Monday, November 19, 2012

"Fried" Apples - A Great Fall Recipe

I posted earlier about canning apples, and it might seem that I'm an apple fanatic, given I posted that and a photo of my apples yesterday in my camera comparison, but I promise.....I'm not some sort of apple freak.  I like that apples are healthy, inexpensive in the fall, and the things you can do with them are seemingly endless.

I make unsweetened applesauce and can it to use in recipes in place of vegetable oil.  You can't really substitute applesauce for oil on a flat one-for-one basis...you have to balance the fat and liquid content too.  Here's a good resource that I found for getting that balance right.  I also like to make apple butter for my family and for gifts, cinnamon applesauce, apple bread and muffins, and various forms of an apple side dish for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  While my first attempt at canning apples (link above) was pretty good, I really think I need to add more sugar to the syrup mixture and compress the apples in the jar more so I don't get quite as much syrup in each jar.

One of my family's all time favorite side dishes is what I call fried apples.  I don't really have a "recipe" per se, I just kind of wing it.


For about 2 cups cooked (which would feed at least 6-8), do the following:

  • Peel, core and slice 12 apples - I use golden delicious - and place in a plastic bag or large bowl.
  • Sprinkle with sugar - I would guess I use a couple tablespoons, but depends on the sweetness I'm looking for and how many apples I am using.
  • Sprinkle with cinnamon - again, to your taste, but I would guess I use 1-1.5 tsp.
  • Sprinkle with ground nutmeg and ground cloves - I just give a couple of good shakes.
  • Mix well so all the apples are coated.
  • Add to a large saute pan (can melt a couple pats of butter if you want a richer texture) and cook for a few minutes on med-high, mixing constantly.
  • After a couple minutes, I like to turn my stove off and cover the pan and let set for a few more minutes to soften up further and make a nice syrup with the condensation.
As you can see, this recipe is so versatile and customizable to your own preferences.  You can cook less to have crisper apples or more to have soft ones.

With my Victorio apple peeler and my Pampered Chef apple corer/wedger, I can make this side dish up in just a few minutes!


18 comments:

Spots8105 said...

I only just discovered this little trick of using applesauce, but I did not know that you couldn't substitute it entirly for the oil. I clicked on the link for the proper amounts to use in my recipes. I have about 12 coupons for applesauce that expire the end of the year, and knew that we couldn't possibly eat that much, so now I can go ahead and use my coupons, and enjoy future healthier dishes at the same time. Thanks for the information.

Pam said...

This looks and sounds delicious. Also seems very easy. I love apples and I will have to give this a try.

TheAtticGirl said...

These look so yummy! Thanks for sharing the recipe.

Unknown said...

Girl, I love some fried apples....I am from KY!!

Annabelle Lea said...

Never thought to do this! I have plenty of apples kicking around, now I know what to do with them :)

Jaime Nicole said...

Oh yummy! I did not know you could substitute applesauce for oil! Yay for less calories!

Unknown said...

these look like cracker barrel apples- omg yummy!!

Sofia said...

I've seen a lot of recipes that have apple sauce in them, but I have yet to try one though. And those apples look good, not my favorite way to eat fruit, but my boys would love to try them!

Sofia
From PDX with Love

Heidi Meek said...

Oh my goodness how have I not yet made something like this before! They sound delicious!

Irish Italian Blessings said...

These look SOOOOOO good!

Unknown said...

Oh goodness, that looks Delicious! And so simple too! Definitely a great after school snack for the kids.

Marie, shiny pearl said...

I love apples and cinnamon, on oatmeals especially but I and the kids now have allergies with apples it's so unfortunate! :( Looks so good too! :/

Literary Winner said...

Those look so delicious! And, since they're real fruit, they're much less guilt-inducing than other desserts.

Anonymous said...

Goodness I havent had those in YEARS - Yum may be worth the extra pound to eat a few ....or a few hundred :)

Krystle said...

Oh yum we always get these frozen, but these look way better!

Jerla Oh lalala said...

fried apples? hhmmm sounds interesting. i've never tried that yet.

http://www.beautyisintheeyeoftheb.com/?p=3793

Rachel @ The Philosophers Wife said...

Looks delicious!

Unknown said...

Nice to see this recipe. Fried apples and spoon bread were the first two recipes my grandma taught my chef brother!
Elle
hey_wren@yahoo.com