Tag Archives: cinnamon

Skillet Cinnamon Apple Cobbler

cobbler 10I told you I’d be cooking up a cobbler with those cinnamon apples! And lucky for you, it’s just in time for Thanksgiving. There’s always the traditional pumpkin, pecan and apple pie but this dessert would be a great detour from your standard Thanksgiving sweets. And it’s cooked and served out of a cast iron skillet. Rustic perfection!

So I altered my standby cobbler recipe that was given to me many years ago and turned it into THIS. I’ll explain to you how much I enjoyed eating this. Typical night in my house goes like this. After the kids are in bed, my hubs and I cuddle on the couch, watching TV and eating dessert. Together, alone, nice and quiet, no interruptions. Well, of course, I happened to let the dog out before I sat on the couch and just as I’m digging in and going “yum”, she’s scratching at the door to be let in. Hubs says he’ll get up and let her in. I pause the DVR, he lets her in, and goes upstairs to close her crate. By the time he gets back, I have ONE bite left. And not only was there cobbler in my bowl, but I also had a scoop of vanilla ice cream and milk poured all over it. Yes, I’m a glutton. But the plan had been to eat dessert while watching TV. That really didn’t happen but I’m happily blaming that on this delicious cobbler, and not the fact that I’m a sweet tooth pig. But seriously, it’s good. And don’t save it just for holidays because although it will make everyone ooh and ahh on Thanksgiving (it’s pretty in that skillet!), you’ll get that reaction any day of the year. YUM.

P.S. I reduced the cooking time on the apples since they’ll cook in the oven, omitted the alcohol and held off on adding the nuts until the cobbler was assembled. Aside from that, the apples are the same 🙂

Skillet Cinnamon Apple Cobbler (uses a 12″ cast iron skillet)

  • 2 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced in thin slices (any variety apple will do)
  • 5 tbsp. butter
  • 2 tbsp. brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/4 c. chopped nuts of your choice (I used almonds, but pecans are screaming at me to use them next time)
  • 1/2 c. white sugar
  • 1 1/2 c. Bisquik (I used the Heart Smart)
  • 3/4 c. milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a 12″ cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp. butter and let melt. Add in apples and cook for about 2 minutes. Then add in the brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir. Remove apples into a bowl and set aside.

Add in the remaining 4 tbsp. butter. Reduce heat to low and let melt. Once melted, turn heat off and add in the sugar, milk and Bisquik. Stir together until combined, but leave slightly lumpy. Evenly spoon the apples from the bowl over the batter. Sprinkle with the nuts and then sprinkle with a little bit more cinnamon. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Remove the skillet from the oven, making sure to use a pot holder or something on the handle since it will be HOT. Let cool and serve with your favorite vanilla bean ice cream.

cobbler 8cobbler 7cobbler 6cobbler 5cobbler 4cobbler 3cobbler 2cobblerWasn’t that easy? And your first bite will make you think….. apple pie alternative. cobbler 9

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Easy Cinnamon Apples

cinnapp 5Fall is here. But where I live, it really hasn’t felt like fall at all. Part of my weekend included wearing a tank top and shorts, wishing for a cool breeze as I sat watching my daughter’s softball game. It was downright hot in the sun! But a gloomy morning came to be the following day and desperately craving fall comfort food, I decided to whip up these apples. Hopefully to speed along the fall weather as well. Although it’s just wishful thinking, since the weather forecast shows 90’s midweek. This just doesn’t seem right for late October. But these apples tricked me a little into feeling like fall was in the air.

Easy Cinnamon Apples

  • 2 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced in thin slices (any variety apple will do)
  • 1 tbsp. butter
  • 2 tbsp. brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/4 c. chopped nuts of your choice (I used almonds)
  • 2 tbsp. whiskey, optional (I used Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey)*

Heat a pan over medium heat. Add butter and let melt. Add in apples and cook, stirring occasionally, for approximately 5 minutes or until tender. *Now here’s the optional part if you choose to do so. Remove the pan from the heat. Like away from the stove. Pour in the whiskey. Place pan back on heat. It will most likely flame up so stand back and BE CAREFUL. If it doesn’t flame up, slightly tip the pan towards the flame and it will then catch and flame up. The flames will die off very quickly.  But please make sure you NEVER EVER pour hard alcohol straight from the bottle into a pan that is sitting on the heat. You can very easily catch the entire bottle AND yourself on fire. If you don’t want to use the alcohol or are afraid of setting yourself on fire, just skip this entire step.

Then at this point, add in the brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir. Then add in the nuts and stir to combine.

This recipe makes a smaller serving so if you’re wanting extra, you can easily double it.

cinnappcinnapp 2cinnapp 3cinnapp 4Now you have these delicious, incredibly simple cinnamon apples to do with what you will! I used them on top of a shortcake to make my very own Cinnamon Apple Shortcake. But a few other suggestions to put these apples up on top of:

  • Vanilla bean ice cream
  • Pancakes
  • Waffles
  • Pork chops

They’d also be great used in an apple crisp. But I will definitely be trying them in a Cinnamon Apple Cobbler. Look for that upcoming blog post soon!

Cinnamon Zucchini Cakies

zucchini cakies 6Dare I call these breakfast cakies? Well, they remind me of zucchini bread. Scrumptious bite sized morsels of zucchini bread. Which is very appropriate to eat at breakfast time. I know one thing for sure. I ate these for breakfast and I also ate them for dessert. So I guess they’re versatile cakies.

I’ve been doing some baking experimenting and I’ll tell you this. It for once, hasn’t ended in disaster. Which is amazing considering my track record. I’m not saying I’m going to open up a bake shop or anything but still, it’s a small victory for me! And these cakies were one of my experiments that ended with a full tummy. Because I stuffed my face when these things cooled off.

Breakfast? Dessert? A snack when your kids aren’t looking? It doesn’t really matter because these things are purty darn good ANY time of day! And they can’t be too bad for you, right? I mean, they have vegetables in them! So have at it!!

P.S. They’re delicious with a cup of coffee.

Cinnamon Zucchini Cakies (makes approximately 3 dozen)

  • 1 c. butter, softened
  • 1 c. white sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 3 c. flour
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 1/2 – 1 3/4 c. shredded zucchini (about 1 medium zucchini)
  • 1 tbsp. sugar + 1/2 tbsp. cinnamon, mixed together

Preheat your oven to 350. In a stand mixer, add the butter and sugar and mix until fully combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix together. Then add the baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Mix. Add the flour 1 cup at a time, mixing just until combined. Add in the shredded zucchini and mix again until combined. Using a cookie scooper, scoop the dough and place the cakie dough balls onto a baking sheet. (If you have old baking sheets like I used to, I’d recommend spraying them with cooking spray. But if you’ve got nice new ones, leave them ungreased.) Using a spoon, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of each cakie. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or just until the underside of the cakie turns slightly golden. These cakies do not get golden on top.  Leave on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. When cakies are completely cooled, place in an airtight container.

So after these had all cooled off, my youngest daughter got the first taste since the other girls were at school. She liked them so much that she told my other kids this when they got home. “Mommy made something with disgusting green stuff in it but they’re really good!” She has a way with words, that little girl of mine.

 

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No Bake Apple Cinnamon Cheesecake Bites

apple cinnamon cheesecake bites
I heart dessert! I love eating sweets, but not so much baking them. Not to say I don’t bake, but I just don’t enjoy it as much as cooking a delightful dinner. But this dessert is no bake, so it’s perfect for the “non baker” in you.

This is a super cute dessert that is great for serving to company. It looks pretty and is easy to eat. These mini cheesecakes are a perfect combination of crunchy, sweet, tart, all in one little bite.

No Bake Apple Cinnamon Cheesecake Bites (makes 30 bites)

These can be found in the freezer section

These can be found in the freezer section

2 packages mini phyllo shells (15 in each box)
1 large apple, peeled and cut into small pieces
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
juice from half a lemon
1/2 c. heavy cream
1 tbsp. sugar
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
2 1/2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Thaw mini phyllo shells. Optional, if you’d like them extra crispy, bake at 350 degrees for 3-5 minutes. If not, just let them thaw. Set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan on medium heat. Once melted, add apples and sauté for about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice. Stir together and once it’s melted and gooey looking, turn heat off and let cool.

Silky, smooth, soft whipped cream

Silky, smooth, soft whipped cream

Add cream and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer (if not a hand mixer will do) and whip until cream has nice soft peaks, about 3-4 minutes. Start off slow and then up it to a higher setting (I use a 6 on my stand mixer).The cream should look silky and soft. Let it go too far and it starts to look chunky and heads toward butter.Set aside in the fridge.

Fold in the whipped cream and be gentle!

Fold in the whipped cream and be gentle!

 

 

Add cream cheese, vanilla and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix until the cream cheese is smooth looking. Add whipped cream to cream cheese mixture and fold together. Once combined, add to a piping bag (or a Ziploc bag with a corner of the bag cut off) and pipe into the phyllo shells. piping

Add apple compote to the top and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Pretty, delicious and easy

Pretty, delicious and easy