Monthly Archives: December 2015

Old Fashioned Apple Strudel

 

We bought an abundance of apples from our local farmer’s market a few weeks ago. Two weeks ago my husband and I made applebutter for the holiday. We like to pass it out as gifts in addition to our baklava. 

It is very popular and one of our most requested canned goods. We are actually making two batches. 
  

With all the pre of the apples I decided to also through this dish together. 

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour 

1 tsp baking powder

1 /2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 

1 tsp ground apple spice

1 tsp lemon juice

3 cups of sliced apples (not peeled)

1/2 cup honey 

3/4 cup raw sugar

1 tb hemp seeds 

1 tb canola oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Arrange apples in greased with Pam Spray baking dish. 

2. Drizzle honey over apples and sprinkle with apple pie spice, cinnamon & lemon.

3. In a separate large bowl sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt. 

4. Add egg to the dry ingredients and mix with hands until dry course texture. Spoon mixture over the apples evenly. Sprinkle with hempseeds.

5. Bake for 30-40 minutes on 350 degrees or until crust is golden brown. 

Apple Buttermilk Bread

 

My grandpa just gave me a large buchel of apples at Christmas I couldn’t wait to use them. Honestly fruit is the best gift you can give a dietitian at Christmas! Or anyone.. Really! I remember my grandpa telling me he would always get fresh oranges at Christmas. 

 Also a few weeks ago my mom, sister, and I went through some of my grandma’s cookbooks and stumbled across this apple cookbook. Every single recipe has apples in it from sweet to savory. This is actually the second recipe I have made with my extra special tweeks. Looking forward to trying them all.

BTW my sister and her family got me the adorable recipe holder (pictured above) for Christmas! It is a cookbook miracle tool. No more splatters or losing your page. 

This makes 4 mini loaves

Ingredients:

1 1/2 all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

4 tb canola oil 

2 tsp Apple pie spice

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup of chopped walnuts 

3/4 cups shredded Apple 

1 cup buttermilk 

1 egg 

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup Apple cider

1 1/2 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp salt

Predirections:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray with cooking spray bread tins. 

Directions: 

1. Mix oil and sugar together in large bowl. Add in egg and vanilla whisk to incorporate. 

2. In a medium sized bowl whisk together both flours, baking soda, salt and apple spice blend. 

3. Add dry ingredients into the egg and oil batter. 

4. Now add buttermilk, apple cider, and shredded apple. Whisk to incorporate all the ingredients. 

5. Lastly add the walnuts and fold to blend throughout. 

6. Pour batter evenly into greased pans. 

7. Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. 

8. Remove the bread from the pan right away. Allow to cool slightly and serve warm with applebutter. 

Applesauce Cinnamon Ornaments

We used to make these as kids! My mom would make the dough and my sister and I would get the big job of cutting the shapes. Oh I love the smell of these keepsakes! They always last a few years.  

 

***Warning these are not edible***

Ingredients:

7.75 ounces of ground cinnamon (use the dollar store kind) 

12 oz unsweetened applesauce

Scant water if necessary

Directions:

1. Warm applesauce in microwave for 30 to 60 seconds. Be careful applesauce maybe hot! 

2. Add ground cinnamon to applesauce. Mix with spatula. You might have to add some water to get to correct consistency. 

3. Roll out to wanted thickness on pastry mat. Use your favorite cookie cutters to shape your ornaments. 

4. Place ornaments on wax paper. Store in an area where you can let stand for a week to dry.

5. Once the ornaments have completely dried you can decorate them as you wish. 

  
 This is my mom’s original copy of the recipe! You know it’s a good one when they look like this. 

 

Vegan Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer

  

My husband loves pumpkin spice coffee creamer! Now we can have it all year round! This is a very simple recipe and way more delicious than store bought. 

Ingredients:

2 cups of soy creamer or soy milk

3 Tbsp puréed pumpkin 

3 three inch cinnamon sticks

1 tsp ground pumpkin spice 

1 tsp pure vanilla

3 tbsp of pure maple syrup 

Directions:

1. Place the soy creamer, puréed pumpkin, maple syrup, cinnamon sticks, and ground pumpkin spice in a 2 qt sauce pan. Place on medium high heat and bring to a boil. 

2. Once boiling remove from heat and cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Add vanilla and stir.

3. Pour into a heat safe container and store in refrigerator. Shake well before using.

Enjoy!

Grandma Harper’ s Ranch Osyter Crackers

  
Growing up we’d always go to my Grandma and Grandpa Harper’s on Christmas Day for lunch after we had our 4:30 am family Christmas extravaganza which alway lasted several hours. The funny thing is now we may get to sleep in until 6:30 am but with my nephew Christmas morning still can last several hours. 

We always looked forward to my grandparents having their homemade wedding soup on the stovetop with meat, fruit, and veggie trays on their peninsula island. My aunts and uncles would pop in and out all throughout the day. We have a fairly large family which made it difficult for us to all get together at the same time. But at the Harpers’s’ the door is always open. The tradition still lives on even though all the cousins have grown and started families of their own. 

One of my favorite snacks grandma always had waiting for the kids and adults was her famous ranch oyster crackers. It was not a family Christmas function without these savory ranch crackers. I always looked forward to eating these during the holiday season.

Luckily during my second review of her recipes I stumbled across this gem! 

Ingredients:

Two packages of oyster crackers (try to find the smaller sized crackers they absorb the oil better)

3/4 cup canola oil (grandma used 1 cup)

1 tsp dried dill 

1 tsp garlic powder

3 TB ranch powdered salad dressing mix (which is one packet of hidden valley) but I used penzey’s

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a large microwaveable safe bowl. Mix with spatula. Microwave for three minutes. Mix again with spatula thoroughly microwave for another three minutes. Allowed to cool and then store in either Ziploc bag or plastic Tupperware container. 

Be aware these are addicting.