Fall is apple time. You can find all sorts of delicious varieties in your local stores, farmers markets, or even fresh from the orchard. With this overabundance of these delicious fruits, let’s talk about some fun ways to cook and bake with apples.
Apple Fritters
1 pound of apples
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2/3 cup of milk
2 eggs
1 tbsp. oil plus oil for frying
Optional: Cinnamon Sugar
Start by peeling, coring, and chopping your apples. Set them aside.
Heat the oil for frying to about 375F.
Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk the milk, eggs and 1 tbsp. of oil in a smaller bowl until well combined. Pour this wet mixture into the large bowl and mix until your batter is well combined. Fold in the apple pieces.
Drop the apple batter into the hot oil by the spoonful and fry until golden brown. Don’t overcrowd the pot and give the oil a chance to heat back up between batches. Remove the fritters and drain them on a plate lined with paper towels. Toss in the cinnamon sugar as soon as the fritters are cool enough to handle and enjoy while warm.
Baked Apples
4 large apples
1/2 cup of brown sugar
4 tbsp. butter
2 tsp cinnamon
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Wash your apples, and using a melon baller scoop out the core of the apples from the top, creating a whole. Be careful not to scoop all the way to the bottom. You don’t want your filling to leak.
Gently spoon two tbsps. of brown sugar in each apple, top with 1 tbsp. of butter and sprinkle with cinnamon. Place the filled apples into a shallow baking dish.
Bake for 15 minutes or until the apples are tender. The sugar and butter will melt together, and start to caramelize. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.
Apples and Pork Chops
6 pork chops
Salt and pepper to taste
4 apples
2 tbsp butter
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Melt the butter in an oven-proof skillet. A cast iron pan works really well for this. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper and brown on both sides.
In the meantime, peel, core, and slice the apples. Lay them on top of and around the pork chops in the pan. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the apples.
Cover everything with foil and bake for 90 minutes.
