Apple Walnut Bread (Utah Deal Diva)

1 cup smooth unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/4 cup plain yogurt (I always just use vanilla!)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup peeled, cored, and finely diced apple (I use 1 medium sized apple- Pink lady is awesome, but any full flavored, tart apple is good!)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Line a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan with waxed or parchment paper (or grease and flour it), then set it aside. Heat the oven to 350°.

2. Combine the applesauce, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, oil, yogurt, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Whisk well to blend.

3. In another large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Make a well in the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon and pour in the applesauce mixture. Stir just enough to combine; do not overmix. Fold in the apples and walnuts.

4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spoon. Evenly sprinkle one tablespoon of sugar over the top. Bake on the center oven rack until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean, about 50 to 55 minutes.

5. Remove the pan from the oven and put it on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes, then remove the loaf from the pan and place it on the rack to finish cooling. Makes 10 servings.

Enjoy!

Apple Pumpkin Muffins (Utah Deal Diva)

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup diced apples, softened in microwave {2 minutes worked for me}

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tin with oil. Mix ingredients and spoon into muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 full. I like to make mini muffins because they bake in less time and they're fun for my kids to eat. Mini muffins take about 13 minutes to cook. Regular sized muffins take about 18-20 minutes to cook.

Cool and enjoy!

Freezing Apples (Utah Deal Diva)

One of the most basic things I did with my apples is peeled, cut, cored and diced them to freeze. I borrowed one of those handy apple Peeler-Corer-Slicers and it made a daunting task quick and bearable! After you peel, core & slice the apple, put it in a bath of water mixed with Fruit Fresh to sit for about 5 minutes. Next, set the apples out on a cloth to dry out a bit. You can then dice or slice them. I did both! I did 3 layers of each on large trays (pieces of Saran wrap between the layers), which I then put in the freezer. Once they were frozen, they break up individually and I put them all in a large ziplock bag. I love to use diced apples for pancakes, muffins, bread, pie...
The nice thing about freezing diced apples is that when thawed, they're soft, so they bake into these items nicely.

Freezer Apple Pie Filling (AllRecipes.com)

Ingredients

18 cups thinly sliced apples
3 tablespoons lemon juice
4 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
10 cups water

Directions

In a large bowl, toss apples with lemon juice and set aside. Pour water into a Dutch oven over medium heat. Combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Add to water, stir well, and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add apples and return to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until apples are tender, about 6 to 8 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes.
Ladle into 5 freezer containers, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Cool at room temperature no longer than 1 1/2 hours.
Seal and freeze. Can be stored for up to 12 months.

Apple Crisp (AllRecipes.com)

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups butter
2 quarts peeled, cored and sliced apples
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large bowl, combine the flour, oatmeal, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar. Cut butter into mixture until crumbly.
Take half of the mixture and pat it into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Cover crumb mixture with apple slices, then sprinkle apple slices with remaining crumb mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 to 50 minutes or until apples are tender.

Cinnamon Apples (Utah Deal Diva)

I just peeled them with a potato peeler and then used the corer-slicer that slices them into larger pieces. I used 30 medium-small apples and this process took me about 20 minutes. I searched the Internet for a good recipe, but didn't want something loaded with sugar, so I came up with my own. It worked out great! The only thing is, despite using several tablespoons of corn starch, the juice didn't thicken much at all! The apples taste delicious though, so I consider it a success. Here's what I used:
30 medium- small apples, peeled, cored & sliced
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
a few dashes of nutmeg
2 TBSP butter
3 TBSP cornstarch
Place sliced apples in crock pot. Mix remaining ingredients, except butter. Pour over apples and stir well. Dot apples with butter. Cook on medium for 4 hours, stirring intermittently. Enjoy!
Note: Depending on how many apples you use, the time required to cook them will vary. Check often after about 3 hours. You want to apples to be tender, but not mush!

Baked/Dried Cinnamon Apples (Utah Deal Diva)

I don't have a fruit dehydrator, so I made these the "old fashioned way." It was easy!
Use the apple peeler-corer-slicer and place apples in the Fruit Fresh bath afterwards. Dry apples on a cloth and then make 1 cut through the apple, so that the slices separate. Lay apples out on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with a bit more Fruit Fresh, then follow with a bit of cinnamon-sugar mix. Bake in low oven for 10-12 hours. The lowest my oven goes in 170 degrees. I baked the apples for 12 hours, then turned the oven off and just let them sit for another several hours.
My plan was to use my Food Saver to make pouches of apples, to eat over the next year or so, but each time I make a batch they disappear! Note: you can reuse the pieces of parchment paper several times!

Baked Apple Crisp with Cranberries (Krista Christensen)

1 bag of cranberries (about 2 cups)

3-4 firm apples, peeled and chopped (about 3 cups). I used two Granny Smith's and two Braeburns

2 Tbsp flour

1 cup sugar

2 pkgs Instant Cinnamon & Spice Oatmeal (I did not want to buy this so I just put in about 1 - 1 1/2 cups Oatmeal and sprinkled in cinnamon and a little extra sugar)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1 stick melted butter

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl mix the cranberries and apples together with 2 Tbsp flour. In a second bowl mix sugar, oatmeal, brown sugar, and flour together. Combine fruit mixture with dry mixture. Put in a 9X13 baking dish. Pour melted butter over the top. Sprinkle nuts on top. Bake 30-40 minutes or until apples are tender. Top with whipping cream or ice cream.