Caramel Apple Pie Cups

I got bored today. You know what that means...
I was in my kitchen making all kinds of sweet concoctions.
Today I was experimenting with a new recipe. It is definitely in need of some refining, aesthetically speaking that is. Taste wise... it's a winner. I was wanting something apple pie-ish but I didn't want an apple pie. So I took what I had and I did what I do best. I improvised.

Peel 3-4 medium sized Gala apples. 

If you don't like Gala, use what you like.

Slice and dice 'em.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter. 

Add in a heaping helping of brown sugar. 

Chop some pecans. 

I personally loooove pecans! 

But you could also use walnuts.

They don't have to be perfect.

Once the brown sugar and the butter get all melty add the apples.

Stir it around!

Let it get all bubbly.

Add some ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves.

You will become intoxicated with the smell of sweet, heavenly spices.

I'm just warning you now. 

You might be tempted to test an apple or 5...

Let it bubble a little longer.

Get your cinnamon rolls ready.

I broke off 2 so I could have little ones. 

Then unroll the big one.

 Fold it in half and smush it all together so it doesn't fall apart.

Then stretch it out until it's about 6 inches in diameter. 

I really had no idea what I was doing.

I made a mess. 

Turn off the heat and add your nuts.

Mix it all together. 

Add the apple mixture to the center of the stretched dough.

Pull up and pinch the edges to create a bowl-like, eh, thing.

Note: It's a good idea to have the dough on the baking sheet when you do this.

I did not.

I had to transfer it and everything almost came out of the bottom. 

And there's my little one.

Ain't he cute!! 

Same concept here. 

Smush it all together and then stretch it out. 

I tell you, he's just precious!

Didn't quite stay in cup form but it works.

This one turned out better.

It was like a waterfall of apple filling coming out of the dough.

YUM!

That little cup of caramel frosting that comes with the cinnamon rolls...

We're using it.

Put it in a bowl and microwave it for 10 seconds.

This is the best part!!

Drizzle on some caramel happiness.

And say, "Ahhh".

Uh, yum!

Again, YUM!

That Grand Canyon of apple filling is begging you to dig in.

Sooo, the next time I make this I will probably use a muffin tin. Then it can really be "cups".  

However, if you want to make a Jabba the Hutt monstrosity like I did... Feel free!

Despite it's now ogre-ish looks, it tastes fantastic. Something quick and easy when you want apple pie but don't want to wait for pie. 

Caramel Apple Pie Cups

3-4 gala apples, peeled and diced

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 heaping cup light brown sugar, not packed

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

a little pinch of ground cloves

1 cup chopped pecans

1 8 count package caramel cinnamon rolls

powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir the brown sugar into the melted butter. Mix in apples and spices. Cook until tender, 3-5 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the pecans.

Break apart the cinnamon rolls and sprinkle each side with powdered sugar. Using your hands or the bottom of a glass, smash down and stretch out each rolls until they are about 3-4 inches in diameter. Sprinkle on more powdered sugar as needed so it's not so sticky. 

Place one over each cup on a greased muffin tin. Gently lay them down into the cups. There should be some overhang. Fill each cup 3/4 of the way full with the apple filling. Bake until the rolls are golden brown, about 12-15 minutes.

Take the cup of caramel frosting from the cinnamon roll package and microwave it for 10 seconds. Pour the melted frosting over the apple pie cups. 

Cheerio Treats

The leaves have been changing all season and they've inspired me to change it up a little in the kitchen. I've been making a lot of cakes lately. I've been in the mood for something a little less caky. So when I found this recipe for Cheerio Treats I knew I found what I was looking for. This is going down as one of my new favorite sweet treats. It's super simple and I already had everything I needed, ready to go. Plus, it  has peanut butter! 

Just beware. Finger lickin' will commence.

This is what you'll need. 

Very basic stuff here. We don't need anything fancy.

Combine the sugar and corn syrup in a medium sauce pan.

Stir it up a bit.

Bring it to a boil.

Let it boil for one minute.

Take it off the heat.

Add the peanut butter and the vanilla.

Don't forget the Cheerios!

Stir it all together!

I had to pour it all in a larger bowl. 

Cheerios kept jumping out of the pan. 

We just can not have that now can we?

Spoon onto wax paper and let cool.

I use a large soup spoon and my fingers.

Just be careful, the sticky part will still be hot. 

Don't want any burnt fingers out there. 

Dig in!

Cheerio Treats

(Recipe from: Katie Cooks, Cheerio Treats)

1 cup corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 cups cheerios

Combine the corn syrup and sugar in a large sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute.

Take off the heat. Add vanilla and peanut butter, mix until smooth.

Add cheerios and mix until completely coated.

Spoon out onto wax paper and cool completely. 

Homemade Biscuits - Take 2

The last time I made these, while they were good, they were not made to their maximum potential. So I made some alterations and what a difference that made. They were so fluffy! Like a cloud of biscuit heaven. They were just pretty darn amazing.

(Recipe based on: Tyler Florence, Buttermilk Biscuits.)  

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 cup vegetable shortening, cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 to 2 cups milk

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Cut in the shortening using a pastry blender or your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and add 1 1/2 cup milk. Using your hands, quickly fold the dry ingredients into the milk until a sticky dough forms. 

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Gently fold the dough over itself 3 or 4 times to create layers. Press the dough out to 1 1/2-inches thick and cut with a floured 3-inch biscuit cutter. Lay the biscuits on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until risen and golden brown.

Um can we say delicious?!?! 

Jane sure did enjoy it!

Mocha Apple Cake w/ Browned Butter Frosting

Just in time for Fall! The cake that is, I'm a little late. This is my absolute, most favorite time of year and this is my first post of the season. I'm incredulous as to why really. I guess I've just been lazy, soaking up the cool air and watching the leaves change. But I woke up the other morning in a frenzy. I had to bake something and a mocha apple cake seemed like just the thing.
I found this recipe in the August issue of Southern Living Magazine. Interesting combo I thought. Mocha. Apple. Hmmm. I like chocolate covered apples so I figured it couldn't be that bad. And it's seasonally appropriate. So I gathered up my gadgets and got to baking!

Unfortunately, it turned out horrible. It looked good from the outside and it smelled divine. But... Then I cut into it. It was so dry. The Sahara looked more moist than this cake did. I don't know why. I don't think I over baked it. But I can't be for certain. It definitely needed more apples and I should have added the pecans. But I don't know how I could have gotten them in there, the batter was so thick. It was almost like bread dough.

Sad to say this was a bust. I did take one small cake to work and everyone ate it. One guy said it was the best dry cake he ever had. Well there's always that.
Maybe I'll try it again one day. For right now I'm going to keep on baking other fall goodies! This isn't the worst baking I've done. Remember the chocolate cupcakes? Gosh!

Here are just a few things you will need. Yummy right?

I thought so too...

Add them to a large mixing bowl.

Mix away! Until everything is just combined

Don't forget about the dry ingredients!

Put them in a separate mixing bowl. 

Stir them all together.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients a little at a time. 

Keep adding and mixing.

Peel about 2 large apples.

Dice them up and put them in a bowl. 

You'll need 2 candy bars.

Oops! One went missing!

OK it was 3. But I couldn't help it. It's chocolate!!!

Chop, chop, chop! 

I got a little carried away so that's all of that. 

This is the part where you add the apples and the chocolate to the cake batter and mix it all together.

Then spoon it into the cake pans and bake.

On to the frosting! It turned out great!

Melt 1 stick of butter in a sauce pan over medium heat.

Let it get kind of bubbly. Stir it a little too. Do NOT want it to burn.

It'll get a bit frothy.

Pour it in a bowl and set it in the fridge to chill out a bit.

See the delicious looking outside of the cake?

Cream the butter.

See how it's a light brown?

YUM

Add the powered sugar a cup at a time. 

Add some vanilla.

Use up to a 1/4 cup of milk, as needed for consistency.

It was really good!

It looked pretty...

It just didn't taste so pretty...

I have 2 things to say to anyway who wants to try this out for themselves:

1) Good luck with that.

2) Use just enough hot water to dissolve the instant coffee. 

Otherwise you can taste the granules. Not so tasty.

So for those of you with a hankering to try...

Mocha Apple Cake with Browned Butter Frosting 

(As seen in Southern Living, August 2011)

• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups peeled and diced Granny Smith apples (about 2 lb.)
• 2 (2.6-oz.) milk chocolate candy bars, chopped
• Browned Butter Frosting

Preparation

• 1. Preheat oven to 350º. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.
• 2. Beat sugar and next 4 ingredients at high speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer 5 minutes. Stir together flour and next 4 ingredients; gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Add apples, chocolate, and pecans; beat just until blended. Spoon into 2 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans.
• 3. Bake at 350º for 28 to 32 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire rack, and cool completely (about 1 hour). Spread Browned Butter Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake.
• Mocha-Apple Bundt Cake: Omit Browned Butter Frosting. Prepare batter as directed; spoon into a greased and floured 12-cup Bundt pan. Bake at 350º for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 2 hours).