Apple Brown Betty

Welcome Fall!!!

Fall is, hands down, my favorite season of the year. Not only is football season in full swing, but the weather is finally cooling off and the leaves are starting to fall, which means no more grass cutting. Yay!!! And of course, Halloween is just around the corner.

The one food I associate the most with fall is the apple. I love apples. I'd find a way to eat them in every dessert if I could. So, when I found this recipe for apple brown betty on Gooseberry Patch's new blog I couldn't resist trying it.

Ingredients
3 lbs. apples, cored, peeled and cut into eighths (I used Granny Smith)
10 slices bread, cubed
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/8 t. salt
3/4 c. brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. butter, melted
Garnish: whipped topping

Directions

1. Place apples in a slow cooker.

2. Combine remaining ingredients; toss together and sprinkle over apples.

3. Cover and cook on low setting 2 to 4 hours.

4. Garnish with whipped topping. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

I actually had all of these ingredients in my house so I didn't have to spend any money on this, and boy am I glad about that.

I was not very impressed with this recipe. Maybe it was the fact that I couldn't figure out exactly how much 3 lbs. of apples was, so I might have put too many in the crockpot. But after the entire 4 hours, the apples were still hard. I was afraid to let it cook any longer because the bread closest to the bottom was starting to get really mushy, and I hate mushy things.

It wasn't terrible, but it really wasn't great either. I will be trying another recipe from Gooseberry Patch soon. I know they are a great company with awesome cookbooks and crafts. I think I just picked a bad recipe.

Cracker Toffee

This is one of those recipes that sounds really weird and possibly gross, but is really good, if it is done correctly.

Ingredients

40 saltine crackers
1 cup butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate)
3/4 cup chopped nuts (The recipe calls for pecans, but I used walnuts)


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
2. Line cookie sheet with tin foil and then with saltine crackers in single layer.
3. In a saucepan combine the sugar and the butter. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes.
4. Immediately pour over saltines and spread to cover crackers completely.
5. Bake at 400 degrees F for 5 to 6 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Let sit for 5 minutes.
7. Spread melted chocolate and top with chopped nuts.
8. Cool completely in refrigerator (I let it sit overnight) and break into pieces.

My first batch turned out perfect. The toffee glaze and chocolate were evenly distributed and cooked just right.

The second batch was not so great. I think I left it in too long, plus the crackers shifted in the oven so some of them were burned on the bottom. They actually tasted like burnt crackers. Yuck! Next time I am going to watch to make sure the crackers don't shift when I lay them in the oven and get scrunched up in one corner.

Football Cookies

Okay, so apparently I'm not ready to start baking 100% homemade just yet. This was such a cute recipe that I found on Pillsbury.com I just had to try it.

Photo courtesy of Pillsbury.com.

Ingredients
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies
1 container (1 lb) chocolate creamy ready-to-spread frosting
White decorating gel

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Freeze dough 30 minutes.
2. Cut dough into 1/4-inch slices. With floured fingers, shape each dough slice to form football. On ungreased cookie sheets, place slices 2 inches apart.
3. Bake 7 to 11 minutes or until set and golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
4. Spread frosting over cookies. With white decorating gel, draw laces on each football.



These were super easy to make, but the decorating was not so easy. I used Wilton's fondant icing writer and it got clogged about every three cookies. It was okay though, because the entire time I was decorating them I was laughing thinking of Ace Ventura and Ray Finkle. . . "Laces Out"!

I think the girls on my fantasy football league will really enjoy them.

Happy Football Season! Go Steelers!!!

Cranberry Nut Bread

For the next several weeks I will be posting some "old" baking blog posts. You'll notice that all of these are not 100% homemade, but I want to keep all of my baking posts on this blog. I hope you enjoy these fun desserts!

I am a huge fan of breakfast breads (banana, zucchini, cranberry). They work well for me; I very rarely screw them up. I think I like them so much, since they are usually simple recipes to follow and the bread lasts all week. That means I don't have to worry about making something for breakfast during the work week. I can just grab a slice of bread and be on my way.

This recipe is one of my favorites, because I LOVE cranberries and nuts. Plus, it is just so pretty!

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
2. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add the cranberries and walnuts, and stir to coat with flour. Mix together the egg, oil, orange juice, and orange zest. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture, and stir until just blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack, and cool completely.