For my next series of comps I will be running aside fruit facts, will be fruit recipes. Some fruits are just really mundane, and not much can be said about them, so I will list my favorite recipes that use the fruit in the topic. Today will be apples
Praline-Apple Bread
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, divided
1 (8-oz.) container sour cream
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups finely chopped, peeled Granny Smith apples (about 3/4 lb.)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake 1/2 cup pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 6 to 8 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring after 4 minutes.
2. Beat sour cream and next 3 ingredients at low speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes or until blended.
3. Stir together flour and next 3 ingredients. Add to sour cream mixture, beating just until blended. Stir in apples and 1/2 cup toasted pecans. Spoon batter into a greased and floured 9- x 5-inch loaf pan. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup chopped pecans; lightly press pecans into batter.
4. Bake at 350° for 1 hour to 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, shielding with aluminum foil after 50 minutes to prevent excessive browning. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.
5. Bring butter and brown sugar to a boil in a 1-qt. heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly; boil 1 minute. Remove from heat, and spoon over top of bread; let cool completely (about 1 hour).
Caramel Apple Cheesecake Tart
Ingredients
CRUST
1 cup finely ground gingersnap cookie crumbs (about 24 to 28 cookies)
1/2 cup finely chopped toasted pecans
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
Vegetable cooking spray
FILLING
2 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon apple pie spice
TOPPING
3 pounds tart apples (such as Granny Smith), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons apple jelly
Preparation
1. Prepare Crust: Preheat oven to 375°. Stir together gingersnap cookie crumbs and next 3 ingredients in a medium bowl until moist. Press crumb mixture on bottom and up sides of a lightly greased (with cooking spray) 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom.
2. Prepare Filling: Beat cream cheese and next 3 ingredients at medium-low speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture into prepared crust, spreading with an offset spatula. Place tart pan on a baking sheet.
3. Bake at 375° for 20 to 25 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool completely on a wire rack (about 40 minutes). Chill 8 to 12 hours.
4. Prepare Topping: Stir together apples and 1/3 cup light brown sugar in a large bowl. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add apple mixture to skillet, and cook, stirring often, 16 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove skillet from heat, and cool apples completely (about 30 minutes).
5. Arrange apples on top of chilled cheesecake in a decorative fashion. (To achieve a rosette look, start by arranging apples in an overlapping circular pattern about 1 inch from the edge of the crust. Make a second small circular pattern inside the first. Thinly slice some of the cooked apples, curl them, and place in the center of the tart.)
6. Microwave jelly and 1 tsp. water in a small microwave-safe bowl at HIGH 20 to 30 seconds or until melted and smooth. Brush apples with half of jelly mixture.
7. Preheat broiler with oven rack 5 to 6 inches from heat. Broil tart 2 to 3 minutes or just until apples begin to brown. Remove from oven, and brush apples with remaining jelly mixture. Chill 1 hour before serving.
Note: Tart will hold in refrigerator overnight, but the crust will soften the longer it sits in the refrigerator.
Apple Flatbread
INGREDIENTS
1 (11-oz.) can refrigerated thin-crust pizza dough
Vegetable cooking spray
2 crisp, sweet apples (such as Gala, Fuji, or Braeburn)
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, divided
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon firmly packed lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1 teaspoon honey
Garnish: thinly sliced fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 425°. Press pizza dough into a 14- x 9-inch rectangle in a lightly greased (with cooking spray) jelly-roll pan.
2. Bake at 425° on lower oven rack 20 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp. Meanwhile, thinly slice apples; toss with 1/2 tsp. lemon juice.
3. Stir together ricotta cheese, lemon zest, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and remaining 1 tsp. lemon juice. Spread ricotta mixture over baked crust.
4. Arrange apples over ricotta mixture, and sprinkle with onion slices and almonds. Drizzle with honey. Cut into squares, and serve immediately.
Chicken-Apple Sausage Flatbread: Prepare recipe through Step 2, omitting ricotta, zest, onion, almonds, and honey. Cook 1 (12-oz.) package smoked chicken-and-apple sausage links in a skillet over medium-high heat 6 minutes or until browned; slice. Stir salt and pepper into 1/2 cup whipped cream cheese spread; spread over baked crust. Top with apples and sausage. Sprinkle with chopped fresh chives and basil.
Apple Sandwiches
INGREDIENTS
2 Gala apples
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 (4.4-oz.) container blue cheese crumbles
1 tablespoon honey
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 (16-oz.) package thin bread slices*
1 (5-oz.) package arugula, thoroughly washed
2 tablespoons butter
Preparation
Thinly slice apples. Heat chopped walnuts in a small nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring often, 3 to 5 minutes or until toasted and fragrant. Combine cream cheese, blue cheese crumbles, honey, and toasted walnuts until blended. Add freshly ground pepper to taste. Spread 1 side of each of 28 thin bread slices with 1 Tbsp. cream cheese mixture. Divide 1/2 of the arugula among 14 bread slices. Top with apple slices and remaining 14 bread slices, cream cheese mixture sides down. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter on a griddle over medium heat. Cook 7 sandwiches 3 to 4 minutes on each side until golden and cheese is melted. Repeat procedure with 1 Tbsp. butter and remaining sandwiches.
Tip: If you don't have a griddle, omit butter, and cook sandwiches, in batches, in a lightly greased large nonstick skillet 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until golden and cheese is melted.
Apple and Goat Cheese Pizza
INGREDIENTS
1 (11-oz.) can refrigerated thin pizza crust dough
1 Granny Smith apple, thinly sliced
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/3 cup fig preserves
4 ounces crumbled goat cheese
1 cup arugula
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 450°. Unroll dough; pat to an even thickness on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.
2. Sauté apple and onion in hot olive oil in a nonstick skillet until tender. Spread fig preserves over crust. Top with apple mixture and goat cheese. Bake at 450° for 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese is slightly melted. Top with arugula and pecans.
If there is another fruit you want to see recipes on, just leave your thoughts in the comments, the most popular decision will be picked for the next one.
