Everything! It’s Autumn!
Sure, we could have offered you ways to make pies, crisps, or breads, but why not try something different! How about some easy canning recipes, a popular cake, DIY pumpkin spice coffee creamer, and a pumpkin cheesecake dip you can make in your crockpot.
Recipes From Our Readers
Joy Frazier’s Applesauce (for canning)
Use a variety of ripe, sweet apples. (Golden Delicious and Rome Beauty are good together, but any apples will do and using a combination of apples is better.) Peel, core, and quarter apples. Add apples to large pot. Let apples cook down, adding more apples until pot is full. Stir occasionally, bringing apples from bottom to top. Cook down until apples are soft. Mash with potato masher, food mill, or blender to desired consistency. Pour applesauce into hot, sterile canning jars leaving ½-inch space at top. Seal. Place jars in pressure cooker and follow pressure cooker directions for processing.
Joy Frazier’s Oven Apple Butter (for canning)
Use a variety of ripe, sweet apples. (Golden Delicious and Rome Beauty are good together, but any apples will do and using a combination of apples is better.) Peel, core, and quarter apples. Add apples to large pot. Let apples cook down, adding more apples until pot is full. Stir occasionally, bringing apples from bottom to top. Cook down until apples are soft. Run cooked apples through food mill or blender.
Preheat oven to 275°. Pour cooked, blended apples into large enamel pan and add:
1 handful red hot cinnamon candies
8-10 drops of cinnamon oil (optional)
3 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp. ground cloves
2½ cups of sugar (or 2/3 cup sugar substitute/artificial sweetener)
Taste and regulate seasoning to your taste. Place in preheated oven. Stir every 20-30 minutes, taking care to scrape down sides and bottom well. Cook until desired thickness is achieved, around 3½ to 4 hours. Pour into hot, sterile canning jars leaving ½-inch space at top. Seal. Place jars in pressure cooker and follow pressure cooker directions for processing.
Slow Cooker Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip
Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese
½ cup sour cream
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
½ tsp. ground ginger
Directions:
In a small slow cooker, put cream cheese in the stoneware and top with the sour cream. Mix spices into pumpkin puree and pour over sour cream. Cover and cook on low until cream cheese is melted. Stir well. Serve with apple and pear slices, graham crackers, or ginger cookies.
DIY Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer
Ingredients:
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
3 Tbsp. pureed pumpkin
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
¼ cup maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Directions:
Whisk together milk, cream, pumpkin, pumpkin spice, and maple syrup in medium saucepan over medium heat. When mixture begins to steam, remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, pour into a glass bottle, and store in the refrigerator.
Karen Bingham’s Apple Dapple Cake
Ingredients:
3 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1½ cup vegetable oil
3 cups of flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
3 cups of apples, cut into small chunks
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Mix liquid ingredients, then add dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in apples and nuts. Bake in 13X9-inch pan for 45 minutes. For the topping, boil 1 cup of brown sugar and ½ cup milk mixed together for 2½ minutes. Cool slightly and drizzle over warm cake. This is a moist cake that won’t last long among apple lovers!
