Sauteed Apples

This recipe came from a time where I needed to make a memorable dessert with very little to work with.

I needed to produce Christmas dinner for my 4 kids and I had very little time and not much to spend on food. I had apples (but not enough time for pie).

And the apples were from November apple picking..oh gosh… full of flavor for sure but needed some work to be presentable for the holidays.

And so an idea was sprouted.

I could take these good but old apples and caramelize them and cook them a little and they would be beautiful!!!

Ok really it wasn’t like that. At least not consciously. It was more like “oh shit” how am I going to make this work? I got 15 minutes. If I panic it wastes time…

I sautéed those apples (hot and fast) with cinnamon and salt and added maple syrup.

I made a 10 minute amasake custard (which I will get into in later blogs) and popped it in a muffin tin and put in the fridge. And hoping and praying that some part of this would work.

BREATHE…

On to Christmas magic….

Dessert was a cool custard with warm cinnamon apples.

So simple and easy.

And the kids loved it! And it was super healthy.

We have all loved sautéed apple since that day.

These days its my go to dessert staple for the fall and winter months. I take apples (usually cooking apples but like to mix varieties and use up what I have) and sauté them and put them in the fridge ahead of time. I most often leave them unsweetened so I can use them in a variety of ways. (they can also be frozen but…)

For a quick dessert heat apples and sweeten if you like. Put over ice cream (whatever kind you like) or serve with artisan cheese, or top with whipped cream..or with oatmeal cookies….they go with everything!

As an option:  sauté apples and put in a crock pot on low 2 hours or so before dessert is served. When it’s time, scoop out the warm fragrant apples and serve as you please.

Added bonus – makes the house smell amazing!

And I have made this with butter for a visiting French student trying to create some comfort food for her…yes she loved it!!

My favorite.. unsweetened sautéed apples on top of a hot creamy bowl of steel cut oats with chopped walnuts on top.

I was testing this when my 2 younger (adult) children were home…

My daughter(20), sweetened apples with whipped cream on oats and walnuts. She was totally pleased. My son (24), unsweetened apples with whipped cream on oats with walnuts …me(haha),unsweetened apples with oats, hold the whipped cream and add walnuts.

In this this time of so much worldliness and extravagant cuisine I cherish simple done well. Sharing with family and friends makes it even better.

See what you think.