call my neighbor to borrow a cup of sugar, so I made do with what I had in the house which was a tablespoon of granulated sugar, a tablespoon (left) of brown sugar, and the rest powdered sugar!! I was really nervous to make this substitution because it specifically said granulated, and I know how nice and fluffy the butter / sugar / egg combo can be. Well I went ahead and did it, and immediately was concerned because the sugar wasn’t creaming when I added the eggs!! It was all clumpy looking, and not fluffy looking at all! Something else I did slightly different was the cinnamon. When my husband and I make pancakes we grind fresh cinnamon sticks with cloves and nutmeg. There was this freshly ground combo in the spice grinder, so I went ahead and used that instead of just ground cinnamon.

I continued with the recipe and added the flour mixture, and was glad to see that it mixed in and started looking normal again! Once I got all the milk and flour mixed in, I had to taste it to make sure, and it was just as tasty as regular cake batter! I spooned it over the apples and put it in the oven. Because it was in a square dish, I used my awesome Cuisinart toaster oven. The only thing I have to watch when baking in the smaller oven, is that usually it cooks faster. So I always set the timer for 10 minutes less than it calls for, and check it periodically. After only 45 minutes my cake was very close to being done and my house smelled wonderful!

I decided to put it on the cake stand that I got for my wedding, so when I flipped it over, the pan was not flush with the cake stand because of the slight lip on the edge of the stand. This caused the cake and all its yummy juices to slide right out. I still let it sit so that the fruit on top could set a little and not slide off the side of the cake. And voila! Yummy cake that I had to call Beth and Noel over to share!!

http://southernfood.about.com/od/applecakes/r/r71005b.htm

Ingredients:

• 3 large golden delicious apples
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 scant teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons melted butter

• Cake
• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, stirred before measuring
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup milk

Preparation:

Heat oven to 325°. Butter a 9-inch square cake pan or spray with baking spray. Core the apples and cut into wedges; peel and slice thinly. Combine apple slices with the brown sugar, 1 scant teaspoon of cinnamon, and 4 tablespoons of melted butter. Arrange the apple mixture in the prepared baking pan.

Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a bowl. In a large mixing bowl with electric mixer, beat butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture to the first mixture, alternating with the milk, beating just until blended. Spoon the batter evenly over the apple slices; gently spreading to cover. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Invert the hot cake onto a platter or cake plate and let stand for about 5 minutes. Remove the pan and scrape up any fruit slices clinging to the pan and arrange them over the cake.