one giant pancake

When Kent and I were first married, I tore this recipe out of Gourmet Magazine because I liked the simplicity of it. It stated that it served 2, which is very hard to find when there really is just two of you eating (although it really serves 4). We both fell in love with the soft, eggy texture and crispy brown edges, and I (over)cooked the apples so they'd be soft too.

Sautéing the apples in butter gets this recipe off to a great start. Then the batter is blitzed in the blender and poured into the buttery apples and the whole pan is placed in the oven until the pancake is puffed and golden. Couldn't be easier or tastier.

time to make the donuts!

If I'm being totally honest here, one of the main reasons I like apple picking so much is getting fresh apple cider doughnuts. Oh, I also like the apples and apple cider, but nothing compares to a fresh, hot doughnut. Nothing.  

So I decided to recreate that experience by using the farm-fresh apple cider I bought when I picked the apples. I love the crunchy cinnamon sugar exterior and that soft cake-y interior. 

Apple cider doughnuts really epitomize fall, and if you're worried about your waistline, just tell yourself you'll only make them once a year, and then enjoy 3!

creamy crisp

Apple crisp happens to be one of my husband's favorite desserts, although he likes it cold and I like it piping hot so that vanilla ice cream melts and cools the crisp, making every bite creamy and crunchy. 

When I took these photo's, the apple crisp had just come out of the oven, so the ice cream was nice and melty. Right after I finished the photo's, I put the whole pan in the fridge so my husband could enjoy it later. Luckily, it's easy to heat up a bowl in the microwave so that I can still enjoy the leftovers warmed up.  

How do you like your apple crisp? Hot and a la mode, or cold?

Soft Caramel Apples

Elise Ruby's birthday party favors were these caramel apples- too bad I forgot to actually give them away! 

Here's the thing, this caramel stays soft so I was keeping all of the apples in the fridge until everyone was leaving. So you see, because they weren't in plain sight, I plain forgot. It was a real "AAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH" moment of frustration when I realized my mistake. I think the bigger issue I have now is how territorial my husband has become over these apples. I haven't seen him this obsessed and possessive over a dessert in a long time. It's not a good thing.

Don't get me wrong, I take it as a compliment that he likes these so much, but I really can't take any credit. I just followed the recipe from these lovely ladies. I'm not even posting the recipe because I followed it exactly, and there's no reason you shouldn't either. They've broken down the recipe step-by-step and it's not hard. 

These are truly the best caramel apples I've ever had. As I said before, the caramel stays soft, so it melts wonderfully in your mouth. I also toasted some chopped cashews and drizzled over bittersweet chocolate on some of them. These additions just made it even more over-the-top-perfection! It's a unique caramel recipe with dark brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk and maple syrup.

If you're like me and trying to eat/bake your way through your latest apple picking extravaganza, these are a fun way to finish them off- just don't forget to share ;)