Apples, Apples, Apples

It feels like fall. It's cool enough to sit around the fire pit and drink wine comfortably and without being dinner for the mosquitoes.

So as fall begins...one excursion to the mountains already down. Last week we went hiking with the June bug and then off to pick Apples.

Here's a few highlights from the hiking and Apple picking:

Tree huggers

BJ Reece Apple Orchards

So the question is...what have I done with a half bushel of apples since last week?

Well, we've had lots of apples.

-We made french toast with stewed apples (cinnamon, sugar and butter all included of course!)

-Apple chips (which I've decided I don't have the patience for, or the time...but if you want to try, you can check out this blog cupcakeproject.com. I highly recommend adding the cinnamon and sugar, but be patient and don't forget to spray your pan before letting those puppies bake for several hours...it's not pretty, and don't worry about having cute little shapes. I cut mine in thin slices and let them just bake. They will taste the same and be just as pretty with the cinnamon and sugar on top)

- Apple pie/tart (which I just finished making and our whole house smells of butter and gooey apples...yummy! Recipe below.)

-But my favorite, or at least Juno's were the homemade apple treats I made for her in cute bite-sized apple shapes. (Mouth watering for your little pup, I promise. Recipe below...just incase you have some spare time on your hands. Note....I pretty much spent my whole weekend baking and cleaning up after myself; but it was a change of pace and enjoyed.)

Doggie Apple Treats (June Bug approved)

For original recipe click here to see cdkitchen.com, but I modified slightly

2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup unbleached flour (I used all purpose flour)
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 apple, chopped or grated
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used half the amount of oil)
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
3/8 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray cookie sheet with vegetable oil spray.

Lightly dust work surface with flour. Blend flours and cornmeal in large mixing bowl. Add apple, egg, oil, brown sugar and water; mix until well blended. On floured surface, roll dough out to 7/8-inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters of desired shape and size. Place treats on prepared sheet. Bake in preheated oven 35 to 40 minutes. Turn off oven. Leave door closed 1 hour to crisp treats. Remove treats from oven. Store baked treats in airtight container or plastic bag and place in refrigerator or freezer.

Apple Pie/Tart

Crust: you can either make dough yourself and use a tart pan, which is what I typically do, but today, I was cleaning out my freezer and found I still had a good and unused frozen pie crust so, that was my shortcut today.

For the apples:

5 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced.

Layer the bottom of the uncooked pie crust with all the odd shaped misfit apple pieces. Then, start arranging all of your pretty slices in concentric circles. Fill in with other odd apple pieces as you go, to even out the layers. There's no science to it, and don't worry if it's not perfect, it will still taste the same.

Sprinkle the top of your layered apples with 3 tablespoons of sugar and arrange 4 tablespoons of unsalted cubed butter around the top.

Bake at 400* for 1 hour or until golden brown. Be sure to check your pie crust or cover the edges with foil, so the edges don't burn.

Let cool and enjoy....ice cream or no ice cream.

However, you decide to eat or prepare them....just remember that an apple a day keeps the doctor away.