Chopped Apple Cookies
When someone surprises you with a bushel of Granny Smith apples (that’s about 40 pounds of pure temptation by the way) you suddenly feel like Autumn has landed right in your kitchen. There’s something about their crisp tartness, glossy green color, and firm texture that begs to be transformed into a bubbling baked pie, a fresh just the right sweetness applesauce or to be sauteed gently in butter served over perfectly cooked pork chops. But today, I’m giving my home that cozy Fall feel by having baked these fragrant soft chewy cookies. You won’t be disappointed if you give this recipe a try.
Every now and then I try a new recipe just to shake things up even though I already have a few favorites. I recently made a buttermilk chocolate cake from another blog. (Here I am about to taste test.) It looked promising and had that classic feel but when I took a bite something was missing. It wasn’t bad, texture was nice, but the flavor was surprising flat. I realized it came down to salt. The recipe used only 1/4 teaspoon to balance over 4 cups of dry ingredients and 2 cups of liquid. It reminded me of how important salt is in a chocolate cake where it enhances depth and balance. So, today I’m revisiting some of my own buttermilk chocolate cake recipes that I believe do it right.
Spring is here! Time to clear out the freezer and ready for the overflow of garden vegetables. Pumpkin puree has just about reached it’s frozen limit. Today I’m using the last of this fall fruit and a few overripe bananas to make this amazing bread. This quick bread has a different texture than most quick breads. Never dry and a bit ‘springy!’ Ha! Kristyn has put together the best ingredients with a little less sugar than most quick breads for this recipe. Check out her cute blog Lil’ Luna. Thank you Kristyn.
Incredibly inviting! This recipe was followed meticulously for the most beautiful product. It did have a few little *drawbacks which were more about individual taste preferences. This is an America’s Test Kitchen recipe put together by my oldest. If you know anything about America’s Test Kitchen you are aware some recipes are not shared without joining. However, this recipe is shared in a Youtube presentation. Just plug in Pennsylvania Dutch Apple Pie & add America’s Test Kitchen.
This is a 9 inch double layer cake recipe made into 24 standard size cupcakes instead. The recipe ingredients are only slightly different from the 
This is what happens when you don’t follow a recipe. It’s delicious but nothing like the 
Sometimes you just want a fully loaded quick bread. If you love the cake you’re gonna love this! A mere 15 minutes to the oven. Yep, it does take an hour to bake but your kitchen will smell amazing while it bakes. I opt for light olive oil just because of the health benefits. There is reportedly more health benefits to extra virgin. I have used extra virgin without significant taste difference. But if you are baking this for a foodie with a very discriminating palate opt for the light.
