Apple Pie Apple Crisp (a canning recipe)

I know I keep saying it, but I just can't help myself. Fall is finally here...the leaves have even gotten the message and started turning golden. Even though it's going to be short lived (it'll be 85 next week), I'm going to live it up while I can.

And honestly, what screams fall more than crisp apples? Ummmm... how about Apple Pie Apple Crisp!?!And since you know you're going to be craving this amazing food, why not spend some time canning this liquid nectar from the gods so you can have it in January? It's really not as hard as you would think... here, I'll even show you it's easy!

Here's what you need for the Apple Pie Filling:



Apples, Sugar, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves, Salt, Cornstarch, Lemon Juice, Yellow Food Coloring

 Apple Pie Filling for Canning
(Makes up to 7 quarts of filling)

Ingredients:

* 6 lbs Apples, any variety used for baking (about 32 cups of sliced apples depending on how much you pack into a jar)
* 4 1/2 cups White Sugar
* 1 cup Cornstarch
* 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
* 1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
* 1/4 tsp Ground Cloves
* 2 tsp Salt
* 10 cups of Water (cold)
* 3 Tbl Lemon Juice
* 2 drops of Yellow Food Coloring

Along with canning supplies {Wide Mouth Jars, Lids, Rings, Water Bath, Jar Lifter}


Directions:

Start by sterilizing lids, jars and rings. To do this, place the lids and rings in a small saucepan and simmer on low while you cook the sauce. Also, now is the time to bring your water bath to a boil. Because nothing ruins the canning momentum like waiting for that massive pot to boil. To sterilize the jars, I just place them in the water bath (filled with water) and bring to a boil with the water. Pull them out just before filling with apples and sauce. Keeps the jars hot to fill with hot things. Gotta keep it germ-free.

Next you peel and slice your apples. If you happen to have a fancy peeler, corer, slicer thingy, use that. If you don't (I didn't), just peel and slice yourself. It doesn't really matter. It all tastes the same anyway. You'll need to end up with around 32 cups of sliced apples. Just get your biggest bowl and fill it up. Put aside. {and if you're worried about the apples turning colors, they are going to go brown when you cook them anyway, so don't stress}

Now onto the sauce. In a large pot, mix sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

Then add salt and water and mix well.



Be prepared to think this looks really gross... because it does. It's going to look like really watery milk. But it will get better. I promise.

Bring to a boil and cook until think and bubbly. 



Better right?! It's going to look a lot like caramel, but not quite as thick

Remove from heat and add Lemon Juice and Food Coloring. (side note: You CANNOT skip this step for canning. It's where the acid comes from that preserves the food. So please don't be like me and waste an entire batch because you forgot to put in the lemon juice. Because it will break your heart. And I don't want that to happen)



Now you're going to fill the jars. The best way I've found is to fill the jars half full of apples, ladle in enough syrup to cover them, then using a knife, release the bubbles that are trapped.

Then finish pushing in as many apples as you can into the jar without going up the neck. Fill with more sauce. Release the air bubbles by using the knife to slide around the sides of the jar. Then fill up the neck with apples and sauce, leaving 1/2 inch headroom. {hope that made sense}.

Now wipe off the rims of the jars and put on lids and rings. Place in the water bath and bring to a boil. Then process for 20 minutes. Longer if you live at a high elevation.

Once they have processed, carefully take the jars out of the water bath and place on towels to cool down. If you are like me, some of your jars may leak out sauce when they start to cool. Don't worry about it. It will still seal just fine. Just wipe it off after it's cooled down.

See? Not that hard. I'd say it takes about an hour and a half per batch if you do it alone. I had my friend Liz over and we were whipping them out in about 40 minutes per batch. Totally doable!

The canned Apple Pie Filling will last a year in a cool, dry place, but let's be honest here. It's going to be gone long before it goes bad. It's just that GOOD!

Now for the Apple Crisp:

Ingredients:

* 2/3 cup Light Brown Sugar

* 1/2 cup Flour

* 1/2 cup Quick Oats

* 1/2 tsp Cinnamon

* 1/2 tsp Nutmeg

* 1/2 cup Stick Butter, softened

* 1 Jar Apple Pie Filling

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 8x8 pan with nonstick cooking spray and fill with 1 jar of canned Apple Pie Filling.

Mix dry ingredients together, then cut in butter to form a crumbly mixture.

Spread mixture over apple pie filling and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly.

Serve hot with Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream and Carmel Sauce. You will be in heaven!

Now go find some apples to can. You'll be happy you did!

I need to thank my best friend Tammy Gibson for the recipe she doctored from allrecipes.com and Betty Crocker for the basis of the recipe I doctored for the crisp. Isn't it great that people are so willing to share?!

~Janice

Elegant & Easy White Chocolate Fruit Tarts

One of my favorite desserts is the fruit tart~ creamy custard with glazed fruit on a sweet dough... Heavenly! The only problem is they are super expensive at the bakery, not much less at the grocery store, and a pain to make at home (that is, if you can get the custard and/or glaze to set and be pretty, which I have never. ever. done. Mine don't even look edible. UGH!)
So I went on with my life, unable to make pretty pastries and unwilling to shell out some major dough for such a little indulgence until one day....

Enter in a Pampered Chef Party. I won't go into the details, but I left with a killer recipe for quick and easy, not to mention insanely yummy, fruit tarts. The recipe was meant to be for some sort of dessert cups, but I've tweaked it just a little to make fruit tarts instead. Did I mention they are no bake and only take about 20-25 minutes?

Now are you ready to whip up some tarts?

Here's what you'll need:

Small box Instant Jello Pudding- White Chocolate Flavor

1 Cup Milk

1 cup chocolate chips (I like minis because they melt better)

1 cup White Chocolate Chips

8 oz Cool Whip

2 boxes Mini Fillo Cups

Fresh Fruit (my family like blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries or pineapple)

Sliced Almonds

First, you are going to melt the chocolate chips. To do that, you take about a cup of chocolate chips and dump them into a Ziploc bag and place them in the microwave unsealed for 1 min on 50% power. After they are warm, pick up the bag and mash them around to mix up the chocolate. If they are not smooth and melted, continue melting in increments of 20 seconds on 50% power until the chocolate in the baggie is smooth.

Next, take the Fillo Cups out of the box but leaving them in the tray, making sure none are broken or have little pieces inside them. Now you are going to pipe the chocolate into the Fillo Cups. It's not as hard as it sounds. Just seal the bag, making sure there is no air in it, then snip off the tiny corner of the baggie and hold tightly. When you squeeze, the chocolate will go out the hole and into the pastry. Easy-peasy. Do all 30 tarts.

Now for the filling. In a small mixing bowl, pour in a cup of white chocolate chips. You are going to melt these the same way as the other chips, but instead of squishing them around, your are going to stir them (probably because you can't squish glass). Get them all smooth and yummy. Put aside for just a second.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 1 cup cold milk and the package of instant jello pudding for about a minute until the pudding sets. Then mix in the melted white chocolate chips and try not to eat it (because at this stage, it's really concentrated white chocolate... sooooo yummy). Once they are well mixed, you are going to add the 8 oz tub of Cool Whip. Fold in until well mixed.

Now we have to pipe the filling into the cups. This is where I like to pretend I'm a pastry chef at a 5 star restaurant, making decadent desserts for fancy people. Hey- we all have our dreams! Anyway, to pipe the filling, you need to transfer the mixture into a large Ziploc bag, pressing all of the air out and sealing closed. Snip off one corner to make a medium sized hole (I usually start small and test the size of the piping on a plate. If it's too small, cut off a little more until it seems right). Now it's time to pipe! I like the look of swirls, so I make circle around the bottom of the cup and continue in a circular direction until it forms a peak. To make the cute mountain tops, you stop squeezing, and gently push down into the mountain and pull up quickly. It will form the stiffened peak this way. If you're not comfortable doing this, just practice in a mini-muffin cup until you feel comfortable. And remember, if it doesn't look right, just scoop it up with a spoon and put it back in the piping bag and reuse!

Now that all of the tarts are filled, lets decorate! Using strawberries or pineapples, place them the back. Then place the other berries lower in the front so you can see all the prettiness there is. Doesn't it look delicious?!?

But we're not done yet. Just one more step and you'll have the most desired dessert at the party. All that's left is to toast the sliced almonds. To do this, just heat up a frying pan, dump in about 1/3 cup sliced almonds and continually stir until they start to turn a golden brown, between 2-4 minutes. Once the majority get the golden color, transfer to a small bowl and crush them.

Then sprinkle on top of the tarts and bask in their glory because you are DONE!

Now go make some!

Hope you enjoy them, because I LOVE them!

~ Janice

* Just an FYI: It took longer to type this tutorial up then it did to make the tarts, darn it!!