Who was Johnny Appleseed?

 

We learned this in grade school. It seems fitting during apple time that we pay tribute to him with some of our favorite apple recipes.  School children in Morganton, NC celebrated his birthday last month on Sept. 26th. Parents were invited to the celebration. The children all had “pots  on their heads, which they had made from poster paper. . (what we call “saucepans”)

Johnny’s unique “pot hat” was part of his trade mark.

 

Johnny Appleseed was born on Sept. 26, 1774 in Massachusetts. He spent 49 years living in the wilderness planting apple seeds. He was a friend to the Indians, settlers and animals alike.

 

His clothes were made from sacks and his hat was the pot, which also doubled for cooking! Sounds like he was one of the nation’s very first “homeless”; but his life style was by choice. He died in 1845 and that was the only time in his 70 years that he had been sick!

There are several cute children’s books for sale on the internet about Johnny Appleseed. You might want to get one for your children!

Apple Crumb  Pie

Guaranteed to be good…my favorite one to bake! Be sure and bake it in a deep dish pie pan.

 

Crumb mixture:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1  cup light brown sugar, packed

¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, melted

½ cup quick-cooking oats

 

Combine these 4 ingredients and scoop out 1 cup to save for the topping. Press the rest of the mixture into an ungreased deep dish pie plate. Crumbs will be sticky…that’s ok.

 

Filling:

2/3 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1¼ cups water

 

Combine in a medium saucepan, stirring until smooth. Then bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly with a whisk, until thickened.  Remove from heat and add:

1 large Granny Smith apple, diced

1  large Fiji apple, diced

(This will be 4 cups of diced apples)

1 tsp. vanilla

 

Pour this mixture into the crumb pie crust.  Sprinkle the reserved cup of crumbs evenly over top. Mixture will be sticky, but that’s ok.    Bake 350º for 40 to 45 minutes, till golden brown.

Apple Crisp

Mrs. Dorrance gave me this recipe to bake for her guests at Horseshoe Plantation. It was a favorite dessert for all guests.

 

9 large cooking apples (Granny Smith and Yellow Delicious are good)

½ cup granulated sugar

1  cup flour

1  cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

1  tsp. baking powder

½  tsp. salt

1   large egg, beaten

½  cup (1 stick) butter, melted

 

Preheat oven to 350º.  Peel and slice apples thin.  Toss them with the ½ cup sugar and place in a 9x13-inch baking dish.  In a small bowl combine the flour, brown sugar and salt.  Stir in the beaten egg.  This will be messy!  Carefully, as evenly as you can, spread over the apples.  Drizzle the melted butter evenly over top.  Bake, uncovered, for 1 hr. By leaving it uncovered, you get a nice crispy, crunchy, golden brown top.   Serves 8  Great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Apple Bread

Easy & Delicious!

 

1    cup flour

1    tsp.. baking soda

½    tsp. salt

½   tsp. cinnamon

½    tsp. apple pie spice

½    cup (1 stick) butter

1     cup granulated sugar

2     large eggs

1½  cups chopped apples

1½  Tbsp. evaporated milk

½     tsp. vanilla

1      cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)

 

Sift the first 5 dry ingredients together; set aside. Cream butter and sugar together; add eggs and beat well after each addition.  Sir in flour mixture with a wooden spoon, just until flour is incorporated. In a bowl, stir the apples, milk, vanilla and nuts together and fold into batter.  Spoon into greased & floured 9-inch loaf pan, spreading evenly and bake at 350º for about 45 minutes, until center tests done.  Let rest in pan about 10 minutes and turn out on wire rack to cool.

Small Apple Cake

When you need just a small cake…from my Granny’s Taste of Christmas Cookbook.

 

2   cups diced apples (I like Golden Delicious)

1   cup granulated sugar

1   large egg

1   cup cake flour

1½ tsp. cinnamon

1   tsp. baking soda

¾   cup chopped nuts

1    tsp. vanilla

Glaze: below

 

Mix apples and sugar together; let stand until sugar is dissolved; stir. Add egg, beating well.  Sift dry ingredients together and stir into apple mixture. Stir in nuts and vanilla.  Pour into greased & floured 8-inch square baking pan;

Bake 375º for 40 to 45 minutes, until center tests done. Just before cake is done, make glaze.

Glaze:

3  Tbsp. butter, room temp (softened)

3   Tbsp. light brown sugar, packed

3   Tbsp. granulated sugar

3   Tbsp. whipping cream  (could use half-and-half)

½   tsp. vanilla

 

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for exactly one minute.  Remove from heat and spoon over warm cake.

When cool, cut into desired number of squares. To serve, top with Cool Whip or vanilla ice cream.

 

 

 

Note: Check out the Sauteed Apple recipe in Feb. 2011 archive section.