Apples and Pumpkins and Growing up…
October 26, 2011
I love baking with my kids — except when I don’t. Saturday morning I was rushing to finish some desserts I needed to take to our school party, and my eldest was hovering. I said in my sing-songiest, sweetest, most patient voice, ‘Please scooch, honey, I can’t let you help right now.’ Obligingly she scooched over a half-millimeter, and in my rushing was elbowed in the head, and then she cried and I wasn’t so sing songy anymore. But still, I do love to bake with them, when I have the extra 83 hours required, and especially with anything apple or pumpkin.
This is the season for taking the extra time, even if it feels like we have less. For the smell of baking that brings happy/sad tears every year, with memories of my mother, and my children — who suddenly know how to measure the flour and crack the eggs. For being thankful that I have the kids that get elbowed in the head, while I bake the food to take to the school where they get the great education with the friends that they love whose parents I love in a town I call home. It’s gratitude and joy all mixed up and put in a pie pan. Meanwhile, the recipes are great, even if you aren’t nostalgic or prone to fits of melancholy when the temperature drops. Unlikely. Happy Fall!
Apples
The humble apple. It keeps the doctor away — allegedly. Also, it’s nature’s toothbrush, or so I may have told my children. Its tasty green skin is good for your human skin. I’ve even heard of people sitting in 3 miles of traffic for two hours just so they could pick apples, because it’s so fall-y. This person certainly isn’t me. They are fun to cook with and the many varieties bring different textures, tartness, sweetness and generally good smelling tastiness.
This recipe is from Pie Lab in Greensboro, Alabama. Pie Lab was started in part by a design collective called Project M, which is very dear to my family’s heart. The cheddar crust on this pie is heavenly. It’s the kind of vintage touch — remember when apple pie always came with a slice of cheddar? — that makes cooking interesting and Pie Lab special. Do check them out if you are ever down South.
I see that this is pear, not apple. We are going to let that slide, because I make this Smitten Kitchen bread all the time with the kids. It’s easy, delicious, pretty if you use a tube pan and great for school bake sales. I omit the nuts. It’s quite heavy on the oil and sugar, so maybe some experimenting could lighten it up. I like it as it is.
Martha has a pared down version of this recipe on her web site, but I’ve only made this one. It’s the original and it’s really very simple. You just need to make sure the batter goes in the fridge for an hour so it’s nice and cold. That’s how you get the good fried crispiness on the apple slices. We eat these with maple syrup in my house, because we like sugar. A lot. (You can omit the brandy.)
This is my husband’s favorite pie, and because of that I don’t mind cutting up the caramels. Kitchen shears work much better than trying to chop them. I like how quickly pies come together, making them a good choice with kids. It will only take 3x longer than usual, and they get to roll, measure and get messy glopping the apples in the dish.
Pumpkins
I love a pumpkin flavored something, although I’ll admit to never roasting my own and instead buying the cans o’ pumpkin. It strikes me as one of those things that takes a lot of effort, without a lot of payback, but I could be wrong, so roast away. There are loads of wonderful savory pumpkin recipes, but I’m sticking with baking — it’s kid friendly and usually easier on the ingredient list.
Ok, I know I said easy on the ingredients. After this recipe, I mean it. I love making granola bars, but holy moly, they use a lot of stuff. Where do the pumpkins come in? Pepitas. The tasty little treat that is a pumpkin seed. They are lovely in these super dense (in a good way) bars. For those of you who fear the words corn and syrup together, a friend of mine replaced it with applesauce and said they still worked. You can try honey as well. This is a great one for finicky eaters, because you can pretty much throw anything in these.
Let’s move over to the other end of the spectrum. Over here we have cake mix, butter and a whole box of powdered sugar, but you won’t be sorry. This is great with fresh whipped cream, a fork, and your favorite TV show. Oh, I guess the kids can have some too.
This is a really lovely dessert for a dinner party. I didn’t make mine in the pastry shells. That’s a bit fussy for me. The flan is creamy and delicious though, and despite a bit of scariness involved in making the caramel, not too challenging.
This is the classic fall cookie for kids. They are simple to make and fun to decorate with frosting and various toppings. In fact, I think we’ll make some tomorrow. I’ll try not to bonk anyone in the head or cry.
Bonus recipe…
Cranberry Upside Cake
I haven’t tried this yet, but I plan to make it for the holidays. Oddly enough both Smitten Kitchen and Catherine Newman have a version. This cake is my destiny. I love the crunchy, caramelizy bits of pineapple upside down cake and I can only imagine that this is just as tantalizing. If you take the plunge before I do, leave your impressions in the comments or Tweet us about your results. It’s a fall baking collective, Mamas. Bring it.