ANN BAILEY: A harvest of recipes from the apple tree

• Ann Bailey

Ann Bailey

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Soon after we moved to our farm, my dad planted a Harelred apple tree for us. Soon after the tree was planted, the deer found it and started eating the bark and branches.

My dad wasn’t about to let the deer destroy the tree, so he encircled it with a sturdy wire fence. He attached pie pans to the fence to further deter the deer.

The fence and pie tins, which flashed in the light and blew in the wind, making quite a commotion, kept the deer at bay and the tree grew and flourished. When it was a few years old, we removed the fortress. The deer didn’t bother the tree anymore, probably because by that time we had three children and there was a lot of activity in the yard.

The tree is a prolific producer of apples every other year. We know that we could even out the production by pinching off some of the blossoms or picking the fruit best when it’s tiny, but we’re so busy getting in the garden and doing other spring chores, we never do.

This year, the apple tree, now 16 years old, produced its biggest crop, yet. A couple of weeks ago, my husband, Brian, and I picked six boxes of apples. There probably are that many remaining at the tops of the tree. This weekend we plan to get a ladder and pick those apples because they look like they’re the biggest and best fruit.

We plan to share the bulk of the apples with family and friends. I also hope to make some of my favorite apple recipes. I thought I’d share a few of them with readers in case, they, like me, are overdone with the fruit. I’m also including an apple cider recipe because I think sipping cider is one of the pleasures of fall.

Apple Butter (from my mother-in-law Betty’s, recipe file)

Ingredients:

16 cups thick apple pulp

8 cups sugar

1 cup apple cider

3-4 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Cook apples. Put through apple strainer to extract pulp. Combine ingredients with apple pulp. Simmer until thick. Put in sterilized jars and seal. Makes 7 to 8 pints of apple butter.

Apple spice drop cookies (from my mom, Marcia’s, recipe file)

Ingredients:

½ cup butter or margarine, softened

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

¼ cup apple juice

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup finely chopped tart apple

1 cup chopped walnuts

Glaze:

¼ cup butter or margarine, softened

3 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 to 4 tablespoon apple juice

Directions:

Cream together butter or margarine and sugars. Beat in egg and apple juice. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda and nutmeg and stir into sugars, egg and apple juice mixture. Fold in apples.

Drop dough by teaspoonfuls on to greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Remove cookies from pan and drizzle with frosting. Cool on wire racks.

Apple Coffecake with crumble topping and brown sugar glaze

Ingredients:

1 stick butter plus 2 teaspoons

1½ cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups chopped apples

Crumble topping:

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup flour

4 tablespoon butter

½ teaspoons cinnamon

Brown sugar glaze:

½ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13-by-9 glass baking dish with the 2 tsp. of butter. Cream the remaining stick of butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add to wet ingredients, alternating with sour cream and vanilla. Fold in apples. Pour into the prepared baking dish, spreading to edges.

To make topping, combine sugar, flour, butter and cinnamon in a bowl and mix it until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle topping over cake and bake from 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown and set. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack at least 10 minutes.

To make the glaze, combine the brown sugar, vanilla and water and mix until smooth. Drizzle over cake and let it harden slightly. Serve warm.

Note: I used cooking spray to grease the pan and used a metal can pan instead of glass and the recipe turned out fine. It’s a yummy coffee cake!

Apple Streusel Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

2 eggs

½ cup butter, melted

1¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

1½ cups chopped, peeled tart apples

Streusel topping:

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon cold butter

Glaze:

1½ cups confectioner’s sugar

1 to 2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon butter, melted

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the eggs, butter and vanilla; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened (batter will be stiff). Fold in apples.

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon, cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for five minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Combine glaze ingredients, drizzle over muffins. Serve warm. Yield: 1 dozen

Apple Cider (from my friend Julie’s recipe file)

Ingredients:

1 quart apple cider

1 pint cranberry juice

1 pint orange juice

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon whole cloves

1 teaspoon whole allspice

3 sticks cinnamon

Directions:

Combine juices in percolator and put spices in basket. Heat as coffee. (It’s best to use a percolator that hasn’t been used for coffee. I use mine exclusively for the cider because a percolator that was used for coffee can leave a coffee taste in the cider.)

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