Tuesday, November 6, 2012

30 Apples + 1 Cook =?

So the one thing I absolutely love about fall is apples.

(well...the colorful leaves and the great weather too, but mostly apples)

Something about the season just makes me want to wear all sorts of colors.

And take pictures of all sorts of colors...

And eat all sorts of colors!

Also, I just want to wrap up, pick some apples, and make TONS of stuff with them!

So I embarked on a project.

Part 1: Make Apple Butter and store it in the freezer for its amazingness to last through winter.

Part 2: Make some super amazing apple pie... cause...well, cause it's awesome.

Part 3: Make Apple Cider Donuts.

And I did! 

This post however, will be about Part 1&2. (Seeing as Part 3 hasn't happened yet, we decided there were too many treats in the apt as it is.)

So here we go!

Basically it was really simple:

We took LOTS of apples...


And peeled them..



And then cut them up into little chunks...


For the apple butter I put it in a crockpot, with some sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, apple cider, lemon juice and just a splash of vanilla extract.

I let it sit for basically 12 hours, took it out...


and stuck it in a blender. Yes, I blended it, but it was the best way to get it smooth and super yummy :D

Of course, for the apple pie I took those apple chunks (with the same ingredients too! Can you believe it?) and stuck it in a homemade pie crust.)

Now, here's what I actually recorded photographically. I used the pie crust and apple pie recipe from this cookbook my mother got me before I moved in. This guy Mark Bittman is a genius, but I read his recipe for pie crust and was like..."Uh, NO WAY"

He called for two sticks of butter, to be smashed with your fingers while COLD into flour. Oh, and don't forget to add ice water while you're at it!

And I was making two pie crusts, so I needed FOUR sticks of butter. 

what was I thinking!!!!

So of course, the only thing that got me through the finger smashing bit was to...of course Photograph it. :D


Eww... that much butter totally made me gag.


So I promise you, if you ever try to smash four sticks of butter with your fingers, you will swear off of butter for the rest of your life. Not really. And the smell will totally make you gag. Like, ugh *shudder*.

But, it was totally worth it.

Why you ask?


It was the best apple pie I've ever tasted.

And no. I'm not exaggerating. THE BEST.

I sat down and took my first bite and all I could say was "Oh my gosh."

That pie crust is divine. The apples were perfect. I was in total heaven.

So I highly recommend Mark Bittman's recipe's. I've tried so many, and they're all just amazing. He's a phenomenal chef, and his book breaks everything down, and makes it all so simple. And since I'm such a visual person, all of the photographs in his book show you how it's supposed to look not just what you're supposed to do.

Also, if any of you are wanting, here is my mother's apple butter recipe. It really is divine, and you will never go back after you've had apple butter.

5 lbs of apples* peeled, cored, and cut into chunks (similar size)
2 cups apple cider
2 cups sugar (can use white or brown sugar or mixture)
Pinch of salt
1 T cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
Splash of vanilla extract
Juice of 1 small lemon

*For apples I like to use a mixture of sweet and tart (Roma, Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Cortland, Northen Spy, Winesap, Red Delicious, Liberty).  

Core and peel apples then cut into similar sized chunks.  Put apples in crockpot.  Add other ingredients and cook on high for 1-2 hours covered, then cook on low for 8-12 hours.  Use three marble sized tin-foil balls to prop lid up and allow steam to escape (this will help to thicken the apple butter).  Once the apple butter has reduced in volume, taste to see if more sugar or spices are needed.

Spoon into containers and freeze.

NOTE: 5lbs of apples is basically 20 apples (large apples, more if they're smaller) This makes for A LOT of apple butter, so I highly recommend scaling down to maybe a quarter of this, unless you're really happy with having apple butter in your freezer until springtime (which I totally am.)

Also, use a handheld immersion blender or a standup blender after the apples are done. This will smooth out the chunks and make for even better apple butter.

Stick it on peanut butter sandwiches, pancakes, toast, and just about anything you can think of! It's pretty much the best stuff I've ever eaten.

I may be lying about that. Please forgive me. It's still really amazing though.

Next up in the series of projects: Christmas Decorating, followed by Apple Cider donuts, with a possibly brief interlude by a post about a snowless snowball fight. :D

Live. Laugh. Photograph. 


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