Fall is a wonderful time of year. With it comes the beautiful fall foliage as well as cooler temperatures. I don’t know about you, but the cool weather and holiday spirit makes me want to get into the kitchen to bake all sorts of sweets for my family and friends. With that being said, I introduce you to five of my favorite apple recipes.

1. Apple Pie– This classic is relatively easy and oh so delicious. First, I start with an Apple pie filling. I use this recipe but also add in about a ¼ of a teaspoon of vanilla to really help round out the flavor. After you have your filling, you can load it into a crust made from scratch, or simplify it even more and buy ready made crusts from the grocery store. I personally like the Pillsbury brand ready made crusts.

   

2. Apple Dumplings– This is a new recipe I tried this year and it quickly became my husband’s favorite. They are amazing and super easy to make. I used this recipe I found on Pinterest. It says to remove the apple skins, but I went ahead and left mine on out of sheer laziness at not wanting to peel the apples. I also used two apple slices in each croissant instead of just one. I’m a major apple lover and one apple slice in each just didn’t seem like enough.
3. Apple Sauce– My son is an apple sauce lover, and it is so easy to make at home and store in the freezer or fridge for later. All you have to do is peel apples, slice them and put them into a pot with some water to boil. Once the apples are soft, drain the water out and puree the apples until they are the desired texture you want. It’s that simple! Obviously, I also add a few things to amplify the taste (sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg), but those things are totally up to you.

   

4. Mulled Wine– This adult beverage uses lots of things including apple pieces. This is also a repeat recipe of mine from a past blog about fall cocktails. It is so good it deserved a spot on this list as well.
5. Crock-pot Apple Flavored Pork Loin– This has no real recipe since it’s just something I threw together in the Crock-pot a few years ago and repeatedly do throughout the fall. Place a pork loin in the Crock-pot, and pour about 3 cups of apple cider (or hard cider) over it. Also slice about 3 apples (more or less, it’s up to you), and put those pieces on top of the pork loin. Cook it all on high for 4 hours. The pork loin comes out super juicy with a strong apple infused flavor at the end of the four hours. The apple slices are delicious as well. I sometimes sprinkle a bit of cinnamon or nutmeg on top during the final hour of cooking. I also usually serve it all on a bed of white rice with a side of veggies. 

Enjoy the apple season!