holidays

Apple Cider Sangria

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment

This festive holiday cocktail is just enough cheer to get you in the holiday spirit. As I have stated before, give me apples over pumpkin any day and this drink trumps a pumpkin spice latte in my book! I made a pitcher and brought it to Thanksgiving. It was so delicious that I made another one and enjoyed a glass while I decorated my Christmas tree.

This recipes serves 4-6 people.

INGREDIENTS:

1 bottle of Pinot Grigio – I used Cupcake, which gave a nice sweet pear flavor
2 1/2 cups apple cider
1 cup club soda
1/2 cup apple whiskey
2 large honey crisp apples, diced – I left the skins on so I could tell which was apple and which was pear
3 Bosc pears, peeled and diced

DIRECTIONS:

Combine liquid ingredients together into a pitcher and stir well. Add in fruit. Chill for a few hours or over night to let the flavors blend into amazing apple goodness!

 

Falling into Apples

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment

There is a social media post challenging people to post something they hate that everyone else loves, have you seen it?

I think peanut butter and chocolate is one of the worst food combinations. I also think pumpkin spice is extremely over rated. Every time you turn around something that shouldn’t has pumpkin spice on the box!

During the fall months I would much rather a hot apple cider than a pumpkin spice latte. Give me apples and cinnamon over pumpkin any day!

I love salted caramel too – I have loved it for a long time – before it became a “fad” food. I also love it with apples and this Salted Caramel Apple Crumb pie is a winner!

Usually I like a double crust apple pie served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, but for this pie I wanted more texture to go with the salted caramel. A crumb topping was the way to go! I also chose to put the caramel on top of the crumb topping after the pie had cooked. I wanted to ensure the flavor would be prominent and to keep the bottom of the pie from being too soggy with extra moisture in the center.

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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil (trust me! Pies bubble over.)

Use your favorite pie crust recipe or a store bought crust. Place the pie crust into a deep dish pie plate. Crimp edges with your preferred method. I like using my fingers.

A batch of salted caramel either homemade or store bought. You can even use a jar of dulce de leche and add sea salt to taste. This will be added after the pie is done cooking.

7-8 good size apples of your favorite variety, peeled and sliced. Granny Smiths work really well because the tartness helps balance with the sweetness. Add sliced apples to a large bowl. Coat with 1/4 cup lemon juice. Add 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/4 AP flour, 1/4 tsp. salt and 1 1/2 tsp. apple pie spice. Mix well and pour into pie shell making sure to level the apple mixture.

In another large bowl add 1 1/2 sticks softened unsalted butter, 1/2 cup quick oats, 1 cup of packed light brown sugar and 1/4 tsp. salt. Mix until all combined. Use hands to break up the crumble topping and place on top of the apple mixture.

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Bake for roughly one hour until crust and topping have browned and the juices from the pie a bubbling. If you need to cover the crust edges with foil to keep from over cooking and/or burning, do so.

Once cooked remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for about 15-20 minutes before adding the salted caramel. The longer you let the pie cool the more the caramel will stay on top of the crumb topping and will be harder to spread – depending on your caramels consistency.

IMG_2358It smells so amazing when it is done! Salty, Sweet, Gooey, Crunchy goodness. My four favorite food groups covered! This fall favorite will be a great addition to your Thanksgiving desserts or just because!

Enjoy!

Crack is Whack!

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment

14330005_541525546054478_6368766877253801155_nMost people associate this recipe with the holidays. Actually, I feel that a lot of people associate homemade baked goods with the holidays in general. Whether it be that holidays are special so people make homemade treats to spoil their loved ones or that we take a little more time around the holidays to do special things – like bake from scratch. This recipe is definitely in the top 15 of “What My Grandma Use To Make.”

This is a spin on “Christmas Crack” that uses saltines and sometimes nuts. This version uses honey graham crackers and toffee bits, along with the traditional butter, brown sugar and chocolate chips.

I stumbled across this version when the other half of my baking brain posted it on Twitter,14322483_541525449387821_271727704957805018_n and am I ever glad I did! This is such a quick and easy recipe. Six ingredients for this version – S-I-X! This and the fact that I almost always have these items in the house make it deadly, but I know how addicting it is … so I most likely share it each time I make it.

Speaking of sharing … this would be a perfect item to bring to a cookie swap or to make as part of a goodie platter. DO IT! You won’t regret it … unless you eat most of it, then you might!

Click here for the recipe from the original source.

Giving Thanks

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment

IMG_1343Sometimes it is hard to see beyond the end of our own nose. We don’t do it on purpose. Life is chaotic – for everyone. I consider any day that I can get my oldest daughter ready for school without out her forgetting something and me getting to work on time a good one! I would be thrilled if that were my biggest problem in a day, but it isn’t. I have been very fortunate (even with some of the curve balls thrown at me) to be able to keep my head above water. I have an awesome support system that I am super grateful for.

I often wonder what it would be like if when my life is on high tilt and I feel like I am going in 20 different directions at once if life just went on automatic slo-mo. This way I would be forced to realize what is in front of me at any given moment. I try to actively keep this in mind, so that on crazy busy days I take a few moments to take a breath and appreciate what it around me and how my life is truly blessed.

Silver linings aren’t too hard to find if you just make time to look for them. Life could always be a little more difficult and busy. There have been times when we have struggled and the community we live in has helped – sometimes without us even knowing before hand. My oldest daughter was born in December, and the year she was born someone in our town put our name in at the local church and we came home one night to a bag of baby supplies and toys, along with a box full of food to make a Christmas dinner. I was blown away. Someone saw us as a young family getting started and thought they might be able to help us during that holiday season, and we were very appreciative. We knew we would be going to our families house for dinner and that someone else could really use that dinner – that was the first year I donated to Manna (http://www.mannamaine.org/pantry-kitchen/pantry-kitchen).

Every year since I have donated money when our local radio station does a turkey drive with all donations going to Manna, which helps fill local food pantries and serves meals to those in need. I know that my kids will have a hot meal every night, not just on holidays, and that they don’t have to worry about what they will have for their next meal – or if there will even be a meal. We also do the Stamp Out Hunger food drive through the postal service, and other events throughout the year, along with donations to other entities. I also know that in the grand scheme of things, my little donations aren’t much, but when a community comes together it can turn into something amazing!

In the spirit of giving and saying thank you, I decided I would bring a sweet treat, along with my donation, to the local DJs this year and say thank you for what they do each year to help raise awareness of hunger in our community and help Manna meet their goal. They have spent three days in the local Hannaford parking lot to collect turkeys. I hope they enjoy the cheesecake with strawberry sauce!