Autumn brings falling leaves, cozy sweaters and an abundance of apples. If you have an apple tree in your yard you likely find yourself with more apples than you know what to do with once harvest time comes around. While apples make for a healthy snack on their own, there are so many other delicious ways to make use of your apple bounty.
Getting creative with the apples from your tree will allow you to fully enjoy their amazing flavor while reducing waste. Whether you want to impress guests with tasty apple dishes or find new ways to savor apples with your family exploring options beyond eating them raw opens up endless possibilities.
Here are 10 creative ways to put all those apples from your tree to good use:
1. Baked Apples
Baked apples are a classic fall dessert and a great way to use up a bunch of apples at once. To make them, core apples without cutting all the way through to the bottom. Fill the center with brown sugar cinnamon, raisins chopped nuts, or other mix-ins. Place the stuffed apples in a baking dish, add a splash of water or juice, and bake at 350°F until the apples are tender. The heat of the oven concentrates the apples’ natural sugars and flavors for a delicious sweet treat.
2. Homemade Applesauce
Applesauce is a snap to make at home. Peel, core, and chop your apples. Put them in a saucepan with a bit of water or apple juice and spices like cinnamon or nutmeg. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the apples break down. Then mash them to the desired consistency. Homemade applesauce uses up apples in bulk and tastes so much fresher than store-bought varieties. It’s great on its own, paired with pork dishes, or as an ingredient in baking.
3. Apple Chips
For a healthy snacking option, turn your apples into apple chips by slicing them very thinly and baking at 200°F, flipping once, until completely dried out, about 2 hours. The low heat ensures the slices dehydrate without browning too much. Sprinkle them with cinnamon before baking for extra flavor. Store baked apple chips in an airtight container for up to 1 week. They make a crisp, sweet alternative to potato chips!
4. Apple Butter
Apple butter is spreadable perfection! Cook down a large batch of apples with cider, spices, brown sugar, and a touch of lemon juice. Keep at a gentle simmer, stirring frequently, until thick and deeply caramelized, 1-2 hours. Put up small batches in jars to enjoy throughout the year. Spread apple butter on biscuits, toast, or pancakes for a special treat.
5. Apple Pie
An old-fashioned apple pie is a quintessential fall dessert. Peel, core, and slice apples thin, toss them with sugar and spices, and pile them into a prepared pie crust. Top with lattice strips or a solid crust, crimp the edges, and bake until golden. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream for a heavenly combo! With a homemade pie, you can use interesting apple varieties for more complex flavor.
6. Apple Cider
Harness the juice inside all those apples to make fresh apple cider. Wash and chop apples (don’t peel). Put through an electric juicer or food processor, then pour through a fine mesh strainer, pressing to extract as much juice as possible. Enjoy the sweet, refreshing cider on its own or use it to make mulled cider by warming with maple syrup, orange slices, and mulling spices.
7. Dehydrated Apples
A dehydrator makes fast work of drying apple slices. The process removes moisture while concentrating natural sugars and flavors. Dehydrated apple rings make great lunches box additions, hiking snacks, or salad toppers. For extra flavor, dust the slices with cinnamon before dehydrating. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
8. Applesauce Muffins
Jazz up your average muffin by swapping in homemade applesauce for some of the fat and liquid. Simply fold 1-2 cups applesauce into your favorite muffin batter. The moisture helps create a tender crumb while the sweet applesauce cuts back on butter or oil. Sprinkle streusel topping on the muffins before baking for an extra layer of crunch.
9. Apple Cranberry Relish
Put those apples to work in a fruity relish, perfect for holiday meals or a delicious cranberry sauce alternative. Pulse chopped apples in the food processor along with fresh cranberries, orange juice, sugar, and spices like ginger and cinnamon. The apples add natural pectin to help the relish gel together. Spoon it over meats or turkey sandwiches.
10. DIY Apple Stamp Art
Let the kids get involved with a fun apple stamping art project. Cut apples in half horizontally and let kids dip the flat side in paint to stamp shapes and patterns onto paper. Use different color paints and combine with leaf-rubbing stamps for an autumn-themed masterpiece! This activity brings out creativity while using up extra apples.
With so many options, you can enjoy those homegrown apples all season long. From sweet baked treats to handy salad toppers, finding ways to preserve apples ensures you make the most of your harvest. Pull out your favorite recipes and experiment with new ones to create mouthwatering apple dishes your whole family will love.
What to Do with Apples from Apple Picking
If you went apple picking and now don’t know what to do with all the apples you brought home, I can help! Having a bag full of fresh apples is a great reason to make your family and friends sweet and savory treats. You can just eat some tasty apples with peanut butter as a snack, but I’m also going to share some of my favorite apple (and apple cider) recipes that use apples in different ways. These include apple crisps, apple butter, apple cakes, apple crumbles, apple muffins, apple pie, apple salad, and of course, donuts. October can have pumpkins, September is all apples, all the time.
Apples are always available at the store, but they taste best in the fall. There’s something magical about going to an apple orchard in the fall that makes me love it even more. The town I grew up in, Long Valley, NJ, is famous for their orchards and farms. People flock out of New York City just to go apple and pumpkin picking. I make my friends and family take a yearly trip to our favorite orchard to stock up.
What Apples Should I Use for Baking?
You can’t generalize apples when it comes to baking. Not all varieties will create the same dessert. Gala, Fuji, and Pink Lady apples, which have thin skins, are great for snacking. Tart apples, on the other hand, are best for baking. Here are a few of my favorite types of apples for baking/ cooking:
- Honeycrisp: Honeycrisp apples are great for baking because they are a little sweet, but they are also great for eating. They’re simple to find, sweet, and keep their crisp shape while the apples bake. You can put them in apple crisp, apple hand pies, and more. Honeycrisp apples were first made in 1991 and quickly became a favorite in the United States.
- Golden Delicious: These apples are yellow and have a mild, sweet taste. They taste like McIntosh apples, but they break down faster than the other apples on the list, so you should mix them with another type.
- Cortland – Cortland apples are a bright red popular variety. They are a cross between a McIntosh and a Ben Davis apple that was made in New York in 1898. It’s a juicy variety of apple with sweet-tart flavor.
- Jonathan: Jonathan apples are an heirloom variety, which means they have been around for at least 100 years. Their skin is tougher and their color is a mix of yellow and red. It’s sweet, with a tangy aftertaste.
- Gala—These red-pink apples smell nice and have a mild, sweet flavor. They’re great for both eating raw and cooking.
- Apples like the Granny Smith that are tart and crisp are also great for baking because they balance out the added sugar. Instead of all Granny Smiths, try using a few mixed with another type for a more balanced taste.
How to Grow An Apple Tree from Seed | creative explained
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