An apple all by its lonesome is a fine food indeed, but we want to hear your ideas for broadening the apple’s culinary range. Soups, salads, sauces, breads, butters — just how far can one fruit go?
We asked our Facebook fans for their favorite ways to cook apples, and the responses delighted us! Read some for yourself, but don’t blame us when your stomach begins to growl. And when you’re done, check out these recipes for Chicken-Apply Curry, Apple-Sweet Potato Bake, and more!
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Jen n’Ken Wolfe-Decker Our local orchard sells “seconds” and I make everything apple all fall. Apple caramel cheesecake, apple slices on peanut butter toast, or thinly sliced on a grilled cheese…yum! Love ’em.
Tricia N Ron We recently started slicing them & dehydrating them in our food dehydrator. Apple chips, yum!
Chris Jorgensen Mrotek I love apples fresh from my juicer! There is nothing like really, really fresh apple juice.
Michelle White My two favorite apple uses: apple crisp for desert or breakfast, and diced apples on chicken salad.
Tracy Miller Cohen Farmstead Waldorf salad: chop apples, broccoli and celery, add halved red grapes, dried cranberries and walnuts. Stir in mayonnaise that has been thinned with a little apple cider vinegar and regular apple cider. Season with celery seed, salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
Kat Desmarais Apple pizza — like pie but on pizza dough with salted caramel and cheese.
Stephanie Camiré Inlow Apple slices with some nut butter — yum!
Jessica Howe I’m making apple butter as we speak!
Jill A. Likkel Apple chutney, it also goes well with chicken apple curry or any kind of meat or cheese.
Erin Frans Chisman Apple butter made in a crock-pot. An extra bonus is how it makes your kitchen smell all day while it’s cooking!
Michael Dunn I dice them up and mix with dried blueberries and cranberries, then add to my oatmeal.
Krazy Acres The holiday dinners of my youth always featured an apple dish prepared by my Gramps’ unmarried cousin, Elizabeth. After describing it to my husband, he came up with a recipe that looked and tasted the same. Basically, you peel and core the apples, then set them in the baking dish. Using Red Hot candies, sugar and water he melted them all together and poured in, over and around all the apples. Bake at 350 until done. The result is pink fleshed, juicy, cinnamon-tinged apple goodness. This was always my favorite dessert, and I may bring it back to our own holiday dinners.
Joy Moran My favorite this year is mini-apple pies baked in cupcake tins. Some with crumb tops and some with lattice — yum!
Peggy Hougland Marshall Apple butter, canned apple pie filling, frozen sliced apples, apple turnovers and apple crumble. I love apples
Jean Denise Senn Waldorf salad.
Heather Sandstedt Pavao It’s not a recipe, but my absolute favorite way to eat them: New York extra sharp cheddar, sliced apples and sourdough hard pretzels. So delicious!
Charlene Balkema Apple slices soaked in orange and lemon juice.
Spae Wyfe Hard cider is my all-time favorite and I can use windfall apples for it, but if I had to pick something to eat it would be favorite all time desert: apple and blackberry crumble. Only thing, this year we didn’t get blackberries because of the drought.
Carrina Crow Recently made butternut squash and apple soup!
Debra Spellman I work with seniors, and a lot of them love apples. Fresh apples can be hard to chew, so for a quick desert I stew some while I’m cooking. If you add some raisins honey you can even make dumplings.
Tabitha Higgins Croucher I cut them up really small and add them to my refried beans. It sounds weird but it adds something indescribable. I really miss them when I make it plain. I use granny smith or the equivalent and throw them in at the last minute so they add a nice sour crunch.
Edyta Blaszczuk Schranz We put an apple on a weenie roast stick and bake it over our camp fire. Then, we sprinkle it with cinnamon and it tastes like apple pie. Second favorite and requested almost every birthday instead of cake is gluten free apple cake: crust is almond flour plus butter; filling is grated apples, arrow root powder, cinnamon, topped off with the crust that is also grated. All again sprinkled with cinnamon.
Lane Stumme Pressed into fresh apple cider.
Debbie Freeman I’ve had teeth problems and apples are one of my faves. So now, I peel and cut them, sprinkle with a little cinnamon and sugar. Throw them in the microwave for a minute and emjoy!
Kimberly McGlamery Sliced fresh honey crisp is my fave!
Joyce Martin Apple crisp with vanilla ice cream.
Jessica True-Sincock Recently made rabbit stew with apples and chestnuts. It turned out really well.
Lauralee Hensley Cobbler, pie, baked spiced apples, are my favorites. Applesauce cake is great. Applesauce porkchops, too. So many, many ways, some vegetarian, some not!
Kathy Kohler Schwartz Apple chopped up and added to turkey stuffing. Add apple juice to cut down on butter.
Kristin Wagle Roll pie crust into a circle, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, and slice it like a pizza. Last, an apple slice on the wide end of each slice and roll it up like a crescent roll. Brush with more butter, sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Eat warm! (They won’t last long enough to get cool.)
Will Heal Farm Apple slices with peanut butter — organic of course!
Jill Tucker We enjoy applesauce cake. It’s my husband’s grandmother’s recipe and it’s delicious.
Kim Dunshie Herning I don’t have just one favorite…apple pie, cinnamon apples, apple cake, apple crisp, waldorf salad, dehydrated chips, cinnamon apple oatmeal with dried cranberries and walnuts, and of course fresh whole or sliced Honeycrisp, Jonagold, Breaburn, or Granny Smith!
Karen DiCarlo Apples of all varieties are delish! Vegan Apple Burgers are sooooo good! Grated tart apples, onions, bread crumbs, green pepper, ginger, brown rice, rolled oats….make a burger patty, a crusty bun or roll and yum yum yum!
Western Ways Sautéed scallops with apple slices and snow peas.
