Apple Core!

Apple core! Baltimore! Who's your friend? Him!!!

What happened to good cartoons like these ones?! 

My dad, good ol' Donald Duck, and Chip & Dale taught me this game when I was just a kid, and I loved it when i remembered to use it!

My friend recently scored on a killer price for Washington Gala Apples, only 0.50$ a pound!

So I bought 115 pounds!

Let's just say that's A LOT of apple cores!

And the game doesn't work very well when I'm the one saying "apple core" and my hubby gets to be the "Baltimore" because he naturally chooses me as his friend.... 

And I don't like to pelt myself with half eaten fruit!

But I digress...

What do you do with 115 pounds of apples??

Apple pies! Applesauce! Caramel Apples! Apple Cider! Dried Apples! Apple Leather! 

The list is endless!

It wouldn't be fall if there weren't apples around!

My house has  been overtaken with a heavenly apple cinnamon aroma for the last week or two.

It's a fantastic fall smell :)

Whether applesaucing, applepieing, appleleathering, or applecidering, you must start in the same place - wash, core, peel and slice your apples.

And when you have 115 pounds to cook, this do-dad comes in handy!!!

It slices! it dices! Ok, so it doesn't dice, but it does core, peel and slice your apples, all in a few turns of the crank!

If you don't have one of these, I suggest splurging for one... They make cooking apples an easy task!

AND... They make apple SLINKIES!

Who doesn't love an apple slinky?!

It also is great for freezing your apples for later baking!

Just add your slinky apples to a ziplock with a tad of lemon juice and you'll be able to have "fresh" applesauce or apple pie all throughout the year!

Matt was highly impressed with his apple slinkies! 

Ok, so on to the recipes...

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-Apple Pie-

My favorite apple pie to bake is a crumb top apple pie.
It's not too sweet, that way you can add caramel topping to each slice as desired :)

Ingredients:
Apple Filling:
5-7 apples, depending on the size of your pan (I use gala because that's what I like)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbs lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp clove

1 pie crust

Crumb Topping:
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup quick oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
7 tbs unsalted butter, cold

Directions:
Combine your slinky apples with brown sugar, lemon juice and spices.
Stir to coat evenly - allow to sit while preparing crumb top.
Combine all dry ingredients for crumb top in a bowl - mix well.
Add your butter in cubes and blend with pastry blender until it resembles a coarse meal.
Pour apples into pie crust, then top with crumbs.  Heap both in the center so you get all that yumminess into the pie!
Bake in a preheated oven at 375*F for 1 hour or until golden brown.
Let cool, and then enjoy.
I mean it, go crazy, enjoy that sucker!! Add whipped cream, caramel, sprinkles, live it up! :)

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-Applesauce-

I make my applesauce in a crockpot, then can it.
You can easily make it on the stove, and you can just as easily store it in the fridge or freeze it instead if canning it.

Ingredients:
Enough apples to fill your crockpot.
1 cup water
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbs lemon juice

Directions:
Combine ingredients in crockpot and cook on low for 4 hours.
After cooking time has ended, stir apples - many will fall apart, but will not be smooth enough for applesauce.
Use a potato masher, food processor or immersion blender to purée apples until desired consistency.

Canning:
Add hot applesauce to prepared jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace
Place 2 piece lids
Add jars to boiling water canner and process for 20 minutes

I do believe it is the tastiest applesauce ever.... Do try it!!

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-Apple Leather-

I feel like a little kid when I eat fruit leather... So yummy!

Ingredients:
Applesauce

Directions:
Line baking sheet with greases parchment paper
Spread applesauce about 1/4 inch thick
Bake in a preheated oven at 170*F for 5-8 hours, until leather is smooth and non tacky.
Peel, cut into strips, and store in ziplock or mason jar!

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-Dried Apple Rings-

These are my hubbies favorite!
And I'm ok with it, because they are healthy!!

Directions:
Make apple slinkys but leave the peel on.
Dry in a dehydrator for 10-12 hours.

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When you have so many recipes to choose from, 115 pounds of apples sure goes fast! 

I wonder where I can get some more...

Plus i could really use some more apple cores, my husband deserves a good fruit pelting :)