Apple Cinnamon Muffin/Cake

What do you do when you've been given a bag full of apples?

Not perfect, straight from the grocery store apples, but windfall apples picked up in the neighborhood?

Hmm... Perfect for cooking!

I browsed through my cookbooks and found a few recipes that might work, and ended up with this one. It was yummy and just right for a snowy afternoon.

Apple Cinnamon Muffin/Cake

Makes one cake or two muffins - serves one

ingredients:

1/4 cup flour or 3 Tablespoons low-carb baking blend

2 - 3 Tablespoons old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 Tablespoon sugar or stevia-blend substitute (check equivalent measurements on the stevia package)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 pinch salt

1 egg

1 Teaspoon butter, softened

1 small apple, or 1/2 medium to large; cored, peeled, and diced

Preheat your oven to 350°.

Prepare 2 muffin cups or a small (4-cup) baking dish by spraying with non-stick spray.

Mix the ingredients - except apples - in a small bowl. Fold in the apple pieces, then put into prepared baking pan.

Sprinkle the top with more cinnamon, then bake in a 350° oven for 10-12 minutes for the muffins, or 15-18 minutes for the baking dish.

Let it cool for a few minutes, then enjoy it with a dollop of yogurt, whipped cream, or ice cream! Yes, yummy!

Meanwhile, we're settling into our new home. One of our new projects (like we needed a new project!) is this:

That is a buffet! (Yes, I know it's upside-down!)

It has drawers:

And a top:

After sitting in its former owner's garage for a couple months, we wanted to give it a good cleaning, inside and out. After we're done, we'll put it back together and it will take its place on one wall of our dining room. 

Solid wood and as heavy as...well...a tree! But did you see that wood grain? We are so thankful to have found this piece!

And the rest of the house is getting there. The library is in one corner of my office...

...and my desk is in the other.

As you can see, there are still boxes to be unpacked and things are a little messy, but it looks better than it did last week!

And we still love living in the Hills. The snow in the air lends enchantment to the view.

Have you had any snow where you are yet?

Jan Drexler spent her childhood dreaming of living in the Wild West and is now thrilled to call the Black Hills of South Dakota her home. When she isn’t writing she spends much of her time satisfying her cross-stitch addiction or hiking and enjoying the Black Hills with her husband of more than thirty-seven years.

Quick and Easy Fall Dessert

September has arrived and, with it, my urge for all things fall.

Sure, it's still hotter'n blue blazes here in Texas, but that doesn't mean I can't surround myself with that autumnal feel.

My youngest son gave me this cute crate last Christmas. And while it has been used for other purposes throughout the year, it's now perfect for a fall apple arrangement.

So as I'm transforming the inside of my house into a fall paradise, I started craving those fallish desserts. Things with apple or pumpkin... Except, I wasn't exactly in the mood to spend a lot of time prepping something either. I wanted easy.

Dump cake to the rescue!

Dump cakes are wonderful things, because you litterally dump everything in the pan and bake it. So prep takes virtually no time at all, they're super easy and they require minimal ingredients. You can also get as creative as you like.

Since I wanted something with the flavors of fall, I started with a can of apple pie filling. Just one because I was making a small dump cake, lest I be tempted to eat half of a 9X13 pan all by myself.

Now, canned apple pie filling can be kind of bland, so I emptied the can into a small bowl, then added about a teaspoon of apple pie seasoning. If you don't have apple pie seasoning (which I wouldn't have had I not received it as a free sample when I order some other spices), just stick with cinnamon, maybe a little nutmeg, if you like.

I stirred the seasoning in instead of sprinkling it on top of the filling after it was in the pan so that the spices would be incorporated evenly. Then I simply "dumped" it into my buttered baking dish.

Next, I sprinkled half of yellow cake mix over the apple mixture. (Remember, I'm making a half batch. Use the entire box for a 9x13. Oh, and two cans of pie filling.)

At this point, I was wishing I'd had a spice cake mix on hand because that would have been really tasty with the apples. So, I did the next best thing. I sprinkled a bunch of cinnamon over the cake mix.

Then I topped that with 6 tablespoons of butter. (That would be a stick and half for a 9x13 pan)

BTW, that one that looks more yellowish than the others in simply an end piece. 

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40-50 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly.

Cool slightly (or completely) before serving.

Served in a pretty dish, no one would ever think this dessert so simple. The extra spices had those fall flavors shining through in every bite.

I mentioned getting creative with dump cakes. When my boys were in scouts, one of their favorites was the Black Forest Cake version using cherry pie filling and chocolate cake mix. You could do spice cake with peaches or what about pumpkin pie filling? 

I'd better be careful or I'm going to talk myself into another dump cake real soon.

What combinations can you come up with? And is it feeling like fall in your neck of the woods or are you simply longing for it like I am? I sure wish I could head up the Ruthy's farm about now. That place is truly a fall paradise and can't wait to see all her pictures from this year.

Three time Carol Award finalist Mindy Obenhaus lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children and two dogs. She passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she's not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more a mindyobenhaus.com.

Chicken Apple Salad Tea Sandwiches

My friend Debbie and are planning to host a tea later this year, so we ordered several sample-size packages of tea from Tea Embassy in Austin, Texas . 

We're looking, in particular, for dessert teas, which is why so many in the picture are fruity.

Of course, one can't simply sip tea after tea without something to eat, so we put together our own little informal tea party.

Tea for two, if you will.

Debbie brought some delicious cream scones.

Trust me, I'll be hounding her for the recipe for these babies.

Since we're thinking fall for our tea, I made some miniature spice cake cupcakes.

With cream cheese frosting, of course.

But we needed a savory. Something, preferably with apples and maybe a hint of spice. So I grabbed an apple, pulled a leftover grilled chicken breast out of the fridge and set to work.

When you're talking miniature food, these big ol slices of chicken just won't do, so I chopped them up fairly fine.

Then I tossed the chicken into a bowl and set to work on the apple, chopping it into tiny pieces, also.

I added the apple to the chicken, along with about a half teaspoon of cinnamon (because cinnamon goes very well with apples), and stirred everything together.

Next, I chopped up some toasted pecans and added those, along with approximately three tablespoons of mayonnaise. You're welcome to add more if you like, I just didn't want the mayo to overpower all of the other flavors.

Now for the sandwiches. But what if there was something we could do in leu of sandwiches. Something small and fun. I had some frozen phyllo cups, so I filled four of those. But since I still had plenty of chicken salad left over, I decided to do a few sandwiches for comparison purposes. One might taste better than the other.

They were both delicious, but Debbie and I agreed that the phyllo cups were just a tad better. Maybe because they were out of the ordinary.

Over the next two hours, Debbie and I ate, sipped tea and talked until our jaws hurt. Some of the teas were hits, others not so much. This is why the small packages are so nice. And we set a date for our tea. The next mission--come up with a menu. You know that'll be fun.

Have you ever hosted a tea? What are some of your favorite bite-sized morsels?

Three time Carol Award finalist Mindy Obenhaus lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, the youngest of her five children and two dogs. She passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she's not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more a mindyobenhaus.com.

Apple Dumplings with Caramel Sauce

Jan here, with a bit of a hodge-podge post. But don't worry! We'll get to the apple dumplings!

First of all, don't miss the fun over on the Amish Wisdom blog! Mattie's Pledge is part of a fourteen book giveaway!

And next....

...Autumn has arrived in the Black Hills in all her glory!

On Saturday we explored a part of the Black Hills we've rarely visited. Formally, the area is called the "Central Hills," but people generally say, "We went up by Mystic today." Or, "We went hiking west of Rochford." Or, "We went camping up by Castle Creek."

But whatever we call it, the area is beautiful. It was also one of the earliest settled areas of the Black Hills (1876), which means that gold was found there.

At one time, gold drove everything in the Black Hills. But today we're lured there by the golden leaves of the aspens.

And now, finally! We get to the apple dumplings! We bought some apples and pears over the weekend. I'll tackle the pears another week (if there are any left!), and share one of my favorite apple delicacies with you.

Apple Dumplings with Caramel Sauce

Don't let the caramel sauce part of the name scare you - it practically makes itself!

For each dumpling, you need:

1/2 apple (any kind, but Macintosh or Golden Delicious bake well)
Pastry - more on this below
1 generous teaspoon butter
2 Tablespoons - heaping - brown sugar
a sprinkle of ground cloves
4 or 5 dashes...or more...ground cinnamon

Pastry:
I used Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry sheets.

I try to keep a box of these in my freezer for last minute baking urges.

But for this recipe, you can also use pie crust or biscuit dough.

Assembly:

Thaw the puff pastry sheet according to the package directions. Then cut the sheet into four squares. Roll one square out until it's about 7" x 7".

Cut an apple in half and remove the core.

Place one half in the center of your pastry square and pile on the butter, brown sugar, cloves, and cinnamon.

Don't worry if the goodies spill onto the pastry!

Bring the corners of the pastry together at the top and give them a nice twist to hold them there. You can fold the edges together to close them, but don't worry about sealing them. As the dumplings bake, you want the delicious butter/sugar/spice/apple juice to drip into the pan and make your caramel sauce. :)

Place the dumplings in a greased baking dish and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 350° for about an hour, or until the apple is baked through.

To serve, put the hot dumplings in bowls and top with the caramel sauce in the baking dish. A scoop of vanilla ice cream would be great on top if you have it!

And I guarantee that your kitchen will smell delicious!

Jan Drexler loves her family, her home, cooking and just about anything made by hand. But she loves her Lord most of all.

Stop by Jan's website to learn more about her books: www.JanDrexler.com

Apple Cranberry Oat Dessert Or "Fall is Coming!"

Hello, everybody! The Fresh Pioneer is back with a delicious Fall recipe. And yes, I know it's not quite Fall yet but it's my favorite season so I celebrate it year round. Sort of like those people who have Christmas trees up all year!

 So, a giant melon from our garden. We had a lot of baby cantaloupe this year, but then this bad boy emerged. Inside it was green-peach and tasted like a honeydew. We don't know what it was but we love volunteers!

 I tried to recreate the rainbow since a friend pointed out that it was in the wrong order... but where is the blue food??

So, let's get to the Apple Cranberry Oat dessert, shall we? The person who sent it to me jokingly said that it "didn't know whether it was a healthy snack or a dessert". It was true. The original called for 1.5 cups of quick oats, marshmallows, 1/2 cup of sugar AND flax seed. Hmmmm... I decided to make it 2 cups of regular rolled oats, lowered the sugar, cut out the flax seed (because I didn't have any), added some walnuts and then put a few marshmallows on for the kids who thought I was ruining the recipe.

Ingredients(my version):

2 c rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
3 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tbs honey
2 cups milk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup cranberries (I used dried but fresh would be fine, too)
2 large apples

 Unbaked, it didn't look super appetizing.

Mix the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and brown sugar together. Set aside. Mix the honey, milk, egg, vanilla together and then mix with the dry ingredients. Fold in the cranberries and apples. Put into a prewarmed over (375F) and bake for 30 minutes.

 The walnut version. I added a little more honey to this batch and cut the sugar again by about 1/4 cup.

 Mmmmmm. Marshmallows.

 Out of the oven! I was afraid it was going to be dry with all those oats but it was perfect. Like a warm, fragrant, honey-sweet breakfast bar.

My 13 year old son's plate. He added some fresh apples and almonds so it would look healthier. Moms are not fooled!

So, the verdict was.... definitely a winner of a recipe! Bonus: my entire house smells delicious.

Have a wonderful weekend! We're off to the Gem and Mineral Show. It's been a tradition since our kids were babies. The county fair was last week, and the week before was our city shindig, so we're feeling quite festive. :D

Be sure to stop by my author pages at Mary Jane Hathaway and Virginia Carmichael (cover reveals coming soooooon!), or my blog at The Things That Last. Until next time!