Kitsnacks

  • om nom nom straight from the spoon
    Cooking,  Kitsnacks,  Recipes

    making honey apple butter

    “So what is apple butter anyway,” you ask suspiciously, because frankly that sounds pretty weird.

    It’s not actually all that weird. It’s really a kind of apple jam. It’s a baked reduction and you can flavour it in a bunch of different ways and I’m getting better at it and it’s getting better as I do. I believe it’s called ‘butter’ because it’s lovely and smooth with maybe just a hint of apple graininess in the texture, not because there’s any actual butter involved. It preserves FOREVER–the stuff stays good, and stays good some more, and stays good after that–and although it’s *time* consuming, it’s also very easy to make. Most of the time is spent prepping the apples to cook down; everything else is really just putting it in the oven and remembering to stir it a few times while it does its thing.

    We finally broke out the nifty apple corer/slicer/peeler that Ted’s mom sent us and we put it to work on a bag of freshly collected apples. It worked BRILLIANTLY, reducing the time it takes to prepare enough apples for apple butter from over an hour down to about half an hour, and that included figuring out the ideal settings for it. If you have more than a few dozen apples to deal with, Iiiii would get one of these, ’cause wow.

    The process for all apple butters is as follows; basically the only difference is how you decide to flavour it when you reach the “put sweetener in” stage.

    the apple cutter in motion!
    the apple cutter in motion!
    sproingy apple!
    sproingy apple!

    Whrr! All done super fast. That was awesome. Into the pot!

    then just slice once & put into the pot...
    then just slice once & put into the pot…

    I didn’t take any picture of pureeing the cooked down apples, but basically: put 1.5 cups of apple juice in with the apples, turn the heat on, stir a couple times as it boils to mush, then puree. I used my food mill this time, which is…honestly, about equal in pain-in-the-assery as putting hot apple glop into a blender. And then you’ve got applesauce to pour into a deepish flatish enamal cooking dish.

    applesauce, pureed and tart as hell!
    applesauce, pureed and tart as hell!

    Put in a slow oven (around 325F) and cook for about an hour, stirring once or twice, until reduced by half:

    the 'waterline' there on the far side is proof in the pudding (er, applesauce) that it's cooked down by halfish.
    the ‘waterline’ there on the far side is proof in the pudding (er, applesauce) that it’s cooked down by halfish.

    Add honey, white sugar, and a teaspoon of salt. I used about a cup of honey this time, because that’s what I had available, and about 3 cups of sugar. (Our apples are VERY sour. YMMV; taste after putting the honey in & see what you think.) Adding the sugar & honey will refill the pot to about the previous full mark.

    reliquifided with added honey & sugar!
    reliquifided with added honey & sugar!

    Return to the oven, stirring every 20 minutes or so, until reduced by half again, probably around 90 minutes.

    such red! very color!
    such red! very color!

    It turns an amazing shade as the sugar caramelizes. My favourite thing about making apple butter is the different colors they all turn, depending on what you’ve put in it. The honey is super red and lovely.

    If you wish, stir in a teaspoon of cinnamon after you remove it from the oven.

    Jar as you would anything else.

    a bit of leftover honey apple butter that wouldn't fit in a jar :)
    a bit of leftover honey apple butter that wouldn’t fit in a jar :)

    Eat leftovers straight from the spoon.

    om nom nom straight from the spoon
    om nom nom straight from the spoon

    Miz Kit’s Honey Apple Butter
    4lbs prepared (peeled, cored, sliced) tart apples
    1.5 c apple juice/sweet cider
    8 oz honey
    3 c white sugar
    1 tsp salt
    1 tsp cinnamon (optional)

    Put apples and apple juice into a large pot, cover, and boil until the apples are soft (about 30 minutes), stirring occasionally. Puree the mix in a blender/food processor/whatever until smooth. Turn into a deep, flat enamal-lined pan & put into a pre-heated oven at 325°F (150°C, 130°C fan assisted) and roast, stirring very occasionally, for an hour or until the puree has reduced by half.

    Remove from oven. Stir in honey, sugar and salt. Return to oven for 1.5 to 2 hours, stirring slightly more frequently. Add cinnamon when it comes out of the oven. Jar as you normally would, or refrigerate and be prepared to eat a great deal of apple butter over the coming weeks. Makes around 48oz/6 8oz jars.

  • Baking,  Food,  Kitsnacks,  Recipes

    Kitsnacks: Cocoa Brownies

    This is our family’s go-to brownie recipe:

    Cocoa Brownies
    3/4 c sugar
    3/4 c flour
    1/3 c cocoa powder
    1/2 tsp salt
    1/2 cup butter, room temp or softer
    2 eggs
    1 tsp vanilla

    Whisk the dry ingredients together. Add butter, eggs and vanilla and mix. Scrape into a 9×9″ buttered pan. Bake at 350°F for 15-18 minutes, until barely done (a fork inserted in the centre should come out slightly gooey but not *wet*). Allow to cool. Frost as desired. (I usually use chocolate buttercream frosting.) Eat! Makes 16 brownies.

    (This recipe scales well and can be used to make up to a quadruple batch successfully. I’ve never tried anything larger. We often make double batches, though. :))

  • Baking,  Kitsnacks,  Recipes

    Kitsnacks: Pumpkin Muffins

    I made a batch of absolutely gorgeous pumpkin muffins this morning. Light, fluffy, tender, just the right amount of sweetness.

    The dog ate half of them.

    #ragemachinemurderbot

    Baloo’s Favourite Pumpkin Muffins:
    1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
    4 eggs
    1 cup melted butter
    2/3 cup water
    2 cups white sugar
    3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    2 teaspoons baking soda
    1 1/2 teaspoons salt
    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
    1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

    Whisk wet ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk dry ingredients together in another bowl. Whisk dry ingredients into wet ingredients until barely mixed. Scoop into buttered, floured muffin tins with a large spoon, not quite filling the tins to the rim. Sprinkle some cinnamon and sugar on top if you think of it. Bake at 375°F/180°C for 18-22 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

    Makes about 30 muffins. Would also make a very nice loaf, I expect, but I didn’t do that.

    pumpkinmuffins

  • Kitsnacks

    Kitsnacks: Apple Butter

    (whoa i thought i’d posted this months ago but it’s been sitting half finished in my queue! i discovered this because i finally opened the caramel apple butter last night and OH MY GOD it’s good! and somebody asked for the recipe so i went off to find it and woe! it hadn’t been posted!)

    My sister made a bunch of apple butter the other day (with apples I gave her) and although I don’t really *like* apple butter (or don’t remember liking it; I haven’t had it since I was about eight) I’m now apparently bent on making some myself. I mentioned this last night to a friend, who said she’d had toffee apple butter and it had been wonderful, so then I got the idea to make several kinds of apple butter, and have found recipes for caramel, honey, maple and spiced apple butters.

    I’ve started the spiced recipe in the slow cooker, as it’s, y’know, a slow cooker recipe O.O and we’ll see how that goes. It’s an experiment. And I might do the caramel one today too, because it claims it doesn’t actually take very long, although…I’m not even convinced it’s apple butter if it doesn’t take long. :) Still, I mean, what can it hurt, it’s not like I don’t have bushels and bushels of apples to do something with… :)

    Anyway, this post will no doubt not actually get posted until I have results, so…read on for results! o.O :)

    (the next day)
    Ooh, I’ve experimented my way into a really nice batch of maple syrup apple butter. The recipe is as follows:

    Kit’s Maple Apple Butter
    4lbs prepared (peeled, cored, sliced) tart apples
    1.5 c apple juice/sweet cider
    1 cinnamon stick (optional)
    8 oz maple syrup
    1.5 tbsp maple extract
    3 c white sugar
    1 tsp salt

    Put apples, cider and cinnamon into a large pot, cover, and boil until the apples are soft (about 30 minutes), stirring occasionally. Remove cinnamon stick and puree the mix in a blender/food processor/whatever until smooth. Turn into a deep, flat enamal-lined pan & put into a pre-heated oven at 325°F (150°C, 130°C fan assisted) and roast, stirring very occasionally, for 1-2 hours, until the puree has reduced by half.

    Remove from oven. Stir in syrup, maple extract, sugar and salt. Return to oven for 1.5 to 2 hours, stirring slightly more frequently. Jar as you normally would, or refrigerate and be prepared to eat a great deal of apple butter over the coming weeks. Makes around 48oz/6 8oz jars.

    Apple butters: honey, maple, spice & caramel. I love how they’re such different colors!
    apple_butters

    for Honey Apple Butter: the above process, sans maple extract & substituting about 2 cups of honey for the maple syrup

    for Caramel Apple Butter: the above process, sans maple flavourings, along with this caramel recipe

    for Warm Spice Apple Butter:
    4lbs prepared (peeled, cored, sliced) tart apples
    8 c apple juice/sweet cider
    3 cinnamon sticks/2 tsp cinnamon
    1 tsp anise seeds (if you like that sort of thing)
    1/2 tsp grated/ground/powdered cloves
    1/2 tsp nutmeg
    4 c white sugar
    1 tsp salt

    Process as above. I might feel this one needs some work but I haven’t, uh, worked on it yet. I’ll repost next year if necessary. :)

  • Baking,  Kitsnacks,  Recipes

    Kitsnacks: Apple Pecan Cookies

    About 45 minutes ago I said I thought I was going to go invent some apple pecan cookies, and did. It’s possible I should invent baking recipes more often. This is my third or so original recipe and so far I’m three for three…

    applepecancookies

    Kit’s Apple Pecan Cookies
    1/2 c soft butter
    1/2 c brown sugar
    1 egg
    1 tsp vanilla
    1/4 tsp salt
    1/2 tsp baking soda
    1 tsp cinnamon
    1 1/3 c flour
    1 c chopped toasted pecans
    1 c peeled, diced apple

    Cream butter and sugar; add egg & vanilla. Add dry ingredients. Stir in pecans & apples. Bake 12 minutes at 350° F. Makes approximately 24 cookies.

    Eat. Try to leave some for the other people in the house.

    Baker’s Notes:
    I used 1.5c flour and am out of vanilla; the cookies I’ve made are sliiiiiightly more crumbly than I would like, so I think the addition of the vanilla and the slight reduction of flour are probably key to making them ideal.

    These aren’t super sweet cookies, which is what I was going for, but I immediately considered the possibility they needed a powdered sugar glaze/drizzle. Alternately, I might add a quarter cup of white sugar next time, to see if I can get a slightly chewier rather than cakier texture. But they’re pretty darn good. :)

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