Easy Apple [Rhubarb] Crisp

• 4 Small tart Green Apples (Granny Smith) peeled and chopped
• 2 - 3 Cups Chopped rhubarb
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
• 2/3 cup whole wheat flour (white flour works too)
• ½ cup butter or margarine
• ¼ cup chopped pecans (optional)

Spray a 2 quart casserole with PAM.  Toss chopped apples and rhubarb together in casserole.  In another small bowl mix sugar, cinnamon, flour, and butter.  Cut with pastry cutter or two knives until butter is incorporated and mix is easy to crumble with fingers.  Mix in pecans.  Crumble over top of fruit mixture covering it all completely.  Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes to 1 hour until topping is golden brown and mixture is bubbly.  Remove from oven and cool slightly.  Serve ala mode.
** This recipe can be made entirely with Apples  (about 6  medium) or Rhubarb (about 4 cups)

Knobby Apple Cake

• 3-4 Cups peeled, cored and diced apples
• 1 Cup flour (I use whole wheat)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3 Tablespoons Margarine
• 1 cup loose packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs well beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (I also add 1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring)
• 1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)
• powdered sugar for dusting over cooled cake

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small bowl mix dry ingredients; flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a larger bowl cream butter and brown sugar. Add eggs, vanilla and maple flavorings. Mix until smooth. Slowly add dry ingredients mixing only until incorporated. Fold in apple chunks and nuts. Turn into a sprayed 8" square cake pan (round works too). Bake at 350°F for 45 minutes. Once cooled sprinkle top with a light dusting of powdered sugar. Double recipe for a 9"x13" pan and increase baking time by 10 - 15 minutes.

Cinnamon Maple Chunky Applesauce

• 4 cups peeled, chopped apples (fresh or frozen is fine)
• ½ cup very loosely packed brown sugar
• ¼ cup good bourbon or brandy (optional)
• ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Maple Flavoring or 1 Tablespoon Fresh Maple Syrup

Place all ingredients into the crock pot. Stir until apples are coated. Cook on high heat for about 3 hours. Stir ingredients and mash with potato masher leaving some chunks. Let cool slightly. Serve warm or cold.

Apple Salad

• 6 small tart apples -I used Granny Smith (cored and diced)
• 3 -1.5 oz candy bars either Snickers, Take 5 or Nutrageous (chopped)
• 8 oz of whipped cream topping or whip it yourself fresh
• 1 sm box instant vanilla pudding
• 1 cup milk

Toss the cored, diced apples with the chopped candy bars. Fold in whip cream. Refrigerate and serve when ready. Does it get more simple then that?

Apple Pie

• Enough dough for 2 layer crust
• 8 to10 apples of 2 kinds cored, (about 8 cups) pealed and sliced thin (I used Golden Delicious and Gala)
• 1 cup unbleached flour (I used whole wheat instead)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon milk
• extra cinnamon & sugar to top

Core, peal and slice thin your apples. Tossing in a large bowl with a small amount (about 1 tablespoon for all apples) of lemon juice to prevent from serious browning. Toss apples and sugars, cinnamon and flour until all are well coated.
Prepare bottom crust so that it hangs over the edge of a 9″ pie plate approximately 1 inch. Fill pie with apples making sure the apple slices are laying flat in pie dish. Dot top of apples with small pieces of butter. Top with second crust gently laying it over the heaping apples pressing edges together then rolling and pinching to flute crust edge. Cut steam vents in top of pie. Place foil around the edges of pie crust to prevent from burning. Wet top slightly with milk and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Place on preheated cookie sheet (lined with foil or parchment to catch the over flow sugary juices and make easy clean up) in a 375º F oven for 25-3o minutes. Remove foil and bake another 20 – 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling. Remove entire baking sheet from oven and let pie cool. If you like at this point I sometimes top it with Caramel Ice cream topping.

Apple Oatmeal Bread

• ½ cup brown sugar
• ¼ pure maple syrup
• ¾ cup vanilla yogurt
• ¼ cup apple sauce
• ¼ canola oil
• 1 egg
• ¾ rolled oats
• 1 cup unbleached flour
• ¾ cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups apples (Peeled, cored, and cut into bite sized pieces)
• ½ cup raisins
• ½ cup pecans (chopped)

Mix the brown sugar, maple syrup, yogurt, apple sauce, oil, egg and rolled oats in a bowl and let them sit for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile in a small bowl mix flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.  Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients  along with the apples, raisins and pecans until just mixed. Spoon the mixture into a greased 9×5 inch loaf pan. Sprinkle top with a handful of rolled oats.  Bake in a preheated 375º F oven until a toothpick pushed into the center comes out clean, about 40 min.

Apple Butter

• 20 - 24 apples of mixed variety, peeled, cored and chopped small.
• 1 cup local honey
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon clove
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup water or apple cider

Place chopped apples in large crock pot (if you chop them small enough they will all fit. If not don't worry you can add the rest as they cook down).Top with remaining ingredients.
Toss everything together.
Cover and place crock pot on Low.
Cook whisking occasionally for approximately 20 hours.
After 8-10 hours crack lid to allow some moisture to escape.
For the last 4 hours remove cover and whisk aggressively. Leave cover off whisking occasionally until thick and you can see the whisk marks staying in the butter.
Place in freezer containers (I filled 3, 2.1 cup freezer containers), allow to cool before covering and placing in freezer.
Thaw in refrigerator when ready to use.