Caramel Apple Snickerdoodles

Happy Friday everyone! It has been a crazy week. I’ve been trying to play catch up. I know I’ve been slacking in my Friday blog posts. So I wanted to make sure I get back in the game and get my act together.

After all the recipes I’ve tried so far this year, I’ve been pretty lucky…there have been very few Pinterst fails. I’ve had this recipe for Caramel Apple Snickerdoodles in my cue for awhile. I had a hard time finding the candy required by the recipe…I have honestly never see caramel apple cups. The closest thing I was able to find was a chocolate caramel filled kiss looking baking chips. Maybe if I was able to find these caramel apple cups this recipe would not be a pinterest fail. Granted these tasted good, but I was missing the apple flavor. I think these would be better named chocolate caramel snickerdoodles.

Caramel Apple Snickerdoodles

Ingredients

8 caramel apple chocolate cups

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 3/4 cups flour

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

3 tbs. sugar

3 tsp. cinnamon

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350°F.

2) Set your cookie sheet in the fridge to chill.

3) Cut caramel apple cups in half, set aside.

4) Cream butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar.

5) Add eggs and vanilla.

6) Combine flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.

7) Blend dry ingredients into butter mixture. Roll dough into 1.5″ balls.

8) Flatten and add halved caramel apple chocolate cups. Fold over cups and roll dough into ball again.

9) Chill dough for 10 minutes in the fridge on chilled cookie sheet.

10) While dough is chilling, mix remaining sugar with 3 tsp. cinnamon in a small bowl.

11) Gently rolling balls of dough in the sugar mixture. Place on chilled ungreased cookie sheet and bake 10 minutes. Remove from pan immediately but CAREFULLY as middle will be very soft from caramel cup.

Maple-Roasted Butternut Squash

You know theres only so many ways to make butternut squash. Usually I make it smashed with butter and salt. Honestly I could eat it that way day in and day out. However I decided to try something new. I found a recipe from picture perfect meals. Nothing says fall like maple and butternut squash. I think I may have found my new favorite way to make butternut squash.

Maple-Roasted Butternut Squash

Ingredients

One large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch dice

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss together the squash, olive oil and maple syrup. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and toss again. Roast until the vegetables begin to caramelize and are tender, about 30 to 40 minutes, turning once during baking.

Caramel Apple Banana Bread

I’ve been out of the loop for a couple weeks, between work and everything going on at home things have been crazy.  A couple weekends ago I had the ever growing issue of the over-ripened bananas.  This was also around when we went apple picking and let’s just say I’m still working through that bag of apples.  I tried looking up recipes for and apple banana bread, but I couldn’t really find any.  So I just went with a traditional banana bread and tweaked it. Adapted from Martha’s Banana Bread.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (about 3)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 apple peeled and chopped
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup caramel sauce for drizzling

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, and beat to incorporate.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined. Add bananas, sour cream, and vanilla; mix to combine. Stir in apples, and pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Let rest in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.  Drizzle with warm caramel sauce and serve.

Homemade Sweet potato fries

Well Halloween has come and gone. I feel like I blinked and black Friday adds were coming out and all the stores were blaring Christmas music. Im sorry didn’t we miss a holiday…you know that one where you eat a lot of turkey…also known as Thanksgiving. Im not quite ready to trade in my pumpkin and apple flavors for peppermint…not just yet. Therefore I am holding out as long as I can. Granted I’ve sorta started my Christmas shopping…but Im not ready to completely accept that Christmas is right around the corner…again.

So until Thanksgiving has come and gone, Im holding onto my fall flavors for as long as I can. I have always wanted to make homemade fries. I found a simple recipe for sweet potato fries from the art of doing stuff. This recipe was so easy that even a person who burns water could do!

Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes

2-3 Tablespoons of cornstarch

Directions

1) Peel and cut sweet potatoes into fries no thicker than 1/2″.  Soak in water for minimum of one hour, but preferably for half a day.

2) Drain water from bowl and lift fries out by the handful.  Give them a good shake.  They should be dry but still have enough moisture on them to allow the cornstarch to stick.

3) Put cornstarch in a plastic bag and drop all of your fries in.  Blow a little air into the bag, twist the top and shake it vigorously.  Lift the fries out onto one or two baking sheets.

4) Coat with Olive Oil.  The more the crispier and less sticking you’ll have, but the less healthy they’ll be.  Use 2 pans if you have to.  You want to make sure the fries aren’t crowded on the pan otherwise they’ll steam as opposed to getting crispy.

5) Bake for 15 minutes then check.  Once bottom of fries are getting crisp, flip them over and cook for another 5-10 minutes

 

If you’ve followed this blog long enough, Dan swears I’m trying to kill him by making him eat healthy. Every once in awhile I will try a recipe that I know isn’t healthy in any form of the imagination. I started to frost the apple upside down cake from Woman Behind the Curtain. Dan walks into the house wondering what Im doing. I told him it was breakfast for this week. He then proceeds to grab his stomach and swears Im trying to make him fat. So I offered to bring it to work. Dan then said “don’t be crazy”. So I decided to leave it at home and have it for breakfast. It was SOOOOOO yummy and SOOOOO easy to make. If you only pick up one fall recipe from this blog I say this is it.

Apple upside down cake

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups apples, chopped and peeled

1 can (12.4 ounce) Pillsbury cinnamon rolls with icing

1/2 cup pecan halves or pieces

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons corn syrup

Directions

1) Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Spray 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray.

3) Spread 1 cup of the apples in pie plate.

4) Separate dough into 8 rolls. Cut each roll into quarters; place in large bowl.

5) Add remaining 1/2 cup apples and pecans.

6) In small bowl, mix butter, brown sugar and corn syrup until well blended. Add brown sugar mixture to dough mixture; toss gently to combine. Spoon mixture over apples in pan.

7) Bake 28 to 38 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cool 5 minutes. Invert onto serving platter.

8) Remove lid from icing. Microwave icing on high 10 to 15 seconds or until drizzling consistency.

9) Drizzle over warm coffee cake. Serve warm.