Halloweekend Apple Treats
Gillian Armstrong, on behalf of the New Jersey Apple Industry Advisory Council
With apple season coming to a close and Halloweekend right around the corner, it’s time to hit the orchard for one final hoorah. Make sure you get out there to pick-- because all tricks aside, later season varieties like granny smith, cameo, jonathan, and others can be used to make exquisite tasting treats! Not to mention, they make great party pieces! Here are five hauntingly good, crowd-pleasing apple desserts. Who else is hyped for Halloween?
Author of recipe: Alison Randall and Home & Plate https://www.homeandplate.com/blog/halloween-mummy-apple-crypts
INGREDIENTS
1 package of puff pastry
2 cups apple, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
Equal parts cinnamon and sugar
Candy eyeballs
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Peel and dice the apples. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
2. Follow the directions on the box of puff pastry to thaw. Unfold the two sheets of puff pastry and cut each sheet into four squares. Place the squares on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Score three dividing lines per square. Next create 6-8 strips on each side of the square being careful not to cut into the middle.
3. Place a spoonful of your sugar cinnamon diced apples in the middle of the square. Next, fold the top strip and bottom strip down each side of the middle to keep the apples in place. Fold the remaining strips diagonally to create the body of the mummy. Be sure to leave enough space around the head of the mummy to fit candy eyeballs once the pastries come out of the oven.
4. Beat the egg in a small bowl and use a pastry brush to spread the eggwash over the top of the mummy. Sprinkle each mummy with equal parts cinnamon and sugar. 5. Bake according to the package directions, about 15 to 20 minutes until the mummies are golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow the pastries to cool before fitting in the candy eyeballs. Enjoy.
Recipe Inspired by: http://www.forkandbeans.com/2014/09/25/sun-butter-and-apple-jack-o-lanterns/
INGREDIENTS
1 apple, sliced from top to bottom
¼ c. Sun Butter
handful mini nondairy chocolate chips for spiders (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Using a small, sharp knife, carefully cut Jack-O-Lantern faces into the apple slices.
Coat with Sun Butter. Decorate with "spider" chocolate chips (optional).
Author: Alida Ryder https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYSok3V5F5E
INGREDIENTS
2 cups granulated sugar
¾ cups water
½ cup liquid glucose/light corn syrup
few drops black gel food colouring
6 Granny Smith apples (or 12 small apples) (Ensure your apples are fresh and haven't been waxed)
INSTRUCTIONS
Grease a piece of baking paper and place on a tray/baking sheet.
Insert bamboo skewers in all the apples and set aside.
In a medium pot, combine the sugar, water, glucose/corn syrup and food colouring and stir over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture feels smooth when you rub it between your fingers.
When the sugar has dissolved, turn the heat up and wash the sides of the pot down with a pastry brush dipped into clean water to prevent crystals from forming.
Allow the caramel to boil until it reaches the hard crack stage (150°c/310°F on a candy thermometer).
Carefully dip the apples into the hot candy mixture and place on the baking paper to set and cool for approximately an hour before serving.
Recipe: https://theseasidebaker.com/vampire-apple-pie-milkshakes/
INGREDIENTS
Apple Pie Milkshake Filling
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 cups peeled , cored, and diced JAZZ apples
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
Red Candy Coating
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
3-4 drops red food coloring
Apple Pie Milkshake
1 cup apple pie filling
2 cups vanilla ice cream
1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whipped Cream for serving.
INSTRUCTIONS
To make the apple pie filling, melt butter in a medium sized pan on medium high heat.
Add apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt and sauté while stirring until apples are cooked, about 4-5 minutes.
Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature or place in a small bowl and refrigerate until cold.
To make the Candy Coated rimmed glass, place sugar, water, corn syrup, and food coloring in a small sauce pan and stir to combine.
On medium heat, cook sugar mixture until large bubbles begin to form, about 8 minutes (depending on your stove, so please watch carefully.) Mixture should coat the back of your spoon.
Once done, remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes.
Once cooled, carefully dip the rims of your glasses into the sugar coating.
To make the Apple Pie Milkshake, combine cooled apple pie filling, ice cream, milk, and vanilla in a high powered blender and bend until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve immediately, or place in freezer until ready to serve.
Top with a generous dollop of whipped cream.
Author: Robin Gagnon https://momfoodie.com/shrunken-heads-halloween-apple-cranberry-walnut-tart-recipe/
INGREDIENTS
4-6 firm apples, medium sized
1 tbs citric acid, or 1/2 cup lemon juice
2 cups water
single pie crust for tart shell
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup of honey
1 1/2 tbs orange juice
*** optional 1/4 tsp cinnamon
INSTRUCTIONS
Cut the apples in half core and peel. Take care to make sure you have removed seeds and hard bits, but keep as much apple as you can.
Mix the citric acid or lemon juice with water in medium size bowl. Make sure it is deep enough to cover an apple half.
Carve the faces in each apple as shown, then drop in the water bath. Remove, shake off and pat dry with paper towel. This keeps the apples from browning.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Place apples on parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for approximately 3 hours. Until apples are starting to shrivel. Place the apples on baking cooling rack and bake another 2 – 3 hours, until apple heads are shriveled and soft inside, yet not hard and dry.
Remove the shrunken apple heads from oven. Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Line a tart pan with pie crust pick bottom with fork, trim edges and bake for 10 minutes. Remove, but leave oven on.
Arrange the shrunken apple heads in tart. Mix together the walnuts, cranberries, honey and orange juice (add cinnamon if you like). Fill in spaces between the apples with cranberry walnut mixture. Baste the apple heads with a little of the syrup from mixture.
Bake for 15-17 minutes. Remove and once the tart is cooled to handleable, remove the tart from pan to plate.