Last Minute Treat

A quick photo recipe for you, should you be scrambling for a last minute Halloween treat.  While writing the post for Dulce de Leche & Oat Apple Bars, I got to thinking about how long it had been since I’d had a caramel apple.  Then I looked once more at the large bushel basket of local apples I have in the basement and decided it was high time I made some of these gooey delights.  This really wasn’t meant to be a blog post since the recipe is ridiculously easy, but the apples proved to be so garsh darn photogenic, I couldn’t help snapping a few pictures to share.

To make the caramel apples, begin by washing, drying and removing the stems of 6-8 apples (I like to use smaller ones so you get a better caramel to apple ratio). Pop them in the freezer for an hour to get nice and chilled.  Getting the apples cold helps the caramel solidify more quickly.  Meanwhile, unwrap all the caramels in a 14 ounce bag.  Place in a large bowl with two tablespoons of milk and microwave on high for one minute.  Stir and microwave for another minute.  Stir vigorously to get any lumps out and let the caramel cool for a few minutes so it’s not so runny.

Pull the apples out of the freezer and push a popsicle stick into the center of each.  Place a sheet of wax paper on the counter and spray with non-stick spray.  Roll each apple around in the melted caramel and hold above the bowl for a minute to let the excess caramel drip off.  If you’d like, use a knife to scrape off the bottom of the apple since it will get plenty more caramel that pools around the bottom while it sets up.  

Allow the coated apples to sit for at least three hours before serving or, if you’re in a hurry like me, place them in the fridge until the caramel hardens (about an hour).  I like my caramel apples plain and simple but you might like them rolled in nuts, sprinkles, or crushed oreos.  Wrap with plastic wrap to store.

Sweet Memories

I woke up this morning to find the ghost and ghouls had moved onto the scene a few days ahead of schedule: whipping cold winds blowing everything off the porch and leaves taking on an eerie life-like stance as they dance above the ground.  By golly, I do believe it’s almost Halloween! 

I have fond, albeit somewhat unusual, memories of Halloween.  My mother, the quintessential crafty homemaker, was an amazing costume designer/maker.  Every year, without fail, she spun me and my brother costumes that won the top prize at the elementary school Halloween “parade”.  Then we’d take the show on the road on Halloween night, driving around our rural farmland and knocking on doors.  The name of the game?  Not to get lots of candy, per say, but rather to stump our neighbors as to our true identities.  With Mom’s outstanding shark, penguin, and Little Bo’ Peep costumes – to name just a few – we usually left folks scratching their heads. 

Then on the weekend, our little country church would do the strangest thing: hold the biggest party of the year for what amounts to a rather pagan holiday.  But it was a blast with homemade haunted rooms, bobbing for apples out of big old fashioned metal tubs, elaborate costume contests/ categories, off-the-wall games, sound effect tapes on the speaker system, and massive amounts of fake spider webs.  And of course there was food – if the costumes were competitive, the food surely was too even if there weren’t any prizes for it.  Everyone brought a dish, and everyone went home on a sugar high to end all sugar highs. 

Now where’s that leave us today?  At a great recipe for Dulce de Leche & Oat Apple Bars.  These decadent bars, made with lucious homemade dulce de leche, are not from memories past.  Rather, they are exactly what I would bring to just such a party today.  A grown-up rendition of caramel apples in a more kid-friendly (i.e., no sticky faces and fingers) form, you can surely find a use for these tasty little bars as the hallow eve approaches.   I’d love to give them out to trick o’ treaters that come knocking on my door, but alas think homemade treats from strangers are a thing of the past.  If it’s not vacuum sealed, it’s not “safe”.   It’s a shame, don’t you think?

Poached Apples

 

Port Wine and Pastries:  Yes, my dear readers, I am currently away from my desk/computer, hiking around the steep hills of Lisbon and rural sections of the northern Minho region of pint-sized Portugal.  I can’t wait to get back and tell you all about the rich old-world culture of this unique little country oft forgotten by European travelers intent on getting to Italy and Spain.  In the meantime, enjoy this post for Citrus and Green Tea Poached Apples, and please have patience with my delay in responding to comments. 

Obrigada e adeus (thank you and farewell)!

~

~

~

~

~

Green Tea and Citrus Poached Apples
Adaptation of a recipe clipped from Martha Stewart Living Magazine

4 bags of jasmine green tea
2 ½ c. boiling water
2/3 c. sugar
Juice of half a large pink grapefruit
½ t. finely grated grapefruit zest
2 firm sweet eating apples, such as Nittany or Honeycrisp

Place tea bags in boiling water and steep for 3-4 minutes.  Do not steep for any longer or the tea will turn bitter.  In a medium saucepan, combine tea with sugar and stir to dissolve.  Add the grapefruit juice and zest and simmer very gently for 2 minutes.

Peel, halve, core and cut the apples into ¼ inch thick slices.  Add immediately to the saucepan with the tea mixture to avoid apples turning brown.  Cook over low heat so that steam rises from the pot but it does not bubble.  When apples turn translucent and soft, about 10 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon and place in a serving bowl. 

Gently boil the liquid in the saucepan until it reduces by about half, 6-8 minutes.  Pour over apples and serve either warm or chilled.  Apples can be refrigerated in syrup for up to two days. 

(serves 3-4)

~

~