Fall's here, so break out the apple recipes

Fall and apple recipes just naturally go together. I am always eager to pull out those favorite apple recipes and smell all of those fabulous fall aromas. This year, Jodi Thompson of Jackson helped me with all of these apple recipes. All but one of these recipes is from the Southern Plate website and blog, which I just love. The author has one cookbook out, and it is a good one. But many of her recipes are on her site, so you might want to give it a try. Enjoy these wonderful apple recipes in the weeks ahead.

Brie and Apple Appetizer

1/2 stick of butter, melted

1 loaf French bread, sliced into 1/2 inch slices

2 to 3 green apples

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup chopped pecans

Small round of Brie cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast French bread slices on baking sheet in oven until golden. Remove rind from Brie, and slice into 1/4 inch thickness. Slice green apples into thin slices. Mix pecans, brown sugar and melted butter together. Top each slice of bread with a piece of Brie, a slice of apple and top with pecan mixture. Place on baking sheet. Bake until cheese melts. Watch carefully so that cheese doesn't burn.

Blushing Apple Juleps

4 cups apple juice

1 cup orange juice

1 cup pineapple juice

1/4 cup lemon juice

Maraschino cherries

Pour all juices into a 2-quart pitcher and stir well. Add in 3 to 4 tablespoons of juice from jar of cherries and stir again. Chill until ready to serve. Serve over ice, with a cherry in each glass. Garnish with mint or Lemon Balm, if desired.

Apple Chicken Salad

1 cup cooked chicken, chopped

1/2 cup grapes

1/2 cup pecans

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper

1 small apple

Coarsely chop apple, grapes and pecans. Place in bowl with chicken, mayonnaise, salt and pepper. Stir until combined. Serve on bed of lettuce or lettuce lined bread.

Caramel Apple Pie

1 1/2 (15-ounce) packages refrigerated pie crusts (3 sheets), divided

2 (12.25-ounce) jars prepared caramel topping

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place 1 pie crust in an ungreased 9-inch deep-dish pie plate; press firmly against side and bottom. Set aside. In a medium bowl, combine caramel topping and eggs, whisking to combine. Pour caramel mixture into prepared pie plate.

Bake until caramel is set, approximately 45 minutes. (Caramel is set when only a small portion in the center jiggles when pie plate is gently shaken.) Remove from oven; set aside. In a large bowl, combine apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and salt, tossing to coat. Spoon apple mixture over caramel layer; dot with butter. Top apples with second pie crust. Wrap excess top crust under edge of bottom crust, pressing edges together to seal. Make a decorative edge, if desired. Using assorted cutters, cut shapes from third crust; set aside. In a small bowl, combine cream and yolk, whisking well. Using a pastry brush, lightly coat top crust with egg mixture. Gently press cutout shapes onto crust in desired pattern. Lightly coat shapes with remaining egg mixture. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake on lower rack until crust is golden brown, approximately 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before serving.

Apple Pound Cake

Cake:

3 cups all-purpose (plain) flour

2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup orange juice

4 eggs

3 teaspoons baking powder

Filling:

1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cinnamon

5 medium apples, peeled and chopped

Generously grease a Bundt pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all cake ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix with electric mixer until well blended and smooth. Pour half of batter into Bundt pan. Top with half of chopped apples. Stir together 1/2 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons cinnamon. Sprinkle 1/2 of this over the apples. Pour remaining batter over apples and top this with remaining apples and remaining cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour, 10 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for ten minutes before turning out to cool completely. Dust generously with confectioner's sugar before serving.

Apple Dessert Pizza

As wonderful as this recipe sounds, I also think sugar cookie dough would make a great crust. I think it would have to be partially baked, but oh, doesn't that sound wonderful?

1 pizza crust

1 can apple pie filling*

1/2 cup quick oats

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 stick butter or margarine (1/4 of a cup)

1 tablespoon cinnamon

For the glaze:

1 cup confectioner's sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Place pizza crust on baking sheet and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Open pie filling and dice it up a bit while it is inside the can. Spread over pizza crust. In small bowl, place flour, oats, brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir to combine. Cut margarine into slices and place in bowl. Using a long tined fork, cut margarine into mixture until crumbly. Sprinkle over top of pie filling in pizza and bake at 350 for 25 minutes, or until lightly golden. Top with glaze, below.

Place all glaze ingredients in small bowl, stir until smooth. Can add a smidgen more milk if mixture is too thick, more sugar if it is too thin. Drizzle over Apple Pizza with spoon.

*To use fresh apples. Peel and chop two to three cups apples. Saute in two tablespoons butter until tender. Add a few tablespoons sugar if you like but keep them a bit tart because the topping adds a lot of sweetness. Continue with recipe.

Have a great week and until next time, happy cooking.

Susan McClanahan is administrator at the Cape Girardeau Senior Center. Send recipes to her at news@semissourian.com or by mail at P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701. Recipes published have not been kitchen-tested by Southeast Missourian staff.