Amish Apple Fritter Bread

Apple bread deserves more recognition. This apple bread tastes like a warm apple donut. I cut the apples into bigger chunks because I like the bite to them, but feel free to cut them into smaller pieces. I used fresh grated ginger; I feel like it gives more of a punch than the ground ginger. I need everyone to make this bread; it is the perfect fall treat for these gray, cold days ahead of us.

Ingredients

  • 2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
  • ½ cup light brown sugar
  • 3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger (I grated real ginger, but feel free to use pre-ground)
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • ⅓ cup white granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup full-fat sour cream, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

Glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons milk

Let’s Get Baking

Preheat your oven to 350F. Prepare your loaf pan with nonstick spray.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix the chopped apples + brown sugar+ cinnamon + ginger together and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg + granulated sugar + vegetable oil + sour cream + vanilla extract until well combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour + baking soda + kosher salt, then add it to the bowl of wet ingredients. Mix in the dry ingredients until almost completely mixed in.

Fold in ¾ of the amount of the apple-cinnamon mixture into the batter, then pour it into the prepared loaf pan.

Top the apple fritter bread with the remaining apple chunks and bake for 50-55 minutes.

While the bread is cooking, in a small mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar + vanilla extract + milk until it comes to a smooth consistency.

Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before serving. Pour the glaze over the fritter bread generously right before serving.

Made with Love,

Hannah

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

Recently, one of my coworkers asked when I would be bringing in dessert again. I love bringing in my baking creations to share with my teammates and so since it was requested I thought it would be prime time to make something that screams “AUTUMN”. What stood out to me the most from this recipe from Eating Well was the gingersnap crust. I love gingersnaps and I was so excited to try it out rather than the boring and bland graham cracker crust. I have to say this is going to now be my go-to crust, and maybe even my new Thanksgiving pie!

Ingredients

  • 8oz Gingersnap Cookies
  • 1/4 TSP Salt, divided
  • 3 TBSP Melted Butter
  • 3 8oz Packages Reduced-Fat Cream Cheese, softened
  • 1 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar
  • 4 Eggs
  • 15 oz Unseasoned Pumpkin Puree
  • 1 TBSP Vanilla Extract
  • 2 TSP Pumpkin Pie Spice (Nutmeg, Ginger, Cinnamon)

Let’s Get Bakin’

Preheat the oven to 325F

Coat a 9in springform pan with butter. Tightly wrap the outside of the pan with foil, making sure to cover the bottom and sides.

Grab a small sauce pan and fill with water, bring to a boil.

In a food processor or blender, pulse the gingersnap cookies and 1/8 TSP of salt. Once finely ground, drizzle in the butter and scrape down the sides as needed. Make sure all the crumbs are all softened. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan and about 1/2in up the sides. Place in the freezer.

Clean the food processor/blender and then combine the cream cheese + sugar + eggs + 1/8 TSP Salt and blend well until smooth. Remove 1/4 cup of the batter and reserve. Add in the pumpkin + vanilla + pie spices to the remaining mixture and process until smooth.

Pour the pumpkin batter into the chilled crust. Drizzle the reserved batter over the top and run a knife through the batters to swirl together.

Place the pan in a roasting pan [I used a baking sheet]. Pour in the boiling water to come up about 1in up the sides of the springform pan.

Bake the cheesebake until set around the edges but the center is slightly wiggly, about 1hr 30 min.

Remove from the oven and let the cheesecake cool in the wter bath for about 1hr.

Remove from the water bath and remove the foil, refridgerate for atleast 3 hours before serving.

Serve with whip cream if you desire & enjoy!

Made with Love,

Hannah

Apple Cider Doughnut Cake

I feel that apple cider unfairly takes spot #2 when it comes to fall flavors. Pumpkin always reigns supreme but I respectfully disagree. This doughnut cake from Princess Pinky Girl truly showcases that apple and cinnamon should be the real stars of fall flavors. My mom made this cake for a dinner with friends and I had to get the recipe from her to share because it may be one of my new favorite fall desserts.

Ingredients

  • 1 Box Yellow Cake Mix
  • 1 Cup Apple Cider
  • 1/4 TSP Cinnamon
  • 1/2 Cup Cinnamon Apple Sauce
  • 3 Large Eggs, room temp
  • 1 TBSP Brown Sugar
  • 1 TSP Vanilla
  • 1/4 TSP + 2 TBSP Cinnamon
  • 1/4 Cup Sugar
  • 1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter, melted

Apple Cider Glaze

  • 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
  • 1/4 Cup Apple Cider

Let’s Get Bakin’

Preheat the oven to 350F

In a large mixing bowl combine the cake mix + apple cider + apple sauce + water + eggs, and mix until well combined. Add in 1/4 TSP cinnamon + brown sugar + vanilla and mix well.

Lightly butter a bundt pan and flour it as well. Pour the cake mixture into the bundt pan and cook for 45 minutes. Once done, remove from heat and let cool for 20 minutes. Remove from the pan once cooled.

To make the glaze: combine the powdered sugar + apple cider in a small bowl. Whisk until desired consistency.

In a separate bowl mix together the cinnamon + sugar. Once the cake has cooled, brush the surface with the melted butter. Coat the cake with cinnamon sugar.

Serve the cake with the glaze drizzled over the slices.

Made with Love,

Hannah

Apple Cider Whoopie Pies

Sorry, I was MIA for a few weeks, school is back in session and blah blah blah. BUT It’s October so we know that means all things pumpkin and apple cider. The cooler weather always makes me want to stay in the kitchen and baking, staying warm with the oven. This is a delicious recipe featuring all things apple cider. The recipe is from Parsley and Icing, she has many amazing options for frostings as well, I used a bourbon buttercream for the filling but you can use whatever your heart desires.

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup Apple Cider reduced to 1/4 cup
  • 1/2 Cups Unsalted Butter, room temp, divided 6 TBSP for dough + 2 TBSP melted
  • 1 3/4 Cups Flour
  • 1/2 TSP Salt
  • 1 TSP Baking Powder
  • 1/4 TSP Baking Soda
  • 1 1/2 TSP Cinnamon + 1/2 TSP for Coating
  • 1//4 TSP Ginger
  • 1/2 TSP Nutmeg
  • 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar + 1/4 Cup for Coating
  • 1/4 Cup + 2 TSP Brown Sugar, packed
  • 1/4 Cup Applesauce
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1/4 TSP Vanilla

Bourbon Butter Cream

  • 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter, room temp
  • 1 1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar, sifted
  • 2 TBSP Your Choice of Bourban
  • Pinch of Salt

Let’s Get Baking

Heat the oven to 350F

Bring the apple cider to boil over MED-HIGH heat and let reduce until it’s down to 1/4 cup

In a medium sized bowl, sift the flour + baking powder + baking soda + salt + cinnamon + ginger + nutmeg together

In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the 6 TBSP of butter with the sugars until combined. Add in the vanilla + eggs, make sure you are scraping down the sides while completing. Add in the apple cider + applesauce and combine on low, slowly pour in the flour.

Place cookies onto lined baking sheets, about 1/2 TBSP each, bake about 11-13 minutes each, depending on your oven. Once out of the oven, brush with melted butter and sprinkle them with the cinnamon + sugar.

While the cookies are baking and cooling, make the buttercream. Beat the butter then add in the powdered sugar and bourbon.

Once the cookies are cool, full them with the homemade buttercream.

Enjoy with your friends and fam and a cold glass of apple cider.

Made with Love,

Hannah

Julia Child’s Apple Tart

Julia Child is the end all be all. I received her both volumes of her cookbook Mastering The Art of French Cooking for Christmas one year and they are both something I would grab if my house was on fire. This recipe is all homemade, from the tart shell to the apple filling. This will 100% impress your friends and family when you present this. Be ready to set some time aside, but it is totally worth it.

Ingredients

Pastry Shell:

  • 2 Cups Sifted All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 TSP Salt
  • 2 Pinches of Sugar [her words not mine]
  • 1/4 lb Chilled Butter cut into 1/2 in cubes [again this is where a kitchen scale really comes in handy]
  • 3 TBSP Chilled Vegetable Shortening
  • 5 TBSP Cold Water

Apple Tart

  • 4 lbs Crisp Cooking apples, I used half granny smith and half honeycrisp hybrid
  • 1 TSP Lemon
  • 2 TBSP Sugar + 2/3 Cup
  • 1/3 Cup Apricot Preserves, forced through a sieve
  • 1/4 Cup Calvados, Rum, or Cognac [can substitute for a TBSP of Vanilla extract]
  • 3 TBSP Butter
  • 1/2 TSP Cinnamon & grated rind of 1 lemon/orange

Let’s Get Baking

I love Julia Child, but jeez her recipes can be unnecessarily complicated so I am going to do my best to make this simple.

We are going to start with the pastry shell. You are going to add together the flour + salt + sugar + butter + vegetable shortening into a large bowl. Using the tips of your fingers, rub together the fat until it has broken into small pieces. Don’t worry about them getting incredibly small they will blend more later.

Slowly add the water and blend the mixture with the other hand. The goal is to gather the dough into a large mass. Sprinkle up to another TBSP more of water over any parts that have not added to the main ball of dough. Press the dough into a firmly shaped ball, it should hold together but not be sticky.

Lightly flour a cutting board and with the heel of one hand, rapidly press the dough down onto the board. I did this a couple times to fully incorporate the butter. Scrape together all the dough and knead it slightly into a smooth ball. Cover with wax paper and place into the fridge for an hour, or freeze up to 3 days.

When it’s time to bake the shell, preheat the oven to 375F. Carefully roll out the shell into a 10inch circle. Gently place the shell into a tart pan and press down until the pastry fills the tin. Cook for 5-6 minutes. Then remove the shell, prick the bottom of the shell with a fork and bake for about 8-10 minutes more. The shell will remove slightly from the mold and will brown.

Now onto the apple tart. You are going to quarter, core, and peel all of the apples. Cut the apples into about 1/8 inch slices, enough for about 3 cups. I recommend using a mandolin. Once you have 3 cups, add in the lemon juice and 2 TBSP of sugar, mix together and reserve for the top.

The rest of the apples will be cut into rough slice, about 8 cups. Add the apples into a pan and cook covered on low heat for about 20 minutes. Stir here and there until tender. Beat the remaining ingredients into the pan, including the remaining 2/3 cups of sugar. Increase the heat until it bowls and is thick enough to hold a mass on the spoon.

Preheat the oven to 375. & spread the apple sauce on the precooked pastry shell.

Cover the applesauce with the left over apples in concentric circles. Top off with some of the apricot glaze and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove and place on a cooling rack, service warm or cold.

I say warm with vanilla ice cream is always the way to go.

Always Hungry,

Hannah