Apple Dandy Food

APPLE PANDOWDY

Steps:

• In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add water and lemon juice; cook and stir over medium heat until thick. Cover and set aside. , In a bowl, combine baking powder and remaining flour and salt. Cut in 3 tablespoons butter. Add the milk and mix just until moistened (a few lumps will remain); set aside. , Arrange apples in a 1-1/2-quart baking dish; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Add nutmeg, vanilla and remaining butter to sauce; pour over apples. Drop dough by spoonfuls over sauce. Combine remaining cinnamon and coarse sugar; sprinkle over dough. Bake at 350° until top is brown and apples are tender, about 55 minutes. Serve warm, with whipped cream if desired.

CLASSIC APPLE PANDOWDY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine apples and lemon juice. Toss to combine. Add sugar, molasses, flour, cinnamon, ginger, pepper, and salt. Toss to combine. Pour into a 9-inch square baking dish, and dot top with butter; set aside.
• On a lightly floured work surface, roll dough into a 10-inch square. Drape over apples, tucking pastry in and down around the edges. Cut a few vents in crust to allow steam to escape. If desired, brush with cream.
• Bake until crust is set and beginning to brown, about 40 minutes. Remove from oven, and with a spatula or a knife, cut crust into 2-inch squares. Push some of the pieces back down into the apple juices. Return to oven until juices are bubbling and the crust is golden brown and crisp, 10 to 20 minutes more. Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm, drizzled with cream.

APPLE PANDOWDY

Steps:

• Crust: In a food processor, pulse flour, sugar, and salt until combined. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with some pea-size pieces remaining. Drizzle 3 tablespoons water over mixture; pulse several times to combine. Add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until mixture holds together when pinched. Shape dough into an 8-inch square and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough 1/4 inch thick. Cut dough into about 20 squares (about 1 to 1 1/2 inches each). Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate while making filling.
• Filling: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Peel, quarter, and core apples, then cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges. In a large bowl, toss together apples, lemon juice, brown sugar, flour, and spices. Transfer to a shallow 2-quart baking dish. Drizzle with 4 tablespoons melted butter.
• Arrange dough squares in a patchwork design over apples, overlapping as needed to cover apples almost completely. Brush remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter over squares; sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake until beginning to brown around edges, about 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking until flaky and golden brown all over and juices are bubbling in center, 40 to 45 minutes more. Using the back of a metal spatula, gently press down on dough so it is slightly submerged under apples. Let cool at least 30 minutes. Serve, with vanilla ice cream, if desired.

HOLIDAY CANDY APPLES

Steps:

• Insert lollipop sticks into 4 apples, one-third of the way. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and coat with cooking spray. Stir together 1 1/4 cups sugar and 1/4 cup each corn syrup and water in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and add 1/2 teaspoon red food coloring. Continue cooking, swirling the pan but not stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 290 degrees F, about 10 minutes; remove from the heat. Immediately dip each apple into the candy, then twirl the apple over the pan to let the excess drip off. Decorate (see instructions below).
• How to Decorate
• Spun-sugar apple: Dip the apple as directed, then hold sideways over the pan, dip a fork in the candy mixture and quickly wave it all over the apple to make thin threads. Let set.
• Candy cane apple: Roll the apple in crushed candy canes immediately after dipping. Let set.
• White chocolate apple: Let the coating set, then drizzle the apple with melted white chocolate. Sprinkle with silver nonpareils.
• Coconut apple: Roll the apple in shredded coconut immediately after dipping. Let set.

CANDY APPLE DRIP CAKE

Steps:

• For the mirror glaze: Place the gelatin powder in the cold water in a small bowl and set aside.
• Place the water, corn syrup and sugar in a small saucepan and set on high heat; stir and let come to a boil.
• Combine the condensed milk, white chocolate and bloomed gelatin in a large heatproof bowl. Pour the hot mixture over the chocolate mixture and let melt while stirring. Use an immersion blender to remove any lumps and air bubbles. Add food coloring to the mixture and mix completely. Blend again if needed. Allow to cool to 90 degrees F for the perfect consistency for a drip cake.
• For the cake: Remove your cake from the refrigerator and place on a turntable cake stand. Place a wooden pop stick into the top of your apple and dip into your cooled mirror glaze just like you would a candy apple. Place the dipped apple in the middle of the top of the cake.
• Place the rest of your mirror glaze into a piping bag, ziptop bag or squeeze bottle with small tip.
• While turning the cake on the turntable, apply a small amount of glaze to the edge of the cake and allow it to drip down the sides of the cake. Continue around the whole cake and add glaze to the top of the cake to meet the bottom of the apple.
• Use a small offset spatula to smooth out the top of the cake if necessary. Place sprinkles and candy around the base of the cake and a small bow around the stick for a final festive touch.

CHEDDAR APPLE CRISP

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Combine the apples, sugar, flour and 1 cup of cheese.
• Place in a greased 8-inch square baking pan.
• Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
• Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs then sprinkle over the apple mixture.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and top with the remaining cheese.
• Return to the oven until the cheese melts.
• Serve warm with hard sauce or ice cream.

APPLE PAN DOWDY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch square baking dish. Layer the sliced apples evenly into the baking dish.
• Mix together brown sugar and 1/4 cup flour in a saucepan, and stir in vinegar and water until the mixture is well blended and the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a simmer over low heat, and stir constantly until the mixture has thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool for about 10 minutes, and stir in the vanilla extract and butter. Pour the mixture over the apple slices in the pan.
• Mix together 1 cup flour and the baking powder in a bowl until there are no more lumps, and cut the shortening into the flour mixture until the mixture forms crumbs the size of peas. Stir in the milk, and spread the batter over the apples and syrup.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the topping is golden brown and the apples are tender, about 35 minutes.

CANDY APPLES

Steps:

• Remove the stalks from the apples, then put them in a heatproof bowl and pour over boiling water from the kettle to cover them and leave for 3-4 mins. Remove with a slotted spoon and pat dry. (This removes the protective wax from the skin and makes the toffee stick to the apples better.)
• Push the sharpest end of each stick into the stalk-end of each apple, making sure it's firmly wedged in. Put a large piece of baking parchment on a board.
• Tip the sugar into a large saucepan, add the lemon juice and 100ml water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Swirl the pan gently to move the sugar around, but don't stir. Add the golden syrup and simmer the mixture (be careful it doesn't boil over) until it reaches 'hard crack' stage or 150C on a sugar thermometer. If you don't have a thermometer, test the toffee by dropping a small amount into cold water. It should harden instantly and, when removed, be brittle. If it's soft, continue to boil. When it's ready, drip in some food colouring, if you like, and swirl to combine. Turn off the heat.
• Working quickly, dip each apple into the toffee, tipping the pan to cover it fully. Lift out and allow any excess to drip off back into the pan before placing on the baking parchment. Repeat with the remaining apples. Gently heat the toffee again, if you need to. Leave to set. Best eaten on the same day.