Sunday, October 17, 2010

Apple Butter!


Fall is officially here, and that means one thing (ok so maybe a few things, but for the sake of this post) ...APPLES! My mom and I made applesauce a few weeks ago, but then I started to hear everyone talk about apple butter. People were either eating it or making it, so I decided to jump on the bandwagon. I woke up this morning (ok so it was afternoon) and it was a nice fall day (and not too cold) and I decided today is the day I'm going to make apple butter. Off I drove to the nearest produce stand, but alas no good cooking apples! Decided to go to the natural grocery store (mainly for apples, but it didn't hurt that today was Sample Saturday) and picked up 4 lbs of granny smith apples. After a trip back home to pick up my citrus press and apple cider vinegar I was off to visit the parents (they have a better stove AND all the canning acroutrements). Quartered the apples (nope, no peeling or coring in this recipe!) and threw in a pot with water and vinegar. After cooking them for 20 mins they were super soft and ready to be food-milled. Added sugar and spices to the puree and back to the pot for an hour of cooking and stirring. As it was cooking I got my canning supplies ready, sterilized the jars/lids/bands, and sat (and stirred) and waited. Finally the butter was ready! Processed the cans and now I have to wait 12-24 hours until I can touch them again! Luckily the recipe made more than I could can, so my parents and I all have a little taster bowl. Currently the apple butter is waiting in my fridge, where it awaits toast and butter. After looking online there are millions other ways to use A.B. and I'm sure my bowl won't last very long! Until next time...

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Lemon Cookies


Since Amazing Race has started up again, it means that every Sunday I'm at the parents house for dinner and TV. Last Sunday, I decided to bake some cookies for the dessert portion. Grabbed my trusty Mixer Bible and found some delicious sounding Lemon Glazed Cookies (it's getting cold here in Idaho and nothing goes better with tea than lemon cookies!) Off I rode to Safeway to grab a few lemons (and a citrus press the greatest invention in the world!! why didn't I get one sooner?) Got the batter all mixed up and ready to go (no baking at home since the oven has been not holding its temp. lately) and then with the dogs in tow it was off to the parents. After some trial and error, I was able to get a (fairly) uniform amount of dough onto the parchment paper and into the oven. As they baked, I made the glaze (fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar). Once they were done and had cooled, I brushed on the glaze and then had to wait until the glaze hardened. Time for the taste test! I thought they would be a bit more like lemon coolers, but they were softer and a bit more dense. The glaze was delicious (it would have been a mediocre cookie without the glaze) and after my first batch, I made sure to put more glaze on the cookies. With the chill in the air, I have had many opportunities to eat these cookies while sipping on tea (lemon of course!) and almost a week later the cookies are still good. I will definitely make these cookies again. Until next time...