Apple Cookbook (22 page)

Elizabeth Ryan likes to offer this hard sauce with apple Betty, crisps, and other baked goodies served warm from the oven
.

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

2 tablespoons Calvados

1
. Cream together the sugar, butter, and Calvados until light and fluffy. Chill for 2 hours before serving.

Yield: About 2½ cups

The applesauce adds moistness to these brownies
.

½ cup (1 stick) butter

1½ cups brown sugar

1 cup applesauce

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1¼ cups sifted all-purpose flour

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ cup chopped pecans

1
. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour an 8-inch-square baking dish.

2
. Melt the butter in a 2½-quart saucepan. Remove from heat and beat in the sugar, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla. Sift in the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir to combine. Stir in the pecans.

3
. Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 25–30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack. Slice into squares.

Yield: 16 servings

Dinner in Britain, whether at my mother’s home or at any of her farming siblings’ and relatives’, is almost always followed by a sweet dessert. Pies and baked puddings are accompanied with double (clotted) cream or custard, such as this one. You can also serve this sauce with baked apples and any of the crisps and cobblers. While it’s usually served warm, it can be refrigerated, and is simply out of this world when cold
.

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

3 egg yolks

2 cups milk or light cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1
. Combine the sugar and cornstarch, and whisk together with the egg yolks in the top of a double boiler. Whisk until smooth.

2
. Heat the milk in a medium-sized saucepan. When it reaches a boil, pour half over the egg mixture, stirring constantly. Add the rest of the milk, then the vanilla.

3
. Place the top of the double boiler
over
simmering water (it must not touch the water) and, stirring constantly, cook for 2 minutes, or until the mixture thickens and is smooth.

4
. Remove from the heat and pour into a small jug. Serve immediately or cover with wax paper to prevent a skin from forming.

Yield: 2 cups

For a richer custard, whip ½ cup heavy cream until it is thick but not stiff, and stir into the custard. Chill, if desired.

Apple dumplings can be made quite easily (especially if you use store-bought pastry), yet most people shy away from making them, because they look as though they may be difficult to assemble. Not at all. They go together quite quickly and taste like apple pie, but make a prettier presentation
.

6 medium apples (Rome Beauty, Braeburn, Jonathan)

¼ cup apricot preserves

4 tablespoons butter, softened

2 tablespoons brown sugar

pastry for a double piecrust (pages 113–115)

milk

1
. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a large shallow baking dish.

2
. Peel and partially core the apples, leaving approximately ¼ inch of core at the base. Remove the stems and trim the bottoms, if necessary, so that the apples sit level.

3
. Beat the preserves, butter, and sugar together. Stuff the mixture into the cores of the apples.

4
. Divide the pastry into six pieces and roll out into 6-inch squares approximately ¼-inch thick.

5
. Place an apple in the center of each square of dough and bring the four corners of the pastry together. Dab with milk and then seal.

6
. Arrange the dumplings in the baking dish (they should not touch one another) and pop into the freezer for 3–5 minutes to chill the pastry.

7
. Reduce oven to 375°F. Brush the pastry with milk and bake for 50–60 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm with English Custard Sauce (page 152) or vanilla ice cream.

Yield: 6 servings

This recipe comes from Julia Stewart Daly of the U.S. Apple Association. Julia says her guests are always dazzled when she serves this elegant but deceptively simple dessert
.

1 sheet frozen puff pastry

4 medium cooking apples (Golden Delicious or Jonathan)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon water

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

S
AUCE

½ cup prepared caramel sundae topping

1/3 cup toasted chopped pecan halves (optional)

1
. Thaw and unfold the pastry as the package directs.

2
. Preheat oven to 400°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry into a 16-inch square and, using a fluted pastry cutter or a kitchen knife, cut into 4 equal squares.

3
. Peel and core apples; trim bottoms so that apples sit level. Place one apple in the center of each pastry square. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon; spoon into apples.

4
. Beat the egg and water together in a small bowl and moisten the edges of the pastry with the mixture. Bring the pastry up around the apples, pleating or trimming excess pastry as needed, and pinch the edges together to form a seal.

5
. Place the dumplings in an ungreased 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Brush them with the egg mixture; sprinkle with the granulated sugar. Bake for about 35 minutes, until golden brown.

6
. F
OR THE SAUCE
, combine the caramel topping and pecan halves, if desired, in a microwave-safe dish. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH for 30 seconds, until heated through.

7
. Spoon the sauce onto each plate and set the dumplings on top or drizzle the sauce over the top. Serve warm.

Yield: 4 servings

I
F YOU’VE BEEN HARVESTING APPLES
since August, by the time the end of October rolls around, your family may wish it were a forbidden fruit. This is the time to start preserving.

There are a number of ways to prolong the life of your apples: canning, freezing, and drying. Applesauce and apple slices are a cinch to can or freeze. You may decide to make jams, jellies, and butters or, on the savory side, to try your hand at spicy chutneys and relishes.

If apple pies are a staple in your house, unbaked pies can be frozen and later popped, at a moment’s notice, from the freezer (see directions on page 160). I don’t like to freeze baked pies; the bottom crust always ends up soggy.

Canning and freezing provide long-term storage for apples. Apples will keep for 8–12 months in a freezer before they deteriorate in flavor and texture, especially if they are packed in a sugar or honey syrup. Canned apples and applesauce will
keep indefinitely, although it is always best to can only as much as you can eat in a year.

Most people find that they don’t have freezer space for frozen apple products, so they prefer to can apples. I prefer canning because I like the convenience of having the apples ready to eat or bake with right out of the jar. Frozen applesauce takes quite a long time to defrost.

Apple slices, applesauce, and apple preserves can be canned in a boiling-water bath, which consists of a large kettle, a rack that fits inside, and a lid. Apple slices are usually processed for 15 minutes in pints, 20 minutes in quarts. Applesauce is processed for 10 minutes in both pints and quarts. Apple jams and marmalades should also be processed for 10 minutes to ensure a long shelf life.*

Whenever you can fruits or vegetables, you should use special canning jars, which are equipped with flat metal lids and screw bands. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (U.S.D.A.) advises against using bail-top glass lids with a separate rubber seal and metal clamp for canning.

A jar lifter and a wide-necked funnel will make the canning process a lot easier and safer.

After the jars have cooled for 12 hours, check each lid for a proper seal by feeling the depression on the lid. If you find a jar that hasn’t sealed (check by turning it upside down to see if it leaks), take a clean jar and a new lid, fill with the mixture, and reprocess for the given time or refrigerate that jar and use within a week or so. Reprocessing applesauce will not affect the texture significantly. Don’t bother to reprocess apple slices, however; you will end up with mush instead of slices.

With careful use and handling, Mason jars may be reused many times, requiring only new lids each time.

*If you are processing food at an elevation above 1,000 feet, you will need to increase the processing time. Consult your local county Extension agent or contact Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service at 202-720-3029 (
http://www.reeusda.gov
/on the Internet).

Canned apple slices are great to use in pies, crêpes, and baked desserts. They are good in fruit salads. However, peeling apples for canning is a laborious chore. When I am working with large quantities of apples, I prefer to can applesauce. Plan to can about 3 medium apples per quart jar.

1
. Wash the jars and lids in warm, soapy water and rinse thoroughly. Prepare the lids as the manufacturer directs. Preheat water in your canner.

2
. For each quart jar, measure 2 cups water and 1 cup extra fine granulated sugar into a pan and slowly bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil the syrup for 5 minutes and remove from the heat.

3
. Peel, core, and slice the apples approximately ¼-inch thick. Drop immediately into a bowl containing a gallon of cold water mixed with 2 tablespoons lemon juice.

4
. When all the apples are sliced, drain and pack into the quart jars to within ½ inch of the top, without crushing the slices.

5
. Return the syrup to a rolling boil and pour over the packed slices, again leaving ½ inch of headroom. Run a rubber spatula or a chopstick around the inside of the jars to release air bubbles. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean, damp cloth, and screw on the lids.

6
. Process the jars according to the Boiling-Water-Bath Canning instructions on page 158 (20 minutes for both pints and quarts; 25 minutes at 1,001–3,000 feet altitude; 30 minutes at 3,001–6,000 feet; and 35 minutes above 6,000 feet).

7
. Remove the jars and adjust the screw bands to tighten the seals.

8
. Leave the jars undisturbed for 12 hours to cool. Test the seals. Store in a cool, dry place.

1
. One bushel of apples (42 pounds) will give you 16–20 quarts of applesauce. Wash and quarter the apples. It is not necessary to peel them. Place the apples in a kettle with about 1 inch of water. Cover and cook until soft, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching and to allow the apples to cook evenly.

2
. While the apples cook, prepare your jars and lids and preheat water in your canner. Wash the jars and lids in warm, soapy water; rinse thoroughly. Prepare the lids according to the manufacturer’s directions.

3
. When the apples are soft, press through a sieve, strainer, or food mill to remove the skins and seeds.