Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars {Baking with Sisters, Part 6}

When planning our "baking together" menu, the girls and I knew we needed one special treat that would be over the top. As we scrolled through the yummies on our Pinterest boards, the one recipe that kept calling "pick me!" (okay to be honest there were about 20 calling that, but we only had so much time you know!) was the one for Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars.

Do you see why? With such a promising name, along with a scrumptious, caramel-drizzled photo from The Girl Who Ate Everything, how could we resist?

We decided not to.

It may sound like a fall dessert, but you can typically get Granny Smith apples and Hershey's caramel sauce anytime of year in America.

And Starbucks Iced Coffee, apparently...

We've provided chilly weather, dismal outdoor scenes, a cozy indoor environment and four (no make that five with Hubby...or maybe he counts as two...) healthy appetites...who really needs leaves floating down from trees?

Anyway, we decided it sounded perfect, fall or no.

The recipe was perfectly divided into four parts for us- Crust, Cheesecake Filling, Apples, and Streusel Topping. Oh and for the record, my computer is trying to tell me that streusel is not a word. How about substituting "stressful"? Thanks for the help, but no. No Stressful Topping for me, thank you. The thought of the calories is stressful enough. A little more stress sprinkled on top? No. Streusel will be just fine.

See? Streusel. Not Stressful.

But I'm getting off topic.

Working beautifully as a team, of course, we assigned ourselves each a role.

I made the crust...

Jessica manned the KitchenAid (a new experience for her!) to make the cheesecake filling...

Jewelissa chopped the apples and added spices (the girls had a blast with my "amazing" apple peeler!!)...

Armed and dangerous...to apples, of course.

...and Janell ground out a beautiful streusel topping!

Four hands (oh wait, that's eight hands) sure made the load lighter and the time in the kitchen immensely more fun and the bars were assembled in no time! We played cards while it was baking and lovely smells were wafting out of the kitchen before long.

A game of "Nerds", anyone?

Now the recipe advises chilling the bars and serving them cold, and surely you should store them cold, but don't pass up an opportunity to sneak few bites while they are warm! We certainly couldn't wait and practically before the lid was on the caramel jar little (okay, large) warm forkfuls were disappearing.

Conclusion? The layers of buttery crust, creamy, sweet cheesecake, bursts of tart apple and cinnamon and crumbly topping, all finished off with a drizzle of delectable caramel are simply irresistible. Add the fun of goofing off in the kitchen with your three sweet, adorable and silly sisters, and you're in heaven!

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

(printable version)

adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything

makes about 16 bars

Crust:

2 cups flour

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup butter, softened

Cheesecake Filling:

2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 lg. eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Apples:

3 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 TB sugar

Streusel Topping:

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup flour

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 cup butter, softened

Drizzle:

1/2 cup caramel topping

Preheat oven to 350.

Crust: In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into a 9x13 pan lined with foil and lightly greased. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Cheesecake Filling: In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Then add eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust, spreading evenly.

Apples: In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, sugar and spices. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture.

Streusel Topping: In a small bowl, combine all ingredients, using a pastry blender or your hands to get everything very well incorporated. Sprinkle over top of apples.

Bake bars 40-45 min. or until filling is set. Drizzle with caramel topping and let cool. Serve room temperature or cold. Store in refrigerator.

Whole Wheat Apple Cinnamon Pancakes {with Cinnamon Syrup}

It's Saturday, y'all! You know what that means in our house...breakfast for dinner!

Last weekend I made a batch of these whole wheat apple cinnamon pancakes from Two Peas and Their Pod and man, were they yummy! But let me tell you straight up: the syrup is the best part.

Oh wow. Really. It's like, so amazing. You'll want to put it on everything (after you send your pancakes drifting out to sea on it, that is). Like more apples. Or maybe some peaches. Toast or oatmeal, anyone? Leftover apple cider waffles? Grab anything you can find (including your own fingers of course) and dunk it in this syrup, because yeah, it's that good.

But back to the pancakes. Hearty wheat taste, bursts of fresh apple chunks, hints of spice...I'm pretty much convinced that the "whole wheat" and "apple" parts of the title are just to trick us into thinking we're being all healthy while simultaneously pouring on copious amounts of spicy, sugary syrup that is basically like liquid gold .

The edible kind.

But there I go about the syrup again. Gee. Anyways. Do yourself a favor this weekend and make a batch of syrup. Er. Pancakes.Whatever.

Whole Wheat Apple Cinnamon Pancakes with Cinnamon Syrup

(printable version)

by Two Peas and Their Pod

serves 3-4

For pancakes:

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 1/2 TB brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp allspice

1 cup buttermilk, plus 2 TB

1 TB canola oil

1 lg. egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup diced, peeled apple

For syrup:

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 TB flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup water

In a med. bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, oil, egg and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and whisk until combined. Do not overmix. Gently fold in apples.

Heat griddle or non-stick skillet over med. heat. Spray with cooking spray. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto the hot griddle pan, spacing out pancakes a few inches from each other. When the pancakes start to bubble up, flip and cook until lightly browned.

While the pancakes are cooking, make the syrup. Stir together dry ingredients in a small saucepan. Then add water and vanilla. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring often. Continue boiling and stir until mixture thickens to syrup consistency, about 5-8 min. Remove from heat and let stand a few minutes before serving.

Serve the pancakes with warm syrup. Enjoy!

Crock-pot Pumpkin Applesauce

Hubby and I recently went fruit picking! We love a spot in Spokane called Greenbluff, which is home to over 40 small family owned farms- not only are the farms beautiful and often quaint, but you are treated to a lovely view of the valley from the top of the bluff! Last summer we picked strawberries, cherries, raspberries and pumpkins. This summer we picked strawberries and cherries. In early September we made our way to the bluff to score some end-of-the-season peaches as well as some early apples (Honeycrisp)! We ate many of the peaches fresh (they were so good!) and I froze enough to fill over a gal. freezer bag to put in our smoothies we enjoy every Sunday night. I used some of the apples for the delicious Caramel Apple Crumble Bars and then I made this amazing applesauce!

The particular flavor of the applesauce will of course depend on the type of apple you choose (I hear a variety is best!), but the addition of cinnamon and some smooth pureed pumpkin is sure to win the approval of your tastebuds no matter what you use! I found that the Honeycrisp apples provided a perfect pairing of sweet and tart.

I also got to use a fantastic gadget that was a Christmas present from my in-laws- an apple peeler! If you don't own one of these, I highly recommend them! This particular one has the ability to peel, core and slice at the same time- truly a time saver! If peeling apples keeps you from baking pies, making applesauce, etc, consider this a good investment (only about $20). It will change your life. :)

Crock Pot Pumpkin Applesauce

(printable version)

adapted from Stockpiling Moms

makes...a lot. :)

8 apples, peeled, cored and sliced

2 tsp lemon juice

5 tsp brown sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

approx. 1 cup pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)

Combine all ingredients in crock pot. Cook on low about 6 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove cinnamon sticks and blend using stick blender to reach desired consistency. Store refrigerated, up to two weeks, or freeze.

Caramel Apple Crumble Bars

Are there two things that say "Fall is coming!!" more than apples and caramel? Together? I think not.

Every year I struggle with the fact that summer is waning and fall is moving in.

Even now, as I write about a delectable fall treat, the war wages! It doesn't help that it's still about 80 degrees outside.

And hey people! Fall isn't officially here until Saturday!

Maybe you're welcoming fall with arms wide open, already stirring the soup kettle, scouting out the pumpkin patches, lighting up your apple scented candles and drizzling caramel and/or shaking cinnamon on everything imaginable.

But, if you're like me and you need something to get you in the mood for crisp cool nights, boots, pumpkin lattes and spiced cider, here's a surefire recipe. Watch out! It'll be here before we know it.

Caramel Apple Crumble Bars

(printable version)

adapted from Annie's Eats

makes about 16 bars

Filling:

2 TB unsalted butter

4 large (or 5 med.) apples, peeled and sliced

3 TB sugar

3/4 tsp cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

9 oz. caramel candies, unwrapped

2 TB heavy cream

Dough:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup old fashioned oats

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

12 TB cold butter, cut into small pieces

1 lg. egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375. Line a 9x9 in. baking pan with foil or parchment paper. Grease.

To make the filling, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the apple slices, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples are golden brown and caramelized, about 15 min. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, prepare the dough. In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, oats, sugars, baking powder, salt and cinnamon and stir to blend. Add in the butter and cut into the dry ingredients using a pastry blender until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add in the egg yolk and vanilla and stir with a fork just until a crumbly dough begins to form. Transfer about two thirds of the dough to the foil lined pan and press down into an even layer. Bake until light golden, about 12-14 min.

While the base is baking, combine the caramels and cream in a saucepan set over medium heat. Melt the caramels, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is totally smooth. Remove from heat. Once the base layer is baked, pour the caramel over the top. Layer with the cooked apple slices. Crumble the remaining dough over the apple slices.

Bake 22-25 min. or until the top is golden brown. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool.  Let cool completely before slicing and serving.

Mini Apple Crisp

My list of things to love about autumn is getting so long! All the beautiful colors, falling leaves, pumpkins, soup, spices, scented candles, cuddling under warm blankets, the first frost, foggy mornings, crisp sunshine, and...apples. The smell of apples- fresh apples, cooked apples, overripe wild apples dropping to the ground to be harvested by hungry winter-wary animals. The look of apples, not-quite-round and shiny, coming in just as many shades as the leaves that are already dropping from the trees along the river. The taste of apples- crisp and fresh, varying as much in texture and flavor as they do in autumnal hues, ranging from sweet and mellow to tangy and downright sour.
Several days ago, in a quandary over what to make for National Dessert Day (thank you to whomever began this  wonderful excuse to whip up something sweet!), I decided I must use my newly purchased little ramekins. I debated over the ideas of custards and souffles and creme brulees, but my mind kept wandering back to the thought of an adorable and simple little apple crisp. Perfect! I was also sick with a cold, so minimal effort and homey comfort was especially appealing.
The crisps were delightfully cute- and a delicious taste of fall in every bite!

Aren't they cute? :)

Miniature Apple Crisp
(printable version)

makes 4 individual servings (I think my ramekins are 4 oz. If you have larger ones, this will probably only serve 2)
a KitchenJoy original recipe

1-1/2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into small cubes

2-3 TB half and half cream

2-3 TB sugar

cinnamon

nutmeg

Topping:

2 TB oats

2 TB brown sugar

2 TB flour

2 TB butter, softened

cinnamon

nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly grease ramekins. Mix apples, cream, sugar and spices (to taste). Divide apple mixture evenly among ramekins. Mix oats, brown sugar, flour and spices (to taste) together; cut in butter. Sprinkle mixture evenly over apples. Place ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 25-35 min., or until topping is browned and apples are tender and bubbly. Enjoy!

Fall Pork Chop Skillet & Prune-Plum Crisp

So I'm having to ease into fall again...and food always helps. Letting go of summer is so much easier when you spend a rainy afternoon cooking and baking. So that's what I did today! I was feeling a bit on the inventive side and unsatisfied with other recipes, so I decided to go sans recipe! This is getting easier for me to do, the more I experiment with flavors, but I still come to the kitchen with much trepidation, always a little afraid I'll mix the wrong spices or flavors and end up with a horrible tasting dinner! When Travis & I went shopping last night, I did intentionally pick up pork, apples and cabbage, but I wasn't sure exactly how I was going to combine them. They are certainly a common assortment of flavors, but I wasn't really liking any of the recipes I found (or the ingredients weren't on hand), so I took a handful of ideas I had seen and started cooking! Here's how it went down:

I took two thickly cut boneless pork chops (salted & peppered) and seared them in olive oil till just browned on either side. While the pork was searing, I mixed together a few things...brown sugar, white cooking wine, vinegar, thyme, rosemary, lemon juice and apple juice. Unfortunately, I didn't measure anything, so when I post the recipe, everything's approximate! 

Once the pork was evenly browned, I added the liquid mixture, plus some chicken broth and a bay leaf, got it simmering, and put the lid on. While it was simmering, I chopped some Granny Smith apples, cabbage, and sweet yellow onions. 

When the pork had simmered about a half hour, I added the apples, cabbage and onions and covered it again and simmered it for another half hour. After that, I removed the pork and the cabbage, apples & onions with a slotted spoon and turned the stove on high, reducing the liquid for about 7-10 minutes, whisking in 3 TB flour to make a sort of gravy. This was absolutely delicious! We served ours over rice in a shallow bowl. It was a hearty, fallish blend of sweet and sour and bursts of flavor, thanks to the apple. Mmmm!

I recently discovered, to my great delight, two loaded Italian prune-plum trees in the vacant lot behind our house. But it also came with a puzzle. We had one of these trees in our front yard when I was growing up, and the only thing we really ever did with them was to eat them plain as they ripened on the tree. My mom and I made jelly from the red plum trees bordering our property, but we never really knew what to do with the small, deep purple, yellow-fleshed, tart fruit that grew on the little tree in the yard. I am not sure if I want to tackle it yet, but these do seem like they would make delicious and beautiful jam. However, I ripened a bowl of these little beauties on the counter for a few days, and tonight I decided to make them into a crisp. 

Aren't they just beautiful?

I simply quartered the fruit, removed the pit and mixed them with some sugar. This prune-plum is quite tart, especially if they aren't fully ripe, so I made sure to taste them as I sugared them. Then I sprinkled a typical crisp topping of flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter on top and baked it in a 375 oven for about 35 min. Wow. As the plums cooked, the dark purple skin turned the yellow flesh into a gorgeous reddish, jewel-like color, and the fruit turned into this gooey, sticky, jammish yummyness. To me the flavor was almost akin to cherry, with a sweet first flavor and a tangy aftertaste. Love it. It definitely tastes like fall to me.

Couldn't stop eating long enough to get a good picture, haha!

 Mmm...ok, summer, move over. Fall is winning my heart, one meal at a time.

Pork Chop Skillet
(printable version)

 a KitchenJoy original recipe

with more pork, this could feed at least 3, maybe 4 

2 boneless, thick cut pork chops

2 TB brown sugar

1/4 cup white cooking wine

2-3 TB vinegar

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp rosemary

2-3 tsp lemon juice

1 cup apple juice

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 bay leaf

1/4-1/3 of a large head of cabbage (shredded)

1 Granny Smith apple, sliced

1 small yellow onion, quartered

3 TB flour

Sear pork chops in olive oil in large skillet. Combine next 7 ingredients, pour over pork chops, add broth and bay leaf. Simmer 30 minutes. Add cabbage, apples and onion slices. Simmer another 30 minutes. Remove pork, cabbage, apples and onion, whisk in the flour and turn up the heat, reducing the liquid for 7-10 min. Serve over rice, pouring "gravy" over pork chop.

Taking the Bite Out of Fall (Apple Pie Bars)

Okay, so it IS September. Already. I have this thing about fall...I love it! But I hate it! Especially where I live now, in the cold, northeast corner of Washington, I am so loathe to let go of the gorgeous, warm summer days. Eventually fall wins me over with its stunning colors and crisp, tantalizing air that makes you just want to cuddle up in your Snuggie with a good book and cup of tea. But for now I stubbornly refuse to give in, for when I do, I know winter will be close on its heels. After all, it isn't officially fall until the 22nd. However, what I baked yesterday chipped away a bit of my resolve. There are so many foods that we associate with fall. Pumpkins, squash, corn, and of course, apples.

Mmmm...there's nothing quite like the smell of fresh, baking apples on sunshiny fall day.

The other day, a friend gave me 3 boxes full of tart baking apples from the tree in her yard. The two big boxes were a donation to our community food bank, which meets in the basement of our church, but the other box was for me! I always cringe a bit when I get baking apples because I know what that means. Lots of peeling and slicing in store for me! You know, I can't remember the last time I made an apple pie. If I've ever made one... I usually even cheat and leave the peel on when I make apple crisp, if you can believe that! But you know what convinced me? The smell.


For three days, the boxes of apples sat in my back room, just off the kitchen. Every time the door opened, the heavenly aroma of ripe baking apples wafted into the house. I absolutely love the smell of apples. In fact, my favorite Yankee Candle scent is Macintosh. After three days, that wonderful smell convinced me that whatever was involved in making some great baked treat out of these apples would be worth it. Fortunately, my nose was right!

For some reason, I thought that making apple pie bars would be easier than just making a pie. Well, I was wrong about that. I think it was more work. But they are temptingly convenient (which could be an pro or a con depending on whether you're on a diet or not!) and so very pretty! One of the hard things turned out to be finding a recipe! Allrecipes has about 100 (okay maybe not quite that many...but it seemed like it!) and so does everyone else...almost every one called for crushed cornflakes. I don't keep those on hand, and oddly enough, last time I looked for them in both of our convenience stores, all I could find were Frosted Flakes! One recipe, however, used quick oats instead, so I decided to substitute. I'm not sure what role they play, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it's to soak up the liquid from the apples. If so, it worked!

I began by peeling the apples. The recipe called for 12-14, but mine are pretty small, so I did about 16. I put on some music, and it was actually very relaxing sitting down, peeling long, shiny curls into my bright silver bowl.

I accidentally tried to peel my thumb at one point so I do have a small battle scar to remember the apples by. The slicing was the part I found the most tedious, but it must be done so there's not much to be done about it!

The dough resembles pie dough in some respects, except it involves eggs, which you separate. The yolks go into the dough and the whites get brushed on top. So one layer of dough is rolled very thin and put on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan. I would advise you to use one smaller than 12x17 (which I did, of course). I tried to roll the dough on the pan, thinking that way I wouldn't have to try to lift it, but then my rolling pin didn't fit...anyway, I used a drinking glass instead. It wouldn't quite roll out to the edges, so I just evened it off and left it where it would roll to without breaking. I sprinkled the oats over that, then layered apple slices on top of that. I then sprinkled the apples very generously with a sugar-cinnamon mixture and followed that with the other half of the dough (this was tricky too, as I did have to transfer this layer from the counter). It didn't quite cover, so I had to keep pulling gently and re-piecing until it was close enough.

It wasn't pretty, but it did look like it would be tasty! I then whisked the egg whites until they were foamy and brushed them on top. After I slipped the pan in the oven I surveyed the aftermath.

Baking episodes always seem to have a way of leaving my kitchen looking like a disaster area and it didn't help that earlier this morning I had been making hamburger soup for the church potluck. In fact, my wonderful hubby is, even now, in the kitchen doing dishes (at least, I think he is...somewhere under that pile...).

The smell this apple treat created in my house was so good it was almost like eating it. Almost. When it was golden on top I removed it from the oven and let it sit while I prepared the glaze. A tangy-sweet mixture of lemon juice and powdered sugar, I got it to the right consistency, then drizzled it over the back of a spoon onto the bars.

I had barely enough patience to let them cool a few minutes before venturing to snitch a forkful. I closed my eyes and felt a little of my resistance to the coming season crumble.

Travis and I could hardly keep our fingers out of them all evening although the plan was to take them for potluck at church today.

Thankfully, the recipe makes a very large batch- you'll need one! We did manage to control ourselves and there were many thankful people at church today as one by one, the bars began to disappear. Amazingly, there are 3 left, but I doubt those will last the night...

Find the recipe here: Apple Pie Bars (as mentioned before though, I did substitute 1 cup quick oats for the crushed cornflakes and it seemed to work great!).