Two Easy-to-Make Recipes to Get You Ready for Apple Season
September 25, 2022
By: Corrie Fletcher, Dietetic Intern
Categories: Nutrition & Diet
Good recipes to get you cooking.
Apple season runs from late July to early December. Most varieties, particularly those you will find on the supermarket shelves, peak in September and October. So, now is the time to bring out your favorite apple recipe or experiment with something new.
We have got a couple of good recipes to get you cooking. But first things first, with so many apple varieties to choose from, you may be wondering which is best for your recipe. A suitable selection will largely depend on the firmness of the apple's flesh, the level of sweetness or acidity, the flavor, and general preferences. When baking, a firm flesh variety will hold its shape. When making apple sauce, a soft flesh variety will serve best. The more flavorful varieties make a fun snack if you can find them. See below.
Different Apple Varieties
Firm Flesh Varieties (great for baking)
- Granny Smith
- Honeycrisp
- Braeburn
- Pink Lady
- Cosmic Crisp
Acidic or Tart Varieties
- Granny Smith
- Pink Lady
- Braeburn
- Jonathan
- McIntosh
- Honeycrisp
Sweet Varieties
- Gala
- Fuji
- Cortland
- Jonagold
Mild, Acidic, and Sweet
- Golden Delicious
- Red Delicious
High Flavor Varieties
- Kiku
- Envy
- Ambrosia
- Pacific Rose
- Kanzi
- Jazz
Iron Skillet Apple Crisp
A tasty apple crisp recipe does not have to be high in sugar and saturated fats. This recipe has a lot of crispy, buttery, sweet and tangy goodness with a little less guilt.
Time needed
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cook time: 40 minute
- Ready in: 50 minutes
- Servings: 8
Nutrition: per serving
- Calories: 250
- Fiber: 4.5
- Saturated fat: 3.7
- Added sugar: 6.7g
- Fat: 10g
- Carbs: 37g
- Protein: 3g
- Servings of fruit: 1
What is needed?
- 12-inch iron skillet or 9-inch skillet for 1/2 recipe
- Small mixing bowl
- French Chef knife
- Mixing spoon
- Oven
Ingredients
- 4 large, or 5 small Granny Smith apples
- ½ cup, or 1 stick vegetable butter (smart balance or similar)
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cup oats
- 2/3 cup flour, all-purpose
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 360 degrees F
- Slice apples ½ inch thick and add to the skillet
- Melt 2 tbsp of vegetable butter and add to the skillet
- Add 1 tsp of cinnamon to the iron skillet
- Mix apples with butter and cinnamon until apples are thoroughly covered
- Melt the remaining butter and add it to the mixing bowl
- Add the rest of the butter, ¼ cup of brown sugar, ½ tsp of salt, 1 1/3 cup of oats and 2/3 cup of flour to the mixing bowl. Blend well
- Sprinkle the mixture over the apples in the iron skillet
- Cook for 40 minutes
Note: Serve as a side dish with your meal or add ice cream or whipped cream and serve as a dessert.
Mulled Apple Cider
This recipe is often overlooked during the holidays. It seems that many are unfamiliar with its greatness. So, bring this to a holiday party, and you are sure to win compliments.
To make apple cider from scratch, you will need about 30-40 apples to get a gallon of cider. This can get rather expensive and time-consuming, but luckily there is no need for it. As we move further into the Fall season, you will begin finding fresh pressed apple cider in the refrigerator section at your grocery store. These taste just as good as homemade cider. Steer away from unrefrigerated cider, as the heavy processing used for these products removes key flavors. Many manufacturers will offer a selection of apple varieties. There is no right or wrong variety for apple cider. However, Honeycrisp apple cider does pair exceptionally well with this recipe.
This recipe is simple. Add apple cider, oranges and spices to a large pot and heat for an hour. You can buy the spices individually or save money by using packets of mulling spices. You can find these packets online, and as the holidays approach, you will find them on the supermarket shelves. The best mulling spice packets contain at least cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg. If you want more control over the flavor, then it is best to buy the spices individually. It is also best to use whole spices when feasible.
Ingredients
- 4 qt (makes 2 ½ - 3 qt) apple cider
- ¼ inch slices orange
- orange rind peels only
- 8 sticks cinnamon
- 1 tbsp cloves
- 1 tbsp allspice
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- 8 flowers of star anise
- ½ tsp ginger
Directions
- 1. Add all ingredients to a large pot
- 2. Bring to a boil, reduce the temperature to low and cover with a lid
- 3. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring every 15 or 30 minutes
- 4. Remove sliced oranges and whole spices if serving immediately
- 5. Or chill and serve over ice
Note: You may find that certain flavors are even more appealing when served over ice. Mulled cider can be kept in the refrigerator for weeks, but flavors are more pronounced if used within the first 4 days.
About the author
Corrie Fletcher is an intern with St. Mary’s Food and Nutrition Department. She has her Bachelors of Science degree in Nutrition and is currently in the Gulf Coast Dietetic Internship, which is a supervised practice program required to sit for the Registered Dietitian exam.
References
CMI Orchards. CMI orchards sweet-o-meter. Version current n.d. Internet https://www.cmiapples.com/uploads/pdf/sales-sheets/sweet-o-meter.pdf (accessed 3 September 2022).
Morocco, C. The 6 best apples for baking. Bon Appétit. Version current 21 September 2017. Internet https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/cooking-tips/article/the-3-best-apples-to-use-for-baking (accessed 2 September 2022).