National Apple Week..recipes

A friend, Diann, who belongs to the same yahoo group,An Affair with Art posts daily celebrations to the group.   

Did you know that this week is National Apple Week? I didn't, but I do love apples? Do you?                    

Macintosh are my favorite apples for baking and cooking.  I like my apples soft when cooked in pies. 

My favorite apples for eating are Macoun and Pink Ladies. I can't wait for the fresh crop of apples to start coming in.

I will share with you 3 of my favorite apple recipes.

My mother took this popover pancake recipe from a Farm Journal magazine when I was a kid. The  pancake recipe is similar to a Bickford's restaurants Big Apple pancake. Do you have a Bickford's near you and if so, have you tried their Big Apple pancake? Oh my, I love them...so, so yummy. The pancakes become puffy when baked. I made some for my parents lunch a few weeks ago when my mom was home on a visit. I make one pancake per person.

Apple Popover Pancakes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

I large apple-  peel, core and slice into 16ths

2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons cinnamon/sugar mix
Heat butter in a skillet. Add apples, and sprinkle with the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Sauté apples over medium heat for 5 minutes. Stirring constantly.  

Meanwhile, beat 2 large eggs in a bowl, add 1/2 cup of milk, 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Beat mixture well. 

Butter well, a 9 inch pie plate, placing the apple mixture on the bottom of the pie plate.  Then pour the egg/flour mixture over the cooked apples. (if you have a cast iron skillet, you can bake the pancake directly in the skillet) .

Place pan in a preheated oven and bake until the pancake is firm and puffy. Approximately 20 minutes. Don't over cook.  If using a glass pie plate drop the oven temperature down to 375 degrees. Flip the pancake out of the pan onto a plate. You can sprinkle more cinnamon/sugar over the pancake if you desire. Serve hot with maple syrup.

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Apple Cinnamon Cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If using a glass baking dish, reduce the oven to 325 degrees.
1 stick of butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
2 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 cup milk  or half and half cream
2 large apples..core, peel and sliced

1-2 Tablespoons of Cinnamon/Sugar mix

Beat till creamy...the butter and  sugar. Then add egg, salt, vanilla, flour and milk. Mix well.
Butter a 8 or 9 inch square pan. If you want to remove the cake from the pan, cut a piece of parchment or wax paper and fit to the bottom of the baking dish. Butter the paper, and use a light coating of flour on the bottom and sides of the pan. Discard excess flour.

Spoon the batter into the baking dish. In rows, sink the apple slices into the batter, and smooth the batter over the apples to cover. Save some apple slices to lay over the top of the batter. Sprinkle the top of the batter with cinnamon sugar. Bake for approximately 1 hour, or until toothpick comes out clean. You can add more of the cinnamon/sugar mix to the cake after it comes out of the oven if you wish.

Another favorite of mine is apple crisp. You can find the recipe on my blog from post I wrote last fall for  Apple Crisp

If you try my apple recipes, I hope you will like them as much as my family does. Enjoy!!! Let me know how if you try them, and what you think.