Know what’s round, red and DELICIOUS? If you’ll pardon the pun, it’s an apple. But whether you swear by Delicious, Winesap, Jonathan or McIntosh, the season is upon us.
Markets are full of tart, crisp pie apples and the juicy, mellow, after-school snack varieties. And, oh, those apple pies. Now’s the time, too — with that hint of fall in the air, it’s a pleasure to spend a morning baking in the kitchen. Here are 5 classic apple dessert recipes you can enjoy!
Apple brittle dessert recipe
Ingredients
4 large apples
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup maple syrup
1 cup crushed peanut brittle, divided
1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped
Directions
Peel and core apples. Slice with fluted vegetable cutter; arrange in baking dish. Combine spices and maple syrup; pour over apples. Scatter cup peanut brittle over all. Bake at 350 F for 30 to 35 minutes or until apple slices are tender. Chill. Spoon into dessert dishes. Garnish with whipped cream and remaining brittle.
Serves 6
ALSO TRY: A dozen delicious classic apple pie recipes (1960s)
Baked apple al’Italiana dessert recipe
Ingredients
4 to 6 large baking apples
1/3 cup light corn syrup
red food coloring
2 to 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 pound ricotta cheese
1/2 cup sugar
2 squares unsweetened chocolate, grated
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Directions
Core apples, being careful not to cut all the way through. Pare about 1/3 of the way down from stem end. Place each apple on large square of doubled heavy-duty aluminum foil.
Tint corn syrup deep pink with food coloring. Brush over peeled surfaces. Dot tops of apples with butter. Bring foil up around apples and twist top. Bake at 400 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes or until apples are tender. Remove from foil; chill.
Combine ricotta, sugar, grated chocolate and flavoring; mix thoroughly. Fill chilled apples with ricotta mixture, mounding high on top. Makes four to six servings.
Note: Any leftover ricotta mixture makes a delightful snack when spread on ginger snaps or graham crackers.
Honey-baked apples recipe
Ingredients
6 large tart apples
6 tablespoons honey
1/3 cup orange juice
Sugar
Nutmeg
Directions
Core apples. being careful not to cut all the way through. Peel about 1/3 of the way down from stem end. Combine honey and orange juice; pour into centers of apples. Set in baking dish. Pour a little hot water in bottom of pan. Bake at 400 F for 50 to 60 minutes or until apples are tender. Sprinkle tops with a little sugar and nutmeg. Run under broiler to glaze.
Serves 6
Deep-dish apple pan pie recipe
Ingredients
2-1/4 cups sifted flour
1 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/16 teaspoon ground mace
8 cups sliced fresh apples
Directions
Sift flour with sugar, baking powder and salt. Add shortening, mixing with pastry blender or fork until mixture is size of peas. Add eggs and vanilla; mix until well blended. Roll half of dough between waxed paper. Place in greased 11x7x11-inch casserole. Set aside; prepare filling.
In medium saucepan, bring water and sugar to boil. Add cinnamon, allspice and mace. Stir in apples; cook 5 minutes. Add to dough-lined casserole. Roll remaining half dough. Lattice dough over apple filling. Bake in preheated moderate oven at 350 F. for 35 to 40 minutes, until browned.
Yield: 10 servings
ANOTHER VERSION: Deep-dish honey apple pie recipe (1951)
Apple-spice swirls
Who can resist fresh biscuits — or a spicy apple fragrance drifting from the oven? Add those two charmers together and you’ll get one doubly irresistible, fancied-up hot bread. Bake apple-spice swirls and serve them either as sweet rolls or dessert with cream.
The homemade biscuit dough bursts with a rich brown sugar and applesauce filling that’s crunchy with chopped walnuts. There’s a double tang of fruit, for the glaze is made with apple juice. Biscuits have another surprise ingredient that gives crunch — rolled oats mixed in with the flour.
To make the swirls, roll out; dough into a rectangle, spread with filling and roll up. Cut into pinwheels and place in a baking pan, then drizzle with the glaze.
Ingredients
1 cup apple juice
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon melted butter or margarine
1-1/2 cups cups canned applesauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Directions
To make syrup: Combine apple juice, granulated sugar and lemon juice. Simmer 10 minutes; reserve. For pastry: Combine flour, salt and baking powder. Cut in 1/2 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add oats and milk, mixing lightly until mixture clears the bowl. Roll out to 13- inch by 9-inch rectangle. Brush with melted butter.
Mix together remaining ingredients for filling. Spread applesauce mixture on dough and roll up loosely, as for jelly roll, sealing edges (roll loosely to accommodate all the filling). Cut into 9 slices, about 1 inch wide. Place slices in 3 rows of 3, cut side down, in 8x8x2-inch pan, or arrange in round 8-inch baking pan.
Pour reserved syrup over top and bake in 400 degree oven 35 minutes. Serve warm as hot bread, or as dessert with cream. Serves 9.
BONUS: Coddled apple recipe from 1912
Peel and core sour (cooking) apples and arrange them in an earthen or porcelain dish, which will allow them to be covered. Fill the cavity of each apple with sugar mixed with a little grated nutmeg or cinnamon, adding a seeded raisin to each apple. Sprinkle sugar over the apples.
Pour a cup of hot water into the dish and cover closely. Place on the back of the range, where the apples will cook slowly until soft, but not broken.
Lift them out very gently without breaking. Add a little grated nutmeg and a bit of butter to the syrup and pour it hot over the apples. Serve cold.
