Caramel Apple Cookie Pops

I've made this caramel apple cookie recipe before and just made the regular cookies. I took them to the neighborhood Halloween party last year and they got rave reviews.  While I knew it was an amazing recipe, I wanted to do something different this time around, especially since I was planning to take them to the same party again this year. Since they are inspired by caramel apples, I thought...why not add sticks to them like caramel apples?  Plus, it would make it fun for people to eat at the party. I haven't made cookie pops before, but I knew it was a nice thick cake-like batter that would probably work.  They are yummy too!  They're made with fresh shredded apple and with the caramel icing, they taste just like the real caramel apples.  Except they're better...and not as messy!

I made the dough, put scoops on the Silpat, placed the lollipop stick through the center and flattened each cookie scoop with the back of a spoon to get more of a round shape and set it into the stick.

I let them cool on a pan a little after baking and carefully transferred them with a spatula to some parchment paper to cool and set.

The caramel apple icing was carefully applied so as to not pull on the stick too much and voila!....caramel apple cookie pops! The original recipe called for adding nuts like the apples I have here, but I was taking them where there would be lots of kids so I thought I better not chance it with possible allergies. They were a hit again and gone before I left the party early!

My sister and her family came to the party with us and she made these yummy and adorable spice sandwich cookies with homemade jack-o-lantern faces.  We used some cream cheese frosting that we colored orange to put in between and also used some of the leftover caramel apple icing for some. 

She even made some pretty oak leaves.  The pumpkin faces were the best to see the icing through and it oozed out through the eyes when you took a bite! :)

  

Recipe for Caramel Apple Cookie Pops

 (Adapted from a recipe for Caramel Apple Cookies in Midwest Living Magazine) 

Ingredients:

Cookie dough:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 t. pumpkin or apple pie spice
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 large tart apple (peeled, cored and coarsely shredded)

Icing:

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 3 Tbs. apple juice
• 2 2/3 cups powdered sugar

Chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, beat 1/2 cup butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Add 1 1/4 cups brown sugar, baking soda, pie spice, and salt. Beat until well-combined, scraping sides of bowl. Beat in egg until well-combined. Add 1/2 cup apple juice; beat on low speed until combined (don't worry if mixture looks a little curdled). Beat in the flours and fold in the shredded apple.

Drop dough by slightly rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto a greased or Silpat lined cookie sheet. Be careful not to make them too big if you're making cookie pops so they won't fall off the sticks if they're too heavy.  If you are doing pops, stagger the scoops on the cookie sheet and place the sticks into the center of the rounded teaspoon.  Run a spoon under warm water and flatten each of the cookie scoops slightly with the back of the spoon.  Bake at 350 degrees about 10-12 minutes or until tops and edges are browned.  Let stand for a few minutes to cool and transfer carefully to parchment paper or wire racks for icing.

For icing: In a small saucepan, heat and stir 1/2 cup brown sugar, butter and apple juice over medium heat until all the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and whisk in the powdered sugar.  If it is too thick, you can add a touch more juice or if it's too runny add a little more powdered sugar.  If you let it sit too long, it will thicken and you may need to add some juice to get it back to spreading consistency.  Spread carefully on top of cookies and sprinkle with chopped nuts, if desired.

Apple-Blackberry Crisp

This past summer, my mum and I stopped at an Amish farm stand and bought some gorgeous blackberries. We waited for quite some time for someone to come out and help us and this little girl was sitting on their porch quietly the entire time just looking at us and barely making a noise.  She couldn't have been more than a year old and I was surprised to find her out there on her own. She has the sweetest face and looked so cute in her little Amish outfit.  I almost thought she was a baby doll!

Their farm was immaculate and the wheat fields were bright gold and swaying in the wind making the most calm de-stressing sound. I could've taken a nap laying in that field after eating our blackberries!

 We brought the blackberries home and my mum was reminiscing about how her grandmother used to make apple blackberry pie. Well, we didn't make it then as it wasn't apple season.  But, it is now!  I have tons of honey crisp apples left from our last trip to the orchard...the ones that Audrey is munching on in this photo we recently had taken up at the family farm. I also found blackberries on sale at the local market and thought I'd make an apple-blackberry creation as my mum was coming over to visit. 

I didn't feel like making a traditional pie, so I went with a crisp. I cooked the apples slices first with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg to cook them down.  It's nice to just throw everything in together to bake, but if you do that with the blackberries, I suppose they would be complete mush.  The apples cooking on the stove top smelled amazing!  And, they looked so pretty when you tossed them in with the blackberries.

The blackberries cooked down and bubbled up making an amazing blackberry apple jam with soft chunks of fruit and a crispy oatmeal crust on top.  It was amazing served warm with vanilla bean ice cream in the company of my wonderful family. Mum really enjoyed it too!  I still have some of the blackberries left and may have to come up with another treat to make as mum is visiting me this week.

Recipe for Apple-Blackberry Crisp

(Adapted from Williams-Sonoma recipe for Apple-Blackberry Cobbler)

Ingredients:

Fruit mixture:

• 2-3 lbs. peeled and cored apples cut into slices (I used honey crisp)
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 3 Tbs. cornstarch
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
• 2 pints blackberries

Crisp:

• 1 cup rolled oats (regular or quick cooking)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (room temperature)

Directions:
In a large stock pot, stir together the apples, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, cornstarch, lemon zest and lemon juice. Transfer to stove, cover and set over medium heat. Cook the apples, stirring occasionally, until almost tender. Fold in the blackberries and transfer to an oven safe baking dish.

Preheat an oven to 350°F.

For the crisp topping, combine the oats, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle crisp topping over fruit filling until covered completely.

Bake the cobbler, uncovered, until the topping is golden brown and crisp, about 35-45 minutes. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.  Serve with vanilla ice cream!

The Best Autumn Bread

Several years ago, I found an apple bread recipe to try when I had a bunch of extra apples in the fall. We instantly loved it and it has turned out to be a family favorite. In fact, I recently cut up extra apples so I could make it for my brother this weekend as he's the one that always requests it. The recipe makes two large loaves and I often times make one large loaf and two mini ones so I can send them home with people. It always reminds me of autumn and is the best with a cup of hot cider or tea. Sugar and spice and everything nice!