Apples, Apples, Apples!!!

Every fall my mom makes a trip  to the local apple orchard (ok, so it's not much of a trip, since it's only about 3 miles from our house...) and buys a giant bag of delicious apples.  I love to eat apples all year round, but the grocery store does not offer anything as delicious as the apples grown just down the road.  Since all of her kids are off at college now, mom and dad can't handle that giant bag of apples on their own, so she usually sends some my way.  Apples are delicious by themselves, but baking with them adds delightful variety.  Here are a few of the recipes I made last fall with my apple supply.

Incredibly Moist Apple Bread

Ingredients

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup shortening

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1 tsp.  baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups apples, chopped & pared

1/2 cup nuts, chopped

1 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9"x5" loaf pan.

2. Cream together the 1 cup sugar, shortening, eggs, and vanilla.  

3. Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until smooth.

4. Stir in apples and nuts; spread in loaf pan.

5. Mix the 1 Tbsp. sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle evenly over batter.

6. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes.

7. Immediately remove from pan; cool bread completely before slicing.

My Notes: This recipe was from the food.com website (contributor: *PENNY*).  I had some issues with the bottom of the bread sticking to the loaf pan, so make sure the pan is well-greased.  I used about 2.5 large apples in my recipe and omitted the nuts (I'm not a big nuts-in-bread fan...). I  baked the loaf for about 55 minutes. In the future, I might add some cinnamon into the batter for that extra kick of flavor.

Apple Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup grated peeled apple

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream the shortening, peanut butter, and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg and vanilla.

2. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.  Stir in apple.

3. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls on  greased baking sheets.

4. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks.

My Notes: This recipe is from the lovely Taste of Home website.  It made about 30 small cookies.  I added slightly more cinnamon than the recipe called for and used 1 large apple.  I actually finely chopped my apple instead of grating it (because I am a poor college student with limited kitchen supplies that did not include a grater at the time...). When forming the cookies, the dough was fairly dry, so I pressed the dough into balls to keep it together and baked the cookies for around 8 minutes.

I have one more apple recipe coming, but you'll just have to be satisfied with these until the next post!

Best Casserole Ever

So, a few posts ago I posted recipes for some classic Mennonite foods.  Though delicious, making the traditional recipes can sometimes take more time and effort than the average person has to put into an evening meal.  That's where casseroles come into the picture.  One of my favorite meals ever is Verenike Casserole - the casserole version of cottage cheese dumplings with ham and cream gravy.  These are also excellent with some fresh zwieback on the side - there's no substitute for those!

Verenike Casserole

Ingredients

10 oz. wide egg noodles, cooked & drained

12 oz. cottage cheese

2 eggs

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 cup sour cream

2 Tbsp. flour

1 1/2 Tbsp. shortening

1 1/2 cups half-and-half

1 cup ham, browned & cubed

Directions

1. Spread noddles in a 9"x13" glass baking dish.

2. Combine cottage cheese, eggs, salt, and pepper. Spread over noodles.

3. Spread sour cream over the cottage cheese layer.

4. Whisk together flour, shortening, and half-and-half in a skillet until thickened.

5. Add ham.  Pour over casserole.

6. Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

My Notes: When I'm making this casserole for myself, I sub in chopped deli ham (which I already have on hand) for the ham cubes - as seen in the photo. This casserole also freezes well.

Bridal Shower Goodies, Part 2

Well, since I covered the "healthy" (or not so much...) portion of our bridal shower treats in my last post, it's now time to move on to the real gems: DESSERT!  I am a huge fan of cheesecake - any flavor, any topping (except coconut), & any size.  I asked for a springform pan for my birthday one year in high school and have provided my family with delicious cheesecakes periodically ever since.  As the bridal shower approached, I knew that Courtney enjoys a good cheesecake as well, so I was able to convince my mom to let me make a variety of mini cheesecakes for the bridal shower.  I searched the wonderful resource that is Pinterest and painstakingly narrowed down my options to four recipes. Cheesecakes made in cupcake tins are the perfect portion size - plus, they're small enough that if you want to sample two flavors, you can have both.  As they teach us in my nutrition classes - everything in moderation!

Clockwise from the top right: Classic Mini Cheesecakes,
Chocolate Caramel Mini Cheesecakes, Peanut Butter
Finger Mini Cheesecakes, & Nutella Cheesecake Cupcakes

Classic Mini Cheesecakes

Ingredients

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

3 Tbsps. butter, melted

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 can cherry pie filling

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press gently into the bottom of 12 paper-lined muffin cups. 

2. In another bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Add egg; beat on low speed until combined.  Spoon into crusts.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-16 minutes or until centers are set.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate.

4. Before serving, top each cheesecake with a spoonful of pie filling (about 4-5 cherries per cheesecake).

My Notes: This recipe is from the Taste of Home website as Jam-Topped Mini Cheesecakes.  I decided to go with the pie filling for the topping in order to create the classic cheesecake with cherry topping.  Leaving the cheesecakes in the liner helps to contain the filling a bit while it is sitting on the serving platter.

Chocolate Caramel Mini Cheesecakes

Ingredients

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

12 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips, divided

2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

2 Tbsp. caramel ice cream topping + additional for topping

1 egg

3 Tbsp. unsweetened baking cocoa

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter.  Press 1 Tbsp. of the crust mixture into 12 paper-lined muffin cups.  Sprinkle a few chocolate chips over the graham cracker crust.

2. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until creamy.  Add sweetened condensed milk, caramel topping, egg, baking cocoa, and vanilla.  Beat until well combined.

3. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into each muffin cup.

4. Bake at 300 degrees for 18-20 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
5. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips over the cheesecakes.  Allow to cool completely.
6. Refrigerate.  Serve with additional caramel topping drizzled over the cheesecakes.

My Notes: These were very rich and chocolate-y.  The caramel over the top turned into more of a "puddle" than a "drizzle", so make sure not to go overboard if that's something you don't want.  This recipe is from the blog "Mostly Homemade Mom."

Peanut Butter Finger Mini Cheesecakes

Ingredients

1 cup vanilla wafer crumbs

2 Tbsp. + 1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

1/4 tsp. salt, divided

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1 egg

4-5 Tbsp. heavy cream, divided

6 Fun Size Butterfinger candy bars, crushed

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Mix together vanilla wafer crumbs, 2 Tbsp. sugar, butter, and 1/8 tsp. salt. Press into the bottom of paper-lined muffin tins. Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. 

2. Beat together cream cheese and peanut butter until smooth. Add in 1/2 cup sugar, egg, 2 Tbsp. cream, and 1/8 tsp. salt.  Stir in four of the crushed Butterfinger candy bars.

3. Pour over prepared crusts.  Bake at 300 degrees for 20-22 minutes or until cheesecake is set. Let cool and remove from pans.

4. For the topping, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave until smooth.  Stir in 2-3 Tbsp. of heavy cream. Spoon over the top of the cooled cheesecakes and sprinkle with remaining 2 Butterfinger candy bars.  

My Notes: This recipe was found on the "Picky Palate" blog. After refrigeration, the chocolate topping hardened quite a bit, but it was still edible and delicious.

Nutella Cheesecake Cupcakes

Ingredients

12 Oreos, finely crushed + additional for topping

1 1/2 Tbsp. butter, melted

6 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

12 oz. cream cheese, softened

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup Nutella

Cool Whip topping

Directions

1. Mix together Oreos and butter. Press 1 Tbsp. of crust mixture into the bottom of 12 paper-lined muffin tins. Bake at 325 degrees for 5 minutes.  Allow to cool.

2. Blend together sugar, flour, and cream cheese until smooth.  Blend in eggs.  Add in milk, sour cream, and vanilla until combined.  Mix in Nutella.

3. Divide the mixture between the muffin tins, pouring about 1/4 cup of batter into each.  Bake at 325 for 20-24 minutes or until set.  Allow to cool and refrigerate.

4. Before serving, dollop whipped topping on each cheesecake and sprinkle with excess Oreo crumbs. 

My Notes: This was probably my favorite recipe of the four.  The original recipe recommends topping the cheesecakes with hazelnuts or shaved chocolate, which would also be delicious.  This recipe was found on the "Cooking Classy" blog.