Your best apple recipes here please

I was searching this new forum for recipes using apples as the important ingredient. I found some here and there ... I think it will be easier to have them all in just one thread. So I start this thread for apple recipes ... without having a good recipe myself.
One of my garden friends had a very yummie apple pie, I'll ask for the recipe and translate it for you.

I've been putting apple in salads lately. Often more than in this picture. Especially if there's something sharp and salty in the salad like feta cheese, it can handle a lot of apple.

My two favorite apple recipes are German Apple Pancake which is similar to a Dutch Baby, and Apple Mustard Salad.

German Apple Pancake
1 cup milk
3 large eggs
3/4 cup flour
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. butter
2 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 tsp cinnamon

In an oven proof skillet, combine butter, 1 Tbsp. sugar, cinnamon and apples. Cook over medium heat until apples are slightly softened. Combine remaining ingredients in bowl, pour over apples. Bake in 375 oven for 30 minutes until lightly browned and puffy. Serves 3-4.

Apple Mustard Salad

Apple Mustard Dressing
1/4 cup apple butter
2 Tbsp. minced onion
1/4 cup spicy brown mustard
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup oil of your choice
Salt and Pepper to taste

Lettuce
Walnuts
Blue Cheese crumbles
Sliced Apples

Fan-D@mn-Tastic Apple Crumble
(This is similar to a "dump cake", but from scratch instead of from a box.)


Ingredients for the filling:

1 cup water (or cider)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4-6 cups apples (more if desired)
2 tablespoons molasses
3/4 cup brown sugar (you can adjust this up or down depending on the sweetness of the apples)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 3/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup melted butter

Mix the lemon juice and water. Slice and core the apples. Whether or not to peel them is up to you. Some varieties have peels that soften when cooked, others turn tough and leathery. I leave the peels alone, mainly because I like skipping steps if I can get away with it :)
Dunk each apple slice in the lemon mixture and lay them in a greased 9×13 cake pan. When all the apples are sliced, mix the molasses in with the lemon water, and pour over apples.
Combine brown sugar, spices, and pecans. Sprinkle evenly over the apples.

In a bowl, combine sugars for the topping. Add vanilla and mix well. Combine flour and salt and mix, a little at a time, in with the vanilla/sugar mix until it no longer forms clumps. Spread this as evenly as possible over the mixture in the pan. Drizzle melted butter on top. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, or until top starts to brown. Enjoy hot or cold.

This recipe also works quite well with squash, pears, apricots, and probably a whole lot of other things, too. If using canned apples instead of fresh, you might need to adjust the amount of water added.

In summer and fall I make and can apple ketchup. It's basically apple sauce with vinegar, mustard, and spices. It's very good. I don't grow enough tomatoes to make traditional tomato based ketchup, so it's an ideal substitute.

Another thing friends and I make is apple hot sauce.

One of my favorites is super simple and adaptable. I usually serve this along with something else. Pumpkin mac and cheese is my favorite pairing so far.

Sautéed greens and apples

Couple handfuls chopped kale, collards or other greens
One or two apples, cored and chopped
1/2 to 1 red onion, chopped
Handful of mushrooms, chopped
Dash of balsamic, apple cider or red wine vinegar
Goat cheese or blue cheese
Toasted pecans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds or whatever suits your fancy
A few strips of Bacon (optional)

Cook bacon in skillet (if using). Set aside, keep fat in pan (you could use a different fat, of course). Sauté mushrooms and onions in the bacon fat. Add apples and saute briefly. Add greens and drizzle vinegar over them, cover with a lid and allow to steam for a minute or til reduced in volume. Remove lid, stir and cook maybe a minute longer.
Plate and top with crumbled cheese, nuts and crumbled bacon.

Another good one is apple and cheddar omelets or scrambles.
Somewhere I have a recipe for a French apple cake that is amazing, but will have to see if I can track it down.

Rebecca Norman wrote:I've been putting apple in salads lately. Often more than in this picture. Especially if there's something sharp and salty in the salad like feta cheese, it can handle a lot of apple.

I agree with Rebecca, apple is a great addition.
In autumn/winter we often make variations of Waldorf salad (either with celery or celeriac), and I also add at least half an apple if I make grated carrot salad.

Recently I have been making another winter salad I got from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's cookbook:
Thinly sliced raw Brussel sprouts, sliced apples, cheese of your choice and roasted (or even better: caramelized) nuts or almonds

Lately, for years really, it's been organic fuji apples cut into bite size pieces, a handful of raisins, big spoon fulls of greek yogurt and some organic peanut butter...all lightly mixed and eaten by the big spoonful.  I don't eat refined sugar so some might find this kind of tart but I love it and eat a bowl full everyday if possible.

Not really a recipe but one year I had a bounty of acorn squash that sprouted from kitchen scraps. And apples from a from an orchard nearby that had a bumper crop and offered a free pick your own day. Between all the cloth bags we gathered and an empty laundry basket, I would say at least 400lbs of apples! So, at the time I had recently discovered the awesome goodness of real maple syrup. Sad that I made it to 30 without knowing the difference between real and fake. I have been developing an intolerance towards agrochemicals over the years, and began seeking out alternatives for my diet. Seeking real food, around the time just before the organic market hit its peak craze and entered the chain supermarket, I began in some casual gardening. Typical of the day, I tilled it up to a nice hard clay, but that is niether here nor there. One thing of note,  I got to experience the rapid decline of the organic movement into The orscamic industry.


Enough rambling and on to the delicious meal that I threw together. I'm more of a spontaneous culinary artisan using what is at hand, so I apologize in advance for the lack of detailed quantity or cook times. All quantities are hereby noted "To Taste" All cook times are "Until Done". I'll be darned if i can remember the temperature (been a few years and my diet is responsible for some failed memory connections of late) but I would say 375.


Enough rambling and on to the delicious meal that I threw together. Is it February? It must be groundhog day.

Acorn squash cut in half to form bowls. Slice off the butt and head so they will sit flat and a baking sheet and clean out the seeds.  Make sure that you scatter the seed out so you dog will have a fresh supply of shiny new balls to play with next August.

Add a bit of butter and brown sugar on each bowl and place in the oven. Plan to remove them around the time that you can add the apple and maple syrup and a bit more butter and both will finish cooking at the same time. 1/2" dice on the apples. Can't recall the variety off hand. Any would be a decent choice IMO, except Washington. Julian or noodle spirals would work great, then you could cook the squash almost completely before adding toppings. Pecan would be awesome on top. I might have had a dash of cinnamon in there somewhere. Salted butter of course.

Another recipe I  enjoy is one i gleaned off of a late nite public access german cooking show.

Roastpork lion and sourkraut with caraway seed and and tart apple.

I've made it a few times just dicing the apple and throwing everything in the pan to roast...


Next time I would Brown the lion in a skillet and develop a fond using a bit of the kraut liquid to deglaze and transer it to the roast pan. Julian cut on the apples might be a more pleasing texture to try.

ben heidorn wrote:Another recipe I  enjoy is one i gleaned off of a late nite public access german cooking show.

Roastpork lion and sourkraut with caraway seed and and tart apple.

I've made it a few times just dicing the apple and throwing everything in the pan to roast...


Next time I would Brown the lion in a skillet and develop a fond using a bit of the kraut liquid to deglaze and transer it to the roast pan. Julian cut on the apples might be a more pleasing texture to try.

Hi Ben,

using apple in savoury dishes is quite usual for German cooking. There is a dish called "Himmel und Erde" (sky and earth) that contains cooked and mashed potatoes with pan-fried onions and apples and usually black sausage. This is from the Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) area of Germany and I did not grow up with it; I leave out the black sausage and just fry everything in butter in one pan.
Roasted onions and apples are also used to accompany fried liver, if you eat it.

BTW, as I am into genealogy I noticed your German last name and checked your welcome post. Seems like "Heidorn" is in your case most probably the location name from "Heidorn" which is near Hannover in Niedersachsen, so you are following food traditions from your ancestors!

Like in Germany also in the Netherlands we have a traditional savory dish with apples. It is called 'hete bliksem' (hot lightning). They say that name is because it feels very hot in your mouth when you eat it. It exists of potatoes and two different kinds of apples, a sweet apple (or a pear) and a sour apple (like a Reinette or Boskoop). They are all peeled, cubed and cooked together. The sour apple will turn to mush, but the sweet apple (if it is the right kind) pieces remain whole. Then it is roughly mashed, salt added to taste. It can be served with different kinds or meat / sausage.

Does anyone have a good apple cake recipe? My grandmother used to make a great apple cake. I have tried several recipes. They weren’t at all like hers.  It was most likely a German recipe.

Hi,  I like baked apples.    Core the apple and fill it with other yummies. My favorite is brown sugar, butter, and honey. I bake at 350 for 20ish minutes. Poke em with a fork till tender.

I also like hot bread from the oven, butter, applebutter, cinnamon, and honey.

Right you are Anita! My second duty station was in the state of Hessen. When I arrived off the plane I had some hours to kill before being picked up. First thing I did was wander into Frankfort and order some Jagersnitzle mit champions. These were the last days of paper maps, since maps have been online I found a town in Bravaria that has a Heidornstrasse down the center! Sad that I didn't get to experience it then, but that just leaves me a reason to return someday!  I did get to see much of the country though. Many logging roads via mountain bike. 1000 miles or more in 90 days.

Ken W Wilson wrote:Does anyone have a good apple cake recipe? My grandmother used to make a great apple cake. I have tried several recipes. They weren’t at all like hers.  It was most likely a German recipe.

I do have several good ones.
In Germany we usually don't have pie-like apple cake but rather three rough categories:

* A batter rich in butter and eggs which contains sliced apples / chunks of apples ("all-in")

* A cake with a more substantial dough on the bottom and the filling on top, often with another layer as "lid" or criss-cross of baked dough or Streusel or almonds
* A cake with a more substantial dough on the bottom, slashed apple quarters on top and with a custard creme poured over, maybe my favourite which I started to bake as a teenager


Does any of those sound familiar? Let me know and I can post the recipe.

Savory Apple and dried fruit mash.
-butter/ghee/oil (add a pinch of salt if unsalted fat)
-onion minced/chopped (red/yellow)
-garlic (smashed coarse chopped cloves)
-apples coarse chopped (skin on, cored, ~1" cubes, just rough chopped)
-dried fruit (tart plums/cherries/cranberries, etc: rough chop if whole or halves)
-little sugar
-lemon juice

in a pot,
-melt your fat and lightly saute onions til translucent, add garlic, few minutes more
-add apples (best if apples start to caramelize, even flambe if you want), don't let garlic burn
-add dried fruit,
-add a little water if it seems a little dry
-sprinkle little bit of sugar and some lemon juice
...put lid on, turn heat to low light simmer and cook for about 30-45min until dried fruit is soft and apples are somewhat broken down.

sorry, no solid amounts, but roughly 1T fat, 1/2 onion, small head of garlic, 3-5 apples (2c?), 1/4-1/2c dried fruit, 1/2T sugar and 1/2T lemon juice is about right... but quantities always fluctuate depending on taste

serve hot enjoy. ...but it is good as cold left overs

This is one of my fall favourites. I like to add a little rice in as well...



Caramelized Onion, Apple and Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

   2 small/med acorn squash cut in half lengthwise and seeds/strings scooped out
   1 lb pork sausage casings removed if necessary, sugar free*
   1 large onion or 2 small cut in half and sliced thin
   3 tbsp ghee coconut oil, or other cooking fat (for caramelizing the onions) + 2 tsp (for sautéing the garlic)
   2 cloves garlic minced
   1 medium-large apple cored and diced
   2 cups fresh spinach roughly chopped (I use lambs quarters)
   1 Tbsp fresh rosemary chopped
   2 tsp fresh thyme chopped
   sea salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

   Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
   Place the 4 acorn squash halves (seeds removed) open-side down on the baking sheet and roast in the preheated oven for about 20-30 minutes, or until the top of your squash feels tender when gently pressed. You can always check them and continue to roast a few more minutes if they aren't tender enough. Set aside after removing from oven.
   While the squash roasts, make the filling. Begin by caramelizing the onions (this process takes a good 20-25 minutes to really bring the flavor out!)
   In a medium skillet, heat the ghee or coconut oil over low heat and add all the onions, stirring to coat. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and cook over low heat, stirring every 5 minutes ago to prevent burning. Once onions have been cooking for about 25 minutes and are deep golden brown, remove from heat and set aside.
   While the squash roasts and the onions cook, heat a large saucepan over medium low heat and add the remaining 2 tsp cooking fat to melt. Add the garlic and cook until just tender, then add all the sausage and increase the heat to medium.
   Cook the sausage and stir to break up lumps, about 5-8 minutes until just browned. Add the apples and herbs and continue to cook, stirring until the apples soften. Add the spinach and a pinch of salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until the spinach wilts.
   Add the caramelized onions to the sausage mixture, leaving excess cooking fat in the pan. Preheat your broiler, then fill all 4 halves of the squash with the stuffing mixture (you may have leftover depending on how big your squash was)
   Arrange the squash on the baking sheet, stuffing side up, and put under the broiler for 5-10 minutes until the tops get nice and toasty, checking often to prevent burning. Once nice and browned, remove from oven, allow to cool a bit and then serve warm. Enjoy!

https://www.paleorunningmomma.com/sausage-stuffed-acorn-squash-paleo-whole30/

OOPS. I forgot Black pepper in the recipe I posted... fresh cracked black pepper or even better, long pepper

The recipe below was my favorite dessert growing up.  Now it is a Rosh Hashanah tradition also.  I usually substitute apple cider for the orange juice i the sauce, and use rum or whiskey instead of the extract.  Also yummy with hone in the sauce.

APPLE PUDDING

Combine:

¼ cup butter ½ tsp. nutmeg
1 cup white sugar ¾ tsp. salt
1 cup flour 1 egg
1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. cinnamon ½ cup nutmeats
2½ cups chopped apples

Spread in a 9”X 13” cake pan(will seem sparse.)

Bake at 375? F. for 35 minutes.

SAUCE

½ cup brown sugar ½ cup orange juice
½ cup white sugar 4 tbsp. butter
1 beaten egg ½ tsp. rum extract

Heat in small saucepan.  Serve over apple pudding.

Wow, I like some of the ideas mentioned here, thanks for posting this thread!

My post will be a little different - the simple hacks or uses I do with apples.

------------------------------------------------------------------
SIMPLE USES FOR BUMPER CROPS OF ORGANIC APPLES:

1 ---- Fresh Squeezed Juice
- use the slow/masticating kind of juicer ( i have an Omega brand - there are a few models, mine is the horizontal one. )
- the apples should be as crisp, ripe and sweet as possible. About 5 apples for a decent drink.
- if the apples are not super crisp they may churn in the juicer a little. samples of stiff texture roots help push the apple pulp through. (carrot, beet, jicama etc...)
- add a small piece of ginger root for kick
- add your kale leaves if you also have a bumper crop of those
- do a juice first thing in the morning before you move around a little then have breakfast.
- get creative!
(***Bonus: if you are into routine cleansing, fresh apple juice can be an excellent addition to your seasonal 3 or 10 day juice fast or whatever protocol you follow.)

2 ---- Juicy Gently Salted Apples On a Stick
- a new trick I have been enjoying
- peel the apple and carefully insert a chop stick into the base of the core
- hold the apple aloft by the chop stick and sprinkle gently with salt all around.
- set it down in a bowl and let rest for a few mins (or in my case, set them down together because I can't have just one)
- enjoy!

3 ---- Simple Apple Caramel-Like Sauce (for topping on pancakes or served with wholesome muffins)
- prepare a gently simmering pot with about a cup of water
- peel and chop a couple apples, add to the pot and bring up to heat with the water
- add your spices (I prefer ginger root powder and cinnamon with a dash of salt and stevia)
- in a separate cup mix 1 heaping teaspoon of tapioca starch with about 1/4 cup water
- gradually add this white liquid to the apples pot, stirring with a whisk
- keep stirring to prevent sticking as the mixture thickens and jellies up
- turn off heat and allow flavors time to settle in as the pot slowly cools
- Enjoy!
(***I am usually finishing flipping the pancake batch or doing a few dishes while the pot cools.)

This is one of my favorite breakfasts - my wholesome gluten free pancakes, this topping and some sweet salty roasted nuts for crunch (walnuts typically)
(***A larger thicker batch of this could make a great pie filling, in fact, I will stir the the dry tapioca into sliced apples along with the spices when I make an apple pie and after baking the result is a creamy gooey appley sauce around all the apple pieces in the pie.)


Edited - Forgot to mention this super simple way to use apples:
4 ---- Frozen Apple Chunks (for using in smoothies)
- maybe the most basic idea but I've only started doing this in the last year. chop apple into chunks your blender can handle.
- freeze on a plate separated then pack tightly into jars or ziplock bags. Instant smoothie ingredient as needed. Very nice texture and flavor for bulking up a smoothie.

Ken W Wilson wrote:Does anyone have a good apple cake recipe? My grandmother used to make a great apple cake. I have tried several recipes. They weren’t at all like hers.  It was most likely a German recipe.

Here is an apple bundt cake recipe my family really likes: I gleaned it from recipesource.com ages ago, so I can't give the original author proper credit.

3 eggs, beaten
1 c. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
4 medium apples, cored, peeled, and finely chopped
1 c. chopped walnuts (optional)
1 c. raisins (optional)
Powdered sugar for garnish

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large, sturdy bowl, mix together wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Then add dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold in apples. Fold in walnuts and raisins (if using). Batter will be quite stiff. Spoon batter into a well-greased Bundt pan, and bake for 1 hour, until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before turning out onto a plate. Sprinkle powdered sugar over the top.

The first apples are picked (and some of those fallen down were good enough to take too).
I started with simple 'appelmoes', mushed cooked apples with sugar.

I think the next thing will be 'apple ketchup'. Apple ketchup is unknown here in the Netherlands, so I hope this recipe I found on the internet is a good one: Apple Ketchup

Most of my apples will be dried, so I can make good use of my dehydrator.  I use the dried apple slices in my breakfast muesli.

I'm hungry.

Please post the recipe

When I re-read my post in this thread, I saw I promised a recipe for a Dutch apple pie. But the recipe never came ...

So now, a little late, I have here for you my translation of a very old Dutch Apple Pie recipe (not the pie a friend made, but the recipe from a very old cookbook).
For all American readers: I did not change the amounts from grams into ounces, or the centimeters into inches. I'm sure you can find that on the internet.
And if you want to know the temperature of the oven ... I don't know. This recipe is so old, probably the oven had a real fire in it (coal, peat or wood). Maybe first they baked bread and then the pie.

Old Dutch Apple Pie Recipe

For the dough:
250 g flour, 175 g butter or margerine, 80 g sugar, 2 eggs

For the filling:
12 tart apples (about 750 g), 100 g sugar, 100 g currants, 50 g almonds, grated peel of 1 lemon.

Mix the flour, butter, sugar and 1 ½ egg to make a ball of dough. Put it in a cool spot for 15 minutes.
Then roll it into a flat circle. Put it in a springform pan, so the sides are about 4 cm high. Keep some of the dough.

Cut the apples in small chunks, mix with the sugar, cleaned currants (this recipe is very old, most people nowadays would use raisins), lemon peel and minced almonds.

Fill the dough with the apple mixture. Make narrow strips of the rest of the dough and put them on top of the filling, like a lattice. Roll the top of the sides over and press so everything is fixed. Spread the leftover egg over the dough.
Bake for about an hour in not too hot oven.

Eple pai, Norwegian apple pie.  More of a cake than a pie: 3 eggs 1.5c sugar,2 tsp vanilla,3/4 tsp salt, 3tsp baking powder, 1.5 c flour 3 cups diced apples.
Put eggs in a bowl and beat slightly.
add sugar and vanilla mix in
add salt and baking powder whisk in
add flour and mix well
add apple dices
divide into two 9 inch pie pans
350 degrees for 30 min
We always dust with powdered sugar.
No cinnamon in the original recipe, and I add slivered almonds.

Anita Martin wrote:

Ken W Wilson wrote:Does anyone have a good apple cake recipe? My grandmother used to make a great apple cake. I have tried several recipes. They weren’t at all like hers.  It was most likely a German recipe.

I do have several good ones.
In Germany we usually don't have pie-like apple cake but rather three rough categories:

* A batter rich in butter and eggs which contains sliced apples / chunks of apples ("all-in")

* A cake with a more substantial dough on the bottom and the filling on top, often with another layer as "lid" or criss-cross of baked dough or Streusel or almonds
* A cake with a more substantial dough on the bottom, slashed apple quarters on top and with a custard creme poured over, maybe my favourite which I started to bake as a teenager


Does any of those sound familiar? Let me know and I can post the recipe.

.


Please Anita, I would like all three recipes!

A family favorite, that I've made since I was a teenager, and is probably one of my most requested recipes is also one of the simplest, and often ends up being the base in other things, like apple hand/fried-pies, no-bake apple pie, or over pancakes, waffles, or ice cream, or I've even used it to make apple upside down cake - and it's really scalable,  for one person, or a whole house full of people for a reunion:

Carla's "Fried Apples"
Wash, core, and cut into wedges as many apples as you have people, (or as little as half an apple per person, depending on how you're using it).
In a heavy skillet (I love cast iron for this - the bigger the better if I'm cooking for a crowd), melt 1/4lb of butter over medium high heat. Once the butter is melted, add a single thick layer of apples, and this is the rain my family all prefer my fried apples, over other recipes for it: cook until the edges of the apples are caramelized, only stirring occasionally, to get that golden- brown color around the edges.  Add cinnamon to your taste (we like a very generous amount), and brown sugar (or demerara, honey, maple syrup...) to taste, stirring well. As soon as all the apples are well-coated with the cinnamon & sugar, and it begins to thicken a bit, scoop it out and, if all the apples didn't fit, start another bit of butter, and do another batch. For *most* applications, including just eating it as it is, it's best served warm.

A tip on using it for the apple fried pies; make the apples the day before, and chill them. The butter will coagulate, but will remelt while frying. If you don't chill the filling, the fried-pie crust will rupture and fall apart, in the pan, making a big mess.

Bonus:
Fried pie crust can be made from pie crust, puff pastry dough, buttermilk dough, yogurt dough, or even a flatbread dough - whatever you prefer. I haven't tried it with pasta dpugh, yet but grew up with my mom's and maternal grandma's versions using biscuit dough, while my paternal grandma made a buttermilk dough - none of them cooked the apples to the point of being caramelized.  

These recipes look delicious! My personal favorite is apple bars, made with a butter pie crust. I use a cookie sheet for this. Roll out crust to 1/4 inch or so, and press into cookie sheet. I peel my apples, but depending on variety, the peels could  be left on. Slice thinly and mix with sweetener and cinnamon, or other spices and some vanilla and perhaps a little lemon juice (all to taste). Roll out top crust thinly and lay over apples. Bake in moderate oven until top crust is golden. Mix up a batch of glaze and drizzle over top. Lovely served with heavy cream poured over, or alongside ice cream.

Old school, no sugar, shelf stable apple butter, courtesy of Steven Edholm at Skillcult. Only ingredients are apples and apple juice. This stuff is amazing. I've made a few batches, and kept them on the shelf for a couple years without any deterioration (in fact, they improve like wine). Important to use non acid apples though, because the acid concentrates along with the sugar, making it pretty brash if you don't use bland fruit:

https://skillcult.com/blog/2015/12/30/in-pursuit-of-the-real-oldtime-apple-butter-shelf-stable-delicious-and-all-apples