Apple Pie

Fresh, warm, Apple Pie.  How can you ever go wrong.  I like to leave it without any crust on top, yum!

Pie Crust

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold water

1.  Mix shortening, flour, and salt together with a fork or a pastry blender until very crumbly. Add as much water as needed to hold together, and mix lightly with a fork.
2. Roll gently on a floured pastry cloth to about an inch larger than pie plate. Fold carefully in half, lift to pie plate, and unfold. Press into pan. For a single-crust pie, trim with a small knife to about 1/2 inch beyond rim. Fold up, and pinch so edge of pie is raised from rim.

Pie Filling
1 pie crust recipe

1/2 cup unsalted butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.
2. Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.
3. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

Quick and Easy Cinnamon Buns - No Yeast

These are quick and easy to make.  Want something new for breakfast or have company arriving soon and want a treat with tea?  Make these!

1/3 cup butter

 1 cup packed brown sugar

 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

 2 cups all-purpose flour

 2 tablespoons white sugar

 4 teaspoons baking powder

 1 teaspoon salt

 1/4 cup butter, chilled

 1 cup cold milk

 1/3 cup raisins (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease the bottoms and sides of a 12-cup muffin tin.
2. Cream 1/3 cup butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together. Drop 1 teaspoon into each muffin cup. Reserve the remaining mixture.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in 1/4 cup cold butter until crumbly. Make a well in center, and pour in the milk. Stir to form a soft dough, adding a bit more milk if needed.
4. Turn the dough out on lightly floured surface. Knead 8 to 10 times. Pat dough into rectangle about 1/3 inch thick and 12 inches long. Spread the remaining cinnamon mixture over dough rectangle. Sprinkle currants over top. Roll up like a jelly roll into a long log. Mark the dough first, to make sure you know where to cut, then cut the log into 12 slices. Place cut-side down in the prepared muffin pan.
5. Bake in in the preheated oven until golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Turn rolls out on a serving tray.

Baked Apples

The perfect Fall dessert.

4 apples
4 tbsp margarine or unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp all spice
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 cup raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 8 x 8 square cooking pan with Pam cooking spray.
Remove apple cores without cutting apples into pieces (use an apple corer if available).
Spread each apple core hole with 1 tablespoon of margarine and place in pan.
Mix brown sugar and spices, then equally sprinkle into each apple core hole. 
Sprinkle in raisins, if you are using them.
Bake for 35 minutes, pull pan out, and baste apples with juice.
Once basted, return pan into the over for another 10 to 15 minutes depending on how soft you want the apples.

Chai Tea Latte Cupcakes

These are different and are just like the real thing!

3/4 cup milk
2 bags of black tea
1 cup flour
1 cup cake flour, sifted
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cardamom
Pinch of cloves
Pinch of nutmeg
4 tbsp unsalted butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin tin with liners.
Bring milk to a simmer over medium heat, remove from heat, add tea bags and cover to steep for 15 minutes.
Whisk together all dry ingredients in a large bowl while milk steeps and cools.
Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time, then add flour mixture in 3 batches while alternating with tea-infused milk.
Divide batter evenly into lined cups, filling each 3/4 full.
Bake, rotating tins halfway through until golden brown and spring back when touched; approximately 10 to 12 minutes.
To finish, dip top of cupcake in icing.

Condensed-Milk Icing
4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

With an electric mixer, whisk butter and condensed milk and salt until smooth.
Add sugar and whisk until combined.
Use immediately.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin purée
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla


Preheat over to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Mix first 7 ingredients in a large bowl.
In a medium sized bowl, cream butter with sugar, then add egg, pumpkin, and vanilla once combined.
Add wet ingredients to dry and spoon onto cookie sheets.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
Once cooled, icing with butter cream frosting and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Cinnamon Buns

Yummmm is all I can say!  This recipe makes 24 to 26 cinny buns!

Dough
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2/3 cup milk
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons instant yeast
1 teaspoon cinnamon
5-6 cups all purpose flour

Filling
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup raisins (optional)

Place the butter and brown sugar into a large bowl.
Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar and butter together till smooth and fluffy.
Start to add in the eggs, one at a time, making sure to really incorporate each egg before adding the next one.
In a saucepan add the milk and water, heat till lukewarm and add to the batter.
Add in the cinnamon, salt and instant yeast.
Mix till all the ingredients are well blended. Start to add in the flour, about one cup at a time.
Beat with a wooden spoon till smooth.
Continue to add in more flour.
When it becomes to hard to mix with a wooden spoon.
Add just enough flour to make a soft dough, but not sticky to your hands.
Knead the dough for about 8-10 minutes.
Add a little oil to a large clean bowl (about a tablespoon).
Place the kneaded dough into the bowl and flip over a few times to lightly coat all sides of the dough.
Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 1 hour or till double in bulk.

To make the filling place the brown sugar into a bowl and add the cinnamon. Using your fingers mix together till well mixed. Set aside till needed.

After the dough has risen, pour out onto a flat surface.
Using your fingers press the dough into a 12 x 18 inch rectangle.
Brush on the very soft or melted butter onto the surface of the dough.
Sprinkle the brown sugar, cinnamon mixture evenly on top of the butter.
Sprinkle the raisins on top.
Curl the side over about a inch and then begin to roll the dough like a jelly roll.
Pinch the seam with your fingers and cut the dough with a sharp knife into 12 pieces.
Place onto a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 1 hour.

Place into a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and place onto a wire rack.
Do not remove them from the parchment paper.

Ginger Crinkle Cookies

Have you ever had the Starbucks Ginger Molasses cookie before? This recipe makes cookies even better than those! I love them soft, but my dad prefers them crunchy.
When I make these, they tend to go fast! They are VERY easy to make!

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
2 Tbsp dark corn syrup
1 egg
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp salt 

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes depending on size and whether you want them crunchy or soft (crunchy in longer and look darker; soft in shorter and lighter brown in color).
 

Cream softened butter with sugar until combined.

Put butter and sugar into a Large Bowl.

Add egg to sugar and butter mixture.
Mix until combined.

Add Molasses and corn syrup and mix.

Add the dry ingredients and mix.

Roll dough into balls and roll into a bowl of sugar.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet when balls are covered in sugar.