Crockpot Baked Stuffed Apples

I know, here it is the last day of November and I’m still trying to get my Thanksgiving recipes posted and shoot, this isn’t even my last one.  Busyness, continued sickness and tiredness…well I’m just behind and maybe one day I’ll catch up…maybe by next Thanksgiving??  I mentioned both over on my Moments with Maisie and on this blog that this year with all the food restrictions and sickness, I went really simple with our dinner and especially with dessert.  I mean think about it, what do you make with the following restrictions?  Maisie can’t have wheat, egg or dairy, my Mom can’t have dairy, my Dad limits sugar, Eammon really doesn’t care for desserts which are too chocolaty and I’ve been avoiding flour & sugar and also, though I enjoy crisps, crumbles & some tarts, I generally don’t care for pies, the making or the eating.  

Dessert really was a dilemma until I saw a recipe for Crock-Pot Baked Apples on the blog, Skinny Chef.  The recipe was perfect as it it was the right seasonal flavors and it pretty much met everyone’s dietary restrictions.  Even better, it was simple to prepare and once it was put in the slow cooker no one had to think about it until dessert was served.  Even though the original recipe met most of our dietary restrictions I still tweaked it a bit by changing out the trans-fat free margarine called for in the original recipe, instead using coconut oil and I also decided to add dried cranberries, crystallized ginger and some additional spices to make the dish more my own. 

I loved the simplicity of the dish and the flavor of the filling and the apples.  The only thing I would do differently next time is to use less fat and that’s only because I didn’t care for the mouth feel but on that, I was the only one who complained.  We enjoyed these apples both hot and cold as leftovers.  These apples provided all of the flavors of the holiday without all the heaviness, calories, fat and work of pies and by having these apples I think we all felt a bit less stuffed and possibly…even a bit healthier!

Crockpot Baked Stuffed Apples (adapted from here)

• 6 Honey Crisp, Gala or Macintosh apples, cored
• 1/4 cup Whey Low Gold or brown sugar
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/4 cup pecans, chopped
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries  
• 2 TBS coconut oil (I would cut this to 1 TBS.) 
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tsp. finely minced crystallized ginger 
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves   
• 1 cup apple cider
• 2 TBS orange liquor (optional)

Using an apple corer and a serrated grapefruit spoon, core the apples, scooping out all the seeds and opening the cored hole a little wider at the top of the apple than the corer.  It’s okay if you go all the way through as the apples don’t move when they cook and if you carefully scoop them from underneath when serving, the filling stays in them without a problem. 

In a large bowl, mix the Whey Low Gold, walnuts, pecans, cranberries, coconut oil, cinnamon, ginger & ground clove.  Fill each apple with approximately 2 TBS. of the filling, packing it in, and place the filled apples in the crockpot. Pour in the apple cider and orange liquor.  Cover and cook for 2 1/2 to 3 hours on high heat until the apples are soft and begin to collapse.

Enjoy!

Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

Yep, I’ve gone out and done it again and I joined yet another monthly cooking challenge.  I now participate in The Secret Recipe Club, the Crazy Cooking Challenge, Cook Around the Globe and now my newest, The Improv Cooking Challenge.  This challenge is hosted by Sheryl over at Lady Behind the Curtain and how this challenge works is, each month two ingredients are assigned and you can make any recipe of your choice as long as it includes those two ingredients.  For this, the inaugural month of The Improv Cooking Challenge Sheryl has chosen two ingredients which are perfect for this time of year, apples and caramel. 

When I first saw the two required ingredients I knew immediately which recipe I would be making for the challenge as I’ve had Scrambled Hen Fruit's recipe for Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies saved in my “need to make” file since she first posted it almost a year ago.  It was another one of those recipes which called to me but I just never got around to making until this opportunity put it front and center. 

I did have one difficulty in making this recipe and that was, for the life of me I couldn’t find the traditional square wrapped Kraft Caramels anywhere locally and I was just itching to make the cookies so I decided to make them with Kraft Caramel Bits.  Then wouldn’t you know it, two days after making the cookies I spotted the Kraft Caramels and because the cookies were so delicious with the Kraft Caramel Bits I just had to make them again with the traditional caramels.  Though we loved the cookies with the caramel bits I do think that the traditional caramels worked better in that I ended up with a larger gooey caramel center but I’ll tell you, the bits were a darn good substitute and provided nice gooey bits in the cookie so either way these cookies were a hit. 

Fill a medium cookie scoop with the cookie batter.

Press an unwrapped Kraft Caramel or

Six-to-seven Kraft Caramel Bits into the center of the cookie dough.

Pinch the cookie dough to cover the caramel or bits.

Ready for the oven.

Gorgeous cookies hot from the oven.

I made a couple of changes to the cookie batter.  The first time that I made the cookies with the bits I mixed the batter up exactly as written on Scrambled Hen Fruit's blog and then I did my usual “quality control” taste testing of the batter.  The flavor was wonderful with the apple cider flavor shining through but then I thought caramel apple pie and decided to add some additional apple pie spices to give it more of that apple pie flavor.  The final batter was delicious and once baked everyone loved the flavors of the cookies.  When I made the cookies the second time with the traditional caramels I made one additional change, I substituted half of the granulated sugar with brown sugar just to bump up the caramel flavor a wee bit more.  I liked the batter and cookies best with the additional spices and the brown sugar and it would have been wonderful baked up on it’s own or with some toasted nuts or as I followed through and did, with the addition of the caramel.  Whether you choose to use the original recipe or one of my variations you’re looking at a fabulous tasting cookie.

Cookies made with caramel bits.

Cookies made with traditional caramels.

Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies  (Adapted from here) 

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 box (7.4 oz) Alpine Spiced Apple Cider Instant Original Drink mix -not sugar free- all 10 packets (I found this in my grocery store near the hot chocolate mixes.)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract  
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice 
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
3 cups all purpose flour
1 bag Kraft Caramel Bits (11 oz.) or Kraft Caramels (14 oz.)

Preheat oven to 325F.  Line baking sheets with either a Silpat or parchment paper.  In the bowl of a stand mixer add the butter, sugar, salt and the contents of all 10 packets of Alpine Spiced Apple Cider and blend until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time mixing until incorporated.  Add the vanilla and blend until mixed.  Add the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom and flour and mix until well blended. 

Using a medium cookie scoop (1.5 TBS) fill the scoop level with the cookie dough.  While the cookie dough is still in the scoop, press either one unwrapped Kraft Caramel or 6-7 Kraft Caramel Bits into the center of the dough and then pinch the dough to cover the caramel.  Release the scoop of dough onto prepared cookie sheet placing about 2-inches apart. 

Bake 12-14 minutes, or until very lightly browned around the edges. Please don't over-bake! Once the cookies are done, allow the cookies to partially cool on the Silpat or parchment. When cookies are cool enough to be firm but still slightly warm, carefully remove from the Silpat or twist off the parchment and allow to finish cooling upside down (either on the parchment or on a rack.) The cookies can cool completely on the Silpat and they release without any problems but If you forget about them and they cool too much and stick to your parchment, put them into the freezer for a few minutes and they'll pop right off.

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen, depending on how large you make your cookies, how much batter you’ve “taste tested” and how many caramels you’ve snitched from the bag before you begin.  Store in an airtight container.

Once the cookies have cooked completely, to enjoy the nice soft caramel center again either set your cookie over a nice hot cup of tea to warm up the caramel or microwave the cookie for approximately 15 seconds.

Enjoy!