I will drive to the Cherry hut near Estes Park for their apple pies even if it is 2 hours out of my way. You get it now, so it is no surprise  then that one of my favorite cookbooks is The Apple Lover’s Cookbook by Amy Traverso. The book is loaded with tips, an encyclopedia of apples and wonderful recipes.

While most of this month includes my personal recipes and what I call “Mom influenced”, the Pumpkin Apple Custard in this bible of apples is a lovely desert served anytime of the year, made special the month of September as cooling skies bring heartier appetites and more room for dessert.

Pumpkin and Apple Custard

The Apple Lover’s Cookbook

3 large eggs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
¼ cup apple butter
½ cup evaporated milk
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon allspice

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. and set a rack to the middle position. Butter the souffle dish. Fill a kettle with 4 cups water and bring to a simmer.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, using a standing or hand held mixer, beat the eggs and sugar at medium-highspeed for 2 minutes or until thick and pale yellow. Gently fold in the remaining ingredients.

Pour the custard into the prepared dish and set in the baking pan. Transfer both to the oven, then fill the baking pan with enough of the simmering water to come halfway up the sides of the souffle dish. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake until the center of the custard barely jiggles when shaken, about 30-40 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes, then serve warm or room temperature.

APPLE DUMPLINGS

Chef Judi

For the Apples:

• 8 medium Granny Smith apples peeled and cored
• 8 teaspoons unsalted butter
• 7 teaspoons granulated sugar
• 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

For the Sauce:

• 1½ cups light brown sugar
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup salted butter cubed

Directions

1. Make Your favorite Pastry Dough or use premade Pillsbury crust:
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl, stir together the granulated sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
3. Assemble the Apples: Roll each portion of dough on a lightly floured work surface into a 7-inch square. Place an apple in the center of each square. Place 1 teaspoon of butter and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon-sugar mixture in the center of each apple.
4. Gently bring up the corners of the pastry to the center of each apple; pinch the edges to seal. Place the pastry-encased apples in a greased 9×13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture.
5. Make the Sauce: In a large saucepan, combine the brown sugar, water and butter over medium-high heat until it just begins to boil, stirring occasionally. Pour the sauce evenly over the apples.
6. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until the apples are tender and the pastry is golden brown, basting occasionally with the sauce. These are best served warm immediately after baking.

Pecan Dressing Stuffed Apples

Chef Judi Gallagher

If you are entertaining a small group, making the turkey dressing and stuffing them into Cortland apples to roast is a beautiful presentation and extra apple boost of flavor.

This recipe serves 8

8 ounces thick cut applewood smoked bacon
1 stick unsalted Irish butter
3 cups peeled, cored and diced Honeycrisp apples
2 cups diced onions
1 cup diced celery
2 shallots minced
½ cup dry white wine
1 loaf French bread break apart pieces and leave uncovered on sheet pan overnight to stale.
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup apple cider
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup fresh minced flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
2 rosemary sprigs, remove stems and mince rosemary
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 beaten eggs
8 Cortland apples

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat a 3-quart baking dish with melted butter

Cook bacon until crisp. Transfer to plate with a paper towel to absorb extra fat.

Reserve 2 TBSP. bacon drippings. Add butter to pan. Sautee apples, onions, shallots in butter and bacon fat until softened about 15 minutes

Add wine and reduce liquid.

Combine apple mixture with stale bread pieces, chopped bacon, chicken broth and cider, pecans, beaten eggs, herbs and seasonings.

Set aside to cool for 5 minutes

Cut the tops of Cortland apples and scoop out inside. Fill with dressing and bake covered with aluminum foil for 10 minutes

Remove foil and dot stuffed apples with a drizzle of melted butter. Continue to bake until apples are tender.

Note: make sure you bake at least 25 minutes to ensure the egg mixture is cooked.

Option: bake dressing in large casserole dish

Apple Pecan Cake with Cream Cheese Caramel frosting

Chef Judi and Riva Cooper

My Mom used to make the BEST applesauce cake with raisins every Jewish New Year. Since I didn’t like frosting, she would just leave the cake to rest as it was.

My variation is using shredded apples instead of applesauce.

2 cups sugar
½ cup plus 2 TBPS. Irish or French grass-fed butter softened
2 large eggs
2 Teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
2 Teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 Teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon allspice
2 cups chopped pecans plus some for topping over frosting
½ teaspoon salt
2 Pounds Granny Smith of Honey crisp- peeling, cored and shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Butter and flour a metal 13 x 9 pan by 2 inches.
Beat sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla extract

Mix flour, baking soda and powder and salt and cinnamon and all spice. Slowly add to incorporate. Add 2 pounds shredded peeled apple and stir with spoon

(Optional one cup raisins and one cup shredded coconut

Frosting

1 cup pecans chopped
8-ounce cream cheese (I only use Philly)
Swirls of caramel sauce, IF DESIRED. My fave is “Lick my Spoon” Caramel sauce if you aren’t making homemade
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons milk
2 cups powdered sugar extra xxx refined
2 Tablespoons pure unsalted butter
Blend all together and frost over chilled cake

September is here, and even though we don’t officially transition to autumn until the end of the month, I always think of Labor Day as the official start of fall. I can’t wait to move from light summer food to heartier autumn comfort food — and as I start running through my mental list of recipes I want to try, the stars this year are fruits.

Fall fruits are absolutely wonderful; they comprise a list that includes apples, grapes, pears and cranberries. I mean, who doesn’t love all-American apple pie (make mine with salted caramel, please), a handful of frozen grapes, vanilla-poached pears (served with a side of chocolate sauce, thank-you-very-much) or perfect cranberry sauce, served alongside Thanksgiving turkey.

Here are my tips for how to pick the best-quality fall fruits, as well as a killer recipe for salted caramel apple pie. Enjoy!

Apples: If you live nearby an apple orchard, get yourself to it immediately — there’s nothing more satisfying than picking apples and putting them to use in the kitchen. Look for firm, brightly colored apples that are clean and shiny; they can be refrigerated for up to two weeks.

Pears: Give your pears a few days to ripen at home after you purchase them (and try to purchase them from your local farmer’s market or farmstand, if possible). When they’re ready to eat, their flesh will give a little when you press them. Keep them in the refrigerator after they’ve ripened for up to 5 days.

Grapes: Ripe, white and green grapes will have a yellowish tone; red and purple should have not a single speck of green on them. Make sure you keep your grapes refrigerated or you’ll end up with raisins, and always wash them thoroughly before eating.

Cranberries: Because cranberries usually come pre-packaged, check the bag to make sure you get bright berries that are not soft or shriveled. Discard any stems before cooking.

What’s your favorite fall fruit? Happy eating!

Salted Caramel Apple Pie

Adapted from Four and Twenty Blackbirds

1 recipe for 2-crust butter pie crust

1 cup white sugar

¼ cup water

1 stick unsalted butter

½ cup heavy cream

1 ½ tsp sea salt

4 to 6 lemons

5 to 6 medium to large apples (such as a mix of Crispin, Granny Smith and Cortland)

1/3 cup raw sugar

2 tablespoons flour

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

2 to 3 dashes Angostura bitters

1 egg, beaten

Raw sugar, for sprinkling

1 teaspoon sea salt

Special equipment: Mandolin, for slicing apples

Prepare one 2-crust batch of your favorite all-butter pie crust. Roll the bottom crust, form it to a 9-inch pan and cut the top crust as a lattice. Chill the rolled crust while you prepare the salted caramel and apple filling.

To make salted caramel:

Cook the sugar and water over low heat until just dissolved. Add the butter and bring to a slow boil. Continue cooking at a low boil until the mixture turns a deep golden brown color almost copper.

Once the mixture has turned a copper color, remove from heat and add heavy cream — the mixture will bubble and steam. Whisk the final mixture together over low heat and sprinkle in the sea salt. Set aside to prepare apple filling.

To make apple filling:

Juice the lemons into a large mixing bowl. Core, peel and thinly slice the whole apples. Dredge all the apple slices in the freshly squeezed lemon juice to prevent browning. Set prepared apples aside. In a large measuring cup or small mixing bowl, combine sugar flour cinnamon, allspice nutmeg and Angostura bitters. Sprinkle the mixture over the apples in the mixing bowl using your hands to gently mix and coat the apple slices.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Gather rolled pie crust, salted caramel and apple mixture. Begin by layering 1/3 of the apples in the bottom of the crust so there are minimal gaps. Pour 1/3 of the caramel sauce over the apples. Add 1/3 of the apples and caramel for a second layer, and then add a third layer of apples and the caramel again. Save a small amount of caramel to pour on top after the lattice is assembled. Assemble the lattice crust and flute the edges of the crust. Pour the last bit of caramel on top. Brush the crust with the beaten egg and lightly sprinkle with raw sugar and sea salt.

Bake the pie on a baking sheet larger than the pie pan for 20 minutes, otherwise the caramel will bubble over. Reduce to the temperature to 325 and bake for 25-35 minutes. Test the apples with a toothpick or knife; they should be just soft. Let the pie cool, then slice and enjoy.

F&M