Falling for apples

Make the most out of everyone’s favorite fall fruit with these delicious, kid-pleasing apple recipes.

Apple Puff Pancake

Makes 4 servings

1 cup milk
5 large eggs
3 Tbs sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tbs unsalted butter
4 tart apples (Granny Smith), peeled, quartered and sliced 1/4-inch-thick
3 Tbs (packed) golden brown sugar
Powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in large bowl until well blended. Mix in flour until batter is smooth. Add butter to an ovenproof baking dish (cast iron is good), then place baking dish in oven until butter melts, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven. Place apple slices in overlapping rows on top of the melted butter. Return to oven and bake until apples soften slightly and butter is bubbling around edges of dish, about 10 minutes. Pour batter over apples and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake pancake until puffed and brown, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with a little powdered sugar, if desired. Serve warm.

Baked Apples

Makes 4 servings

1/4 cup oats, dry
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice 2
Tbs unsalted butter, melted 4
medium apples 4
Tbs heavy whipping cream P

reheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl add the first 7 ingredients, and use your hands to mix well. Core the apples, and cut each in half. Place them in a baking dish, face up, and fill each apple with an even amount of oats. Pack it lightly until heaped over the top. Drizzle with cream. Bake for 40 minutes or until filling is golden and apple is soft. Cool for 10 minutes, then serve; add more cream if desired.

Recipe and photo courtesy of SuperHealthyKids.com.

Slow Cooker Apple Butter

Makes 4 pints

6 1/2 pounds apples*, peeled, cored and sliced
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 Tbs ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbs vanilla extract

*In general, softer varieties of apples (such as Fuji, Golden Delicious, McIntosh or Jonagold) work best because they cook down faster.

Place apples in 5- or 6-quart slow cooker. Stir in sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Cook on high for 4-5 hours, or low for 8-10 hours. Stir in vanilla extract, breaking up any large chunks of apples that remain. Cover and cook for an additional 2 hours on low. Remove cover and use an immersion blender to puree the apple butter until completely smooth. (Or, puree in batches in a food processor or blender.) For thicker apple butter, continue to cook it on low with the lid of the slow cooker slightly ajar so steam can escape. Apple butter also thickens as it cools. Once mixture has cooled, ladle it into jars and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or freeze for up to 4 months.