We’ve just entered prime apple picking season, and you know what that means — comforting fall dishes that are destined to become the apples of your eye.
Apples have immense popularity for a reason: There are 7,500 varieties of apples grown throughout the world, with U.S. apple orchards producing 2,500 of these varieties each year, according to University of Illinois Extension.
Kreps Apple Barn & Cider Mill in La Salle, Mich., features 25 varieties. Some of its more popular varieties include Honeycrisp, Evercrisp (a cross between Honeycrisp and Fuji), Gala, Macintosh, Jonathan, Jonagold, Golden Delicious, and Empire apples, said Jimmy McMonagle, co-owner of Kreps Apple Barn.
“Different apples are good for different things,” Mr. McMonagle said. “My mom and grandma swore by the Empire apple for making pies.”
Johnston Fruit Farms in Swanton grows more than 70 apple varieties.
“We have an apple here for every recipe,” Martha Mora, co-owner of Johnston Fruit Farms, noted.
“We grow the oldest antiques to the newest guys as well,” she added.
Apples start to come in season toward the end of July for the summer apples, with different apple varieties being picked through the start of November.
Johnson Fruit Farms’ website features a list of various apples with ripening dates and uses: johnstonfruitfarms.com/pages/apple-ripening-dates-and-uses.
Apples in season now are Honeycrisp, Rubinette, Mother, Bramley’s Seedling, Jonathan, Ambrosia, Snow Sweet, Cortland, Pixi Crunch, Calville Blanc, Grimes Golden, and Macoun.
A few of Mrs. Mora’s favorite apples for mid-to-late September include the Macoun apple, which is described as being a balanced apple that is sweet with a strong berry taste and aroma; it makes for a good eating and baking apple. She also enjoys Jonagolds this time of year, which are lovely in pies and sweet desserts, and are known for their large size and honey-like flavor.
Growing apples involves a lot of time and patience, taking years for apple trees to bear fruit when growing an apple tree from seed. But with this effort comes a sweet, yet sometimes tart, reward.
“This year has been a great year for an apple,” Mr. McMonagle observed. “We’ve had perfect pollination weather this year.”
In my neck of the woods (or should I say orchard), I am going to stick with cooking with apples instead of growing them (I’m not a very patient person).
The recipes this week include apples in many different forms: some pureed, some made into a jammy sauce, and others baked.
The first recipe is a butternut squash soup with apple that blends together aromas of fall to make for a warm, autumn bite. Apples are married with squash, leek, carrot, garlic, and other undeniably satisfying ingredients.
Pork and apples is a tale as old as time as far as recipes date back; this dish combines pork chops alongside an apple and onion jammy glaze of sorts. The mixture of apples, onion, aromatics, and garlic is heavenly on its own, but deglazing with apple cider makes it that much sweeter. You can serve this on top of mashed potatoes, rice, or bread, but it is also perfectly good on its own.
I, of course, had to finish with a classic apple pie. There’s really no other way to dive into fall than face-first into a warm, oozing apple pie filled with cinnamon and sugar on top of a flaky crust, covered with sweet hard sauce.
Mr. McMonagle shared a family recipe for a classic apple cobbler that combines Honeycrisp apples with cinnamon, sugar, and ice cream on top if you desire ... and who wouldn’t?
These recipes reflect a time of year that revolves around nostalgic and crisp fall nights, apple and pumpkin picking, changing leaves, and tasty, seasonal dishes that scream (arguably) the best time of the year, autumn.
Recipes:
Butternut Squash Soup with Apple
A pot of warm fall flavor notes, combining apple, squash, and aromatics for a satisfying bite.
2 tablespoons butter
2 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of ginger, minced
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
2 cups cubed butternut squash
1 cup diced carrots
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 quart chicken stock
¼ cup dry white wine (Optional)
½ cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons chopped chives
Directions
Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in leeks and onion; cook and stir until onion softens and turns translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ginger, potato, squash, carrots, and apples. Deglaze with wine and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes.
Carefully purée soup in batches in a blender, or use a stick blender to purée soup in the pot. Once soup is puréed, return it to the pot and stir in wine and cream. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper; simmer gently for 5 minutes. Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped chives.
Source: Cynjne, All Recipes, and Laura Frank, adapted by Maddie Coppel
Pork Chops with Apple and Onion
This dish combines pork chops alongside an apple and onion jammy glaze. The mixture of apples, onion, aromatics, and garlic is heavenly on its own, but deglazing with apple cider makes it that much sweeter. You can serve this on top of mashed potatoes, rice, or bread, but it is also perfectly good on its own.
4 boneless pork chops
1 tsp. smoked paprika
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 apple, cored and thinly sliced
1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 c. apple cider
Directions
Season pork chops all over with paprika, salt, and pepper.
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add pork chops and cook, turning halfway through, until golden, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
To the same skillet, add apple, onion, and garlic and cook until apples and onion are browned and slightly softened, about 8 minutes. Add herbs, and apple cider and bring to a simmer. Return pork chops to skillet and simmer until cider is almost completely reduced and a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the chops registers 145°F, 6 to 8 more minutes.
Source: Makinze Gore
Apple Pie with Hard Sauce
A classic autumn pie that invites cinnamon, sugar, and a mix of apples to bake in a flaky, buttery crust. The pie is topped with hard sauce, which is a sweet dessert sauce, almost like icing.
Crust
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup salted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
⅔ cup cold water
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Handful of ice cubes
Directions:
In a food processor combine flour, sugar, and salt and pulse several times.
Add butter cubes and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
In a liquid measuring cup combine water, vinegar, and enough ice cubes to reach 1 cup.
Add liquid to the flour mixture (strain the ice so that it stays in the measuring cup) 2 tablespoons at a time, pulsing after each addition, until mixture resembles streusel. (It will not come together like a dough, it will be somewhat dry but should stick together when you smoosh some of it between your fingers.)
Shape dough into a ball with your hands. Divide in half and then half again. You should have 4 pieces. Place one piece over the other and press down to ensure proper lamination (this is how you’ll get a really flaky crust). Do this a couple times. Do the same with the other two pieces. Then you’ll have two halves for the top and bottom crust.
Place each half on a large piece of plastic wrap. Pat into a 1/2-inch thick disc and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Unwrap one pie crusts and roll into a 12-inch circle.
Gently press the crust into the bottom of your pie dish. Fill as desired and cover with a second crust.
Source: Tiffany from Creme De La Crumb, adapted by Maddie Coppel
Filling
Ingredients:
6-8 apples (recommended to use a mix of Golden Delicious, Melrose, Jonagold, and Cortland)
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg (for egg wash on top of pie)
Pinch of salt
Sprinkle of demerara sugar (optional)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375℉.
Peel and slice apples and place in a large mixing bowl. Top with sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well.
Lay your prepared pie crust in your pie dish (9-inch dish would work well here) and gently press the crust into the dish. Some crust will be hanging over, but you can just cut it off with kitchen scissors.
Add your apple filling to the pie dish.
Top the mixture with the other pie crust and fold in the edges and crimp with a fork. Brush with egg wash (whisk egg in a small bowl to brush the top of pie with). Sprinkle the crust with demerara sugar if desired.
Bake in a preheated oven for about 60 minutes or until the apples are tender and the crust is golden brown.
Take out of the oven and serve warm, or room temperature, with hard sauce (recipe below).
Source: Kim Hirsch, adapted by Maddie Coppel
Hard Sauce
Ingredients:
½ cup softened butter
2 cups confectioners (powdered) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Place ingredients in a stand mixer (you can use a hand mixer for this as well) and whip all ingredients together.
Serve on top of pie and enjoy!
Tip: this sauce freezes well and goes well with tons of other desserts, like fruit crisps.
Source: Kim Hirsch
Kreps Apple Barn & Cider Mill Apple Cobbler
This dessert is as classic at it comes — ripe apples baked alongside its two best friends: cinnamon and sugar. It’s best served warm!
Ingredients:
7-8 Kreps Apple Barn Honeycrisp apples, peeled, cored, sliced 1/4-inch
¾ cup sugar
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
⅔ cup butter, melted
Calder Dairy Farm vanilla ice cream to top, if desired
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F.
2. Place sliced apples in ungreased 13x9 inch baking dish
3. Combine ½ cup sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon in a bowl; sprinkle over apples.
4. Combine remaining cinnamon, flour, sugar, eggs, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; mix until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over the apples. Pour melted butter over topping. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until lightly browned and the apples tender.
5. Serve warm with ice cream if desired
Source: Jimmy McMonagle
First Published September 16, 2023, 5:00 p.m.
