The apple extravanganza: a requiem

If you missed the beginning of my apple journey, click here to catch up…

Dearly beloved….we are gathered here to pay tribute to the 2 pecks of apples that once resided in this New Jersey home. They were delicious, they were bountiful and they were exhausting to use up. But, I did it! They’re all gone! It only took me about 5 weeks, but we did get through them, and in record time. Last time I got that many, it took us about 2 months to get through them, but they were in season and very big. I told you all that I would give you a break down of what I used the apples for, what new recipes I tried, which ones worked, which ones didn’t and what I learned from the whole experience. Let’s start with the recipes:

French Apple Tart: This was a bit more complex than I thought it was going to be, but still was a good recipe. I mean, it’s an Ina Garten recipe, so how could it not be? I didn’t use puff pastry, but I used some pie dough that I made. I did go out and get apple jelly to use in the recipe, but since it was cheap, I didn’t mind getting it. Plus, I ended up adding some of the jelly in my crockpot applesauce to increase the apple taste. Because this is so thin and can be kept at room tempurature in tupperware, this would be great for a dinner party dessert. I’ll make it again, probably in the fall.

Apple dapple cake- This was yum yum yummy! It seemed like a bit much to do for a cake, but it was worth it. It didn’t use up a lot of apples but was great with ice cream. It’s a recipe I would make if we only had a few apples in the house and I had a craving for a cake, but not a plain vanilla, chocolate or even pound cake.

Apple pie- I have to admit, I made this 3 times within the 5 weeks! We just can’t get enough of it. I did learn a few things while making it: the lattice top is key. I tried to make it with just a regular pie crust topping it, and the syrup didn’t reach the apples as well at it did with the lattice top. Also, when making the syrup, if you let it simmer too long, it will separate.

Apple Orchard snack cake- I personally thought this was too sweet, but Hubby and Sonny loved it. I let them finish this one off, and since it wasn’t very big, it was gone within a few days.

Apple granola bread- I hadn’t made this is a few years, so actually remembering the “recipe” and making it bought back memories of Hubby and my newlywed year. It was even better than I remembered. I think it was because I used homemade applesauce this time.

Crockpot Applesauce- I’m surprised at how many times I made this! I thought I would do it once and that would be it. We all liked it so much that I just had to do it twice. Plus, when I got close to the end and the apples weren’t as fresh as they were 5 weeks ago, it made sense to turn them into applesauce. We used it to mix in with our quick oats stockpile and as a snack for Hubby’s lunch.

Apple Chips- I made this every time I baked anything in the oven. When I made the applesauce, I just put the leftover apple skins in a tupperware and placed them in the fridge until I was making the next batch of apple chips. I made them with the skins because I wanted them to be extra crunchy, like biting into a potato chip. 

What I hope to try next time:

Because of the constant change in weather, I wasn’t able to use the oven as much at I thought I would. I was hoping to get to make Pioneer Woman’s apple dumplings, but that may be a dessert that we’ll do with our fall batch of apples.
I’m also interested in trying to make apple jelly. I found a recipe for it that is super easy and can be made with the apple peels and cores. They actually encourage you to only use those since the pectin is located in the seeds and the core. Awesome!

What I learned:

2 pecks is a lot of apples, but not as much as I thought. With the goodies that I did make, and with Hubby and Sonny wanting apples as snacks on the weekends, they really didn’t last as long as I thought they would. You think I should try 3 pecks next time? Ha!