apples

North Carolina Apple Festival

Summer is drawing to a close and the first signs of Fall are just beginning to appear. Labor Day is often the last hurrah before school and work resumes. So, what better way than one last summer street festival to give Summer a proper send off and welcome Fall back.

The North Carolina Apple Festival has been held for over 60 years on Labor Day weekend in Hendersonville, NC. The festival ran from Friday, September 2nd through Monday, September 5th with a culminating King Apple Parade on Monday afternoon. People from neighboring counties came to sample and celebrate the bounty of locally grown apples with music, crafts, and of course, food.

When I first arrived at the festival I was welcomed with the wafting sounds of musicians performing. As I walked closer, the music rang louder, tents appeared and I was met with the sweet smell of fried dough. Booths lined the streets, some with tables covered in food, some with baskets of apples, and some booths with hand made jewelry and decorations.

It’s no mystery that the North Carolina Apple Festival featured amazing delicacies filled with apples. Among my favorites were the flaky apple turnovers topped with icing. Upon first bite the pastry dough melts in your mouth and gives way to the warm apple filling. With the sun shining brightly in the sky, the day could not be complete with out having an Apple Cider Slushie. The refreshing, crisp taste of apple cider combined with the crushed ice made for a
definite thirst quenching delight.

Hendersonville is yet another cute, small mountain town. Throughout their downtown, quirky painted bears line sidewalks that lead to amazing restaurants and antique stores. The North Carolina Apple Festival highlights exactly what makes Hendersonville so beloved by it’s residents, amazing food, friendly people, and tradition.

Boozy Big Apple Galette

The newest season of “The Housewives of New York City” Bravo series has just come to an end and the Reunion starts tomorrow. I don’t know about you, but the New York City Housewives are by far the best batch. Between the drunken rants and the chaotic engagement, I can’t decide which is my favorite moment this season. All I know is that these women are going to have one intense reunion. In honor of those brazen women I give you a Boozy Big Apple Galette.

Boozy Big Apple Galette

Ingredients:

Dough:
1/8 tsp. Salt
1 c. Flour
1/4 c. (heaping) Coconut Oil
4 tbl. Almond Milk

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Once the dough forms a ball, place it between two sheets of parchment paper and roll it out. Set the dough aside until you are ready to make the galette.

Filling:

2 Big Apples
1/4 c. Whisky
2 tsp. Coconut Oil
2 tbl. Maple Syrup
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Cloves
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Begin by peeling and slicing the apples. In a large pan place the coconut oil, whiskey, maple syrup, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg and simmer on low heat. Add the apples slices to the pan and coat the pieces thoroughly. Once the liquid has thickened and the apples are coated remove it from the heat.

Remove the top parchment paper from the dough and place in on a baking sheet. Pour the pan’s contents on to the center of the dough, pouring any additional liquids over the apples, and fold the ends of the dough over the apples.

Bake for about 55 minutes or until the dough is a golden brown.

Apple Coffee Cake

Apple Crumb Cake

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times, coffee and coffee cake were made for one another. I imagine that their original story is stuff that rom coms are made of. After crossing each other’s paths for years, they finally became friends. “How could coffee and coffee cake just be friends?!” everyone asked. Then one fateful day, coffee realized that coffee cake was his cake mate. Of course, coffee was her soul beverage, and the rest is history. Or something like that… and like any good rom com I will gladly binge on that pair until someone drags me away.

Apples:
3 Apples
3 tbl. Brown Sugar
2 tbl. Flour
2 tbl. Butter
1 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

Crumbles:
1 1/2 c. Softened Butter
1 1/2 c. Flour
1 c. Brown Sugar

Cake:
2 c. Cake Flour
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 c. White Sugar
1 Stick Butter
2 Eggs
1 c. Buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

The best thing to do for this recipe is to first get the apples and crumbles ready and on standby. Dice and peel three apples. In a frying pan melt the butter, add apples, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Sauté till the apples become soft, then remove from the heat and set aside.

In a medium bowl place the butter for the crumbles, as well as flour and brown sugar. Mix the dry ingredients into the butter until they start forming little balls. Once the crumble mixture is finished set it aside.

Put all the dry ingredients, for the cake, into a large bowl and use a whisk to thoroughly mix the ingredients. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar, then add the eggs. Once the butter mixture is finished, stir it into the dry ingredients. When the two mixtures are blended pour a cup of buttermilk in and add vanilla.

In a lined muffin tin, begin by filling the cups a third of the way up with apples, pushing it slightly down.

Next, pour a layer of cake batter, about half of a spoonful (just so the batter covers the apples). Final step, add the crumbles to the top (be generous with the crumbles, more the merrier!).

Bake for about eighteen minutes, until the coffee cakes start to brown. Make sure to allow the cakes to cool before eating.