Caramel Apple Muffins and promises of fall refresh the heart

What pleasant thoughts get conjured up by a magazine feature entitled “Apple Delights”! Who doesn’t feel hopeful reading about a variety of ways with apples? Fall and the promises it holds suddenly feel a lot closer when a recipe for Caramel Apple Muffins sits on my kitchen counter with ingredients for it gathered.

Muffins from this recipe appeared on the cover of the September issue of Southern Living magazine. Darling little muffins that resemble real caramel apples, with a nut-sprinkled caramel glaze on top and little twig handles for decor, were so appealing, I had to bake them first thing.

A basic muffin batter with 2 cups diced apples fills muffin cups, with a cinnamon topping sprinkled on before all is baked. Once removed from the pan these muffins remain top-side down. You melt the caramels and dip the bottom side of the muffin surface (yes, I did a double-take on that one, too!) and then roll this surface in nuts. I decided to forego inserting sticks or twigs and enjoy these without the dress-up, but the idea is cute indeed.

Not long after those delicious-beyond-words muffins popped out of the oven, our part of the world experienced a refreshing cool spell that put everyone in a better state of mind. Fall and its promises and Caramel Apple Muffins—they make the heart sing.

                                                               Caramel Apple Muffins

1 (8-ounce) container sour cream (I used fat-free)

1 cup sugar (I used sugar substitute)

2 large eggs (I used egg substitute)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt (I used salt substitute)

2 cups peeled and diced Granny Smith apples

1 (14-ounce) package caramels

3 tablespoons whipping cream

1 cup chopped lightly salted roasted pecans (I used walnuts)

wax paper

food-safe twigs or craft sticks

Cinnamon topping:

1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl prepare cinnamon topping by combining brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse meal. Set topping aside. Beat sour cream and next 3 ingredients at a low speed with an electric mixer 30 seconds or until all is blended. Stir together flour and next 3 ingredients. Add to sour-cream mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended. (Do not overmix.) Stir in diced apples. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 12-cup muffin pan. Fill muffin cups three-fourths full. Sprinkle with cinnamon topping. Bake at 375 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes or until muffins are golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in center emerges clean. Immediately remove from pans to wire racks; cool completely (about 30 minutes). Microwave caramels and cream in a microwave-safe bowl at high 1 to 2 minutes or until mixture is smooth. Stir at 30-second intervals. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until thick enough to coat muffins. Quickly dip bottom three-fourths of each muffin into caramel mixture; roll bottom half of caramel-coated portion of muffin in chopped nuts. Place muffins, caramel sides up, on lightly greased wax paper. (If caramel mixture begins to harden before you’ve dipped all the muffins, microwave mixture a few seconds to siften.) Insert food-safe twigs or craft sticks into caramel-covered portions of muffins. Makes 1 dozen muffins. (Source: Southern Living September 2012)

Apple Crisp and a crisp, fall morning—just what we’ve been waiting for

I had a new cookbook and was rarin’ to go with some new ideas. I didn’t have to look further than the first recipe—a highly simple version of Apple Crisp . . . and me still with an abundance of fresh apples on hand. What’s more, these apples didn’t have to be peeled—the most time-draining portion of many apple recipes. Just wash, core, slice, and place in the dish.

The cookbook was from the Southwest Chili Peppers Nutrition Task Force and was designed to instruct people in some of the most basic ways of preparing fresh fruit and vegetables. For people who know that fresh is best but don’t know where to start, this colorful, spiral-bound volume presents one illustrated, highly simple yet interesting recipe suggestion for each item of produce.

I loved the simplicity of this Apple Crisp—loved the outcome, as well, but found I needed to increase the cooking time beyond what was specified. Likely my apple slices were a little too thick and just needed some extra oven time, but after the recommended 20 minutes, they weren’t tender. I merely covered the baking dish with a sheet of foil and let the apples steam without over-browning the topping. An extra 10-15 minutes gave them the doneness they needed. Then I removed the foil for the last few minutes so the Crisp could get . . . well, crisp.

What a good little bowl of breakfast bounty (I didn’t wait for the dessert part) on this “Fall-Seems-Here-to Stay” morning! Warmed and served with a sliver of sugar-free whipped topping crowning it, it got a Friday morning kicked off well.

Apple Crisp

4-5 medium apples (I used a combination of Golden Delicious and Gala)

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup quick-cooking oatmeal

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a square pan. Remove the cores from the apples. Slice the apples. (Leaving the apples unpeeled adds to the nutritional value and is recommended, but some cooks might prefer to remove the peel as well.) Spread the sliced apples on the bottom of the pan. Cut the butter into small pieces and place in medium-sized bowl. Add the oatmeal, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Using two knives cut the margarine into the mixture until it looks like small crumbs. Sprinkle the mixture over the top of the apples. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. (May need to bake longer, with a sheet of aluminum foil over the top, for at least 10 more minutes to be sure apples are tender. If you find you need to cover because of increased cooking time, be sure to uncover for a few minutes at the end to allow the topping to get crisp.) Makes about 6 servings.