As the air turns crisp, the leaves begin to fall, and the autumn sky above filters into a clear blue, strolling through an apple orchard with a basket in hand and picking apples that have fallen is a great activity. This is a beautiful scenario, but for Southern apple lovers, it’s the grocery store aisles where we will find those Honeycrisp, Winesap, or Pink Lady apples.
When cooking with apples, you want the flavor and the texture of the apple to shine through and not be masked by too many spices or too much pastry. If you choose a soft apple with no aroma, your dish is likely to taste like mushy apples with a mealy texture. Granny Smith, Fuji, Honeycrisp, and Gala are some of the most flavorful apples and are almost always available. Granny Smith works particularly well in dishes needing a tart flavor as well as a very crisp texture, such as a tart. It is all about layers of flavor and textures that complement one another, yet are completely different.
Fried apple pies are a favorite of mine. They are best eaten warm, with just a dusting of confectioners’ sugar. John T. Edge provides a delicious recipe made with Coca-Cola that he derived from one of his many assignments about apple pies across the nation. It’s also particularly good and simple to make. His book Apple Pie, an American Story is full of delicious apple pie recipes and funny anecdotes.
The recipes are as simple or complex as you want them to be. Just remember to choose the best apple—firm to the touch, deep in color, and with a real bite! Happy fall, y’all!
Fresh Apple Tart with Apricot Glaze and Brown Sugar Cream
This is scrumptious as well as beautiful! You can use a tart pan or make it freeform.
TART
2 cups plain cake flour
½ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons, plus ¼ cup sugar, divided
1½ sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces
¼ cup vegetable shortening, chilled
½ cup ice water
1 cup apricot jam
2 to 4 tart apples, cored, peeled, and sliced
BROWN SUGAR CREAM
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons brown sugar
For tart pastry, in a food processor, combine flour, salt, 2 tablespoons sugar, butter, and shortening. Pulse several times until mixture is grainy. With machine running, slowly add water by droplets until mixture comes together. Remove dough from bowl and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to use. For glaze, in a saucepan, melt jam and 3 tablespoons sugar together, stirring well. Pour jam through a sieve into a bowl; set aside. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Press pastry into a 14-inch tart pan. In a bowl, sprinkle apples with remaining ¼ cup sugar, then decoratively layer apple slices. Cut leaves out of extra dough and arrange on tart, if desired. Place tart in oven for 30 minutes or until crust begins to brown. Brush entire tart with glaze and bake for 5 additional minutes or until tart is very shiny. Remove from oven.
For Brown Sugar Cream, in bowl of a mixer, whip cream and vanilla together for 1 minute. Sprinkle in brown sugar and whip until cream holds soft peaks. Serve with warm apple tart.
Yield: 1 (14-inch) tart
Roasted Chicken With Apples and Calvados Cream
1 whole chicken, washed and patted dry
1 tablespoon each: salt, black pepper, lemon pepper, and Cavendar’s seasoning
2 sticks salted butter, melted, divided
1 sweet onion, cut into wedges
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and cut into ½-inch slices
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup apple cider
½ cup Calvados liqueur
Salt and black pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a casserole dish sprayed with vegetable spray, place chicken that has been seasoned inside and out with seasonings. Pour ½ stick melted butter over chicken and place in oven, basting occasionally. Roast for 45 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and cooked through. Remove from oven and keep warm. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, sauté onion and apple in remaining 1 ½ sticks butter. Add a sprig of thyme. When onion and apple are beginning to soften, add cream and simmer for 10 minutes. Add apple cider and apple liqueur and continue to simmer until liquid has reduced and has started to thicken. Check seasonings and add salt and pepper if needed.
Yield: 4 servings
Apple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls
2 loaves Bridgeford frozen bread dough
All-purpose flour for dusting
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup tart apples, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 (17-ounce) jar caramel sauce
Place frozen loaves of bread dough on a floured board. Cover with a dish towel and let rise in a warm place, 3 to 6 hours. In a large bowl, combine butter, apples, pecans, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon; set aside. When dough has doubled in size, separate dough and roll each piece into a large rectangle on a floured board. Spread half of apple mixture over each rectangle. Roll dough into a cylinder, jellyroll fashion. Cut rolls with a sharp knife into 2-inch pieces. Place pieces in a cake pan or sheet pan. Let rolls rise until they have doubled in size. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake until golden, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drizzle with caramel sauce.
Yield: 12 large rolls.
Apple Dumplings with Almond Sauce
DUMPLINGS
3 cups tart apples, peeled and coarsely chopped
¼ cup brown sugar
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
3¾ cups all-purpose flour
1½ tablespoons baking powder
¼ cup cold milk
1 cup toasted, sliced almonds
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine chopped apples, brown sugar, lemon juice, and zest. Set aside. In food processor fitted with a steel blade, pulse flour and baking powder. In a bowl, whisk milk and eggs and add to flour all at once. Pulse mixture until it clings to sides of bowl and forms a ball. Dough will be very stiff. Remove from bowl and roll out onto a floured board until very thin. Cut dough into 12 (4-inch) squares and place a tablespoon of apple mixture in middle of each. Bring corners of each square together, slightly twisting and squeezing to seal. Place dumplings in a deep 9 or 10-inch baking dish, squeezing together if necessary. Sprinkle any leftover chopped apple over all, and set aside. Sprinkle with toasted almonds; set aside and prepare Almond Sauce.
ALMOND SAUCE
4 cups water
2 sticks unsalted butter
¾ cup sugar
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
For garnish: 1 cup sweetened whipped cream
In a saucepan, bring water to a boil and add butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Cook until dissolved. Pour liquid over dumplings. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour, or until dumplings are golden and sauce is reduced. Serve with remaining sauce spooned over each portion and top with sweetened whipped cream.
Yield: 12 servings
Cherry Pomegranate Apple Spritzer
6 cups sparkling water, chilled
3 cups apple juice, chilled
1 cup cherry juice, chilled
1 cup pomegranate juice, chilled
3 cups lemon-lime flavored soda, chilled
In a large pitcher, combine sparkling water, apple juice, cherry juice, and pomegranate juice. When ready to serve, pour in lemon-lime soda. Pour into glasses and garnish with fresh cherries and apple slices
Yield: 10-12 servings
Coca-Cola Fried Apples
This recipe came from my friend and writer John T. Edge.
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup Coca-Cola, flat
½ pound dried apples
1 cup sugar
4 cups water
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Vegetable oil for frying
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
In a bowl, mix flour, salt, and Coca-Cola, forming a soft dough. Roll out very thin. Using a saucer as a guide, cut dough into rounds. Refrigerate until ready to use. In a pot over medium, combine dried apples, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes or until water is absorbed. Add cinnamon and set aside. In a saucepan over medium heat, pour vegetable oil to 2 to 3 inches up sides of pan. Bring oil to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, place a scoop of apple filling in center of each dough round. Fold over and pinch edges together with a fork to seal. When oil is hot, drop pies in a few at a time and fry, turning once until they are golden on each side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined pan using a slotted spoon. Sprinkle each pie with confectioner’s sugar and serve warm.
Yield: 8 pies
