Cinnamon Apple Scones

Simple yet full of spices; Cinnamon Apple Scones are sure to be a pleasant addition to you Autumn afternoon tea time.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 6 tablespoons cold butter
• 1 cup diced apples
• Optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup half and half
• 2 eggs

Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices in food processor. Turn on machine and mix.

 

When finished, add cubed cold butter into mixer, then blend until butter turns into little balls.

 

 

Pour mixture into bowl, add apples and optional walnuts.

 

 

In a separate bowl, mix eggs and 1/2 and 1/2. Pour into the flour and butter mixture. Stir until completely combined.

 

 

Place a piece of parchment paper on cookie sheet. Lay out dough and press into a circle about a half an inch thick.

 







 Using a butcher knife or pizza cutter, cut eight triangles. Separate and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until top slightly browns.

 

 

Pull out of oven and let cool when fully baked.

 

To increase the sweetness, add frosting. Combine powder sugar, a little bit of water, and a bit of cinnamon to taste and stir. Once you achieve your desired consistency, drizzle frosting onto scone. The perfect sweet addition!

 





Nancy Jane

K.E.G.'s Love for Scones

There are only three things K.E.G. loves more than scones; Jesus, family, and pugs (specifically Poe).

With a nice cup of coffee, or tea, she exudes joy when the tasty pastry has found its way to a plate next to her.

But really, who can resist the temptation of the scone? It’s a sweet siren that beckons back to proper days of old. One can feel simply elegant in pajamas while eating the sophisticated pastry.

K.E.G. and I decided that today would be a lovely scone day, and per usual of this time of the year, we are still dealing with the ongoing quest of using up all the apples from the little orchard. So we started to bake!

 

Scooping out the ingredients.

Mixin'...

 

...and cuttin'.

 

The end result. She sure does know how to make a pretty (and delicious) scone!

Nancy Jane

Apple, Butternut Squash, & Chicken Crock-Pot Curry

Autumn is around the corner, and we are enjoying harvesting our Autumnish produce! With apples and butternut squashes profusely growing, we are still trying to find ways to use them! Curry seemed like a good idea, and boy was I right!

Indian food is one of my fiancé's and my favorite cuisine. There is a hole in the wall restaurant we frequently dine at, however, due to less then flattering events happening at the place, our attendance has lessened. In order to quench our Indian food cravings, I've been searching for a replacement.

This recipe is on the sweeter side, no spiciness; which is perfect for me. And did I mention how easy the recipe is? It's so simple!

Ingredients:
(This feeds two people, just double recipe for a family of four)

• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 can (13.5 oz) unsweetened coconut milk
• 2 chicken breasts, diced into chunks
• 1 cup diced apples
• 2 cups diced butternut squash
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3/4 cup chopped onions
• 2 tablespoon sweet yellow curry
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala, optional
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1-2 tablespoons whole wheat flour.

Except for flour, combine the ingredients into crock-pot.

 

 

Set lid on top and cook on high for 6-8 hours. After the 6 hours is up, the curry may be too liquidy. Simply add flour to the curry and it will thicken.

Serve with jasmine brown rice or quinoa. Then enjoy while watching the leaves turn into a rainbow of colors.



 

Nancy Jane

Candied Ginger Apple Cake

It's about this time of the year I get the hankering to bake this cake. Our apples are being plucked from the branches, and the recipe is the perfect use for them.

Candied Ginger Apple Cake is such a treat I typically make it once or twice a year. Gotta keep it special! My taste buds can't get enough of it, and it's a great transitional recipe from Summer to Autumn.

This year K.E.G. helped me bake, it's always a lot more fun to bake with a buddy!!

The apples you use is up to the baker. I used Pear Apple and other varieties from the fruit orchard because of the overflowing abundance we have been blessed with this Summer.

The recipe only needs one bowl, so clean up is a breeze! Which is good news to this particular baker.

Recipe:

• 2 ¼ cup all purpose flour

• 2 cups brown sugar

• 2 teaspoons baking soda

• ¾ teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon cloves

• 8 tablespoons soft butter

• 4 tablespoons candied ginger

• 4 cups diced peeled apples

• 2/3 cup chopped walnuts

• 2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and spices. Cut in butter, then ginger, apples, nuts, and eggs. Mix until blended. It will be a very thick batter.

Pour into well greased pan or into cupcake papers. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until finished. If the top bakes faster than the rest, simply add a piece of foil on top of pan.

Finished Product

A simple frosting pairs well with the cake since it is so sweet alone. Or a delicate caramel sauce would be delectable.

 

 

Here is the cake I made two years ago with caramel frosting. So delicious, with hints of Autumn and Summer. Oh man, I wish I had a slice in front of me now! Hope you enjoy the cake!

 



 

Nancy Jane

Easy, But Not So Quick, Dehydrated Apples

This household is overwhelmed with a bounty of apples. The season began last week for us with the sweet and juicy Pear Apple. We hate wasting fruit, though the rotted ones tend to go to the chickens. However, we really want to enjoy them ourselves, the chickens can't have all the good stuff!

To keep the season going all through winter, and to keep my fruit cravings in check, I have been dehydrating apples all week like a mad woman! 

Here are the easy steps to drying apples. You will need a dehydrator, knife, apple corer, citric acid, bowl of water, and apples! There are no specific amount of apples in these instructions. I have been drying the ones I knew we were not going to eat. You can easily purchase a bushel and dry them all before they go bad.

Citric Acid is important to this technique. It simply preserves the apple slices and prevents them from browning after they are exposed to the air. You can purchase this at a local grocery store in the canning section. 

First, take the skin off apples, then remove core with the apple corer. Just push it down the middle of apple and pull it out! Then thinly slice the apple. 

Place the apple slices in a bowl filled with water and citric acid. Measure as the container suggests.

After you complete slicing all the apples, place a towel down on counter. Put a dehydrator tray down on top of it and place slices on it. Be careful not to stack on top of each other, they can touch though.

Now you have the option to leave them plain, or add cinnamon and sugar on top! Important! Lightly add the cinnamon and sugar mix. I made the mistake of smuthering the apples in the mixture and it turned into a terrible sticky mess!  

Once the apples are loaded, turn on the dehydrator and let sit for 6-8 hours, or until apples are completely dry. You want to make sure they are finished or the apples will mold. 

If you are concerned about warming up the house, place the dehydrator outside until the 8 hours are complete.

Once finished, stick in a ziplock bag or mason jar and store for the winter!

They make delicious snacks, and you can use the cinnamon sugar apples for baking!

Nancy Jane