Hi everybody!

Happy Fall! I apologize for my long absence, applying to college is a busy thing.

Anyways, as the temperatures are cooling down and the leaves change color, some my favorite holiday fruits become harvestable: apples and pumpkins! I absolutely love apples, and living in the Hudson valley, apple season is a big event.

What can you do with all those apples? So many things, you can make apple everything!

Ok, not actually everything, but you can make a lot of delicious stuff that is not too complicated.

Apple cinnamon pancakes are a wonderful way to start off a Saturday morning. Cut enough apples slices for the amount of people you are feeding (1 apple = 2 people). Place them in a sauce pan. For every cup of apple slices, use 3/4 of sugar and 3/4 cup of water. Add a little lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and simmer on medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes, until the sauce is appley and syrupy. If the syrup is too thick, add 2 tablespoons of water and continue to mix and simmer. Use your favorite plain pancake mix, and add approximately 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg to the dry ingredients. If you’re making the batter from scratch, you can replace half or all of the white sugar for brown sugar. For example, if the recipe called for 1 cup of sugar, you could use 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar for a warmer, more homey taste. Mix your batter and let it sit while the pan/griddle heats up. Once your pancakes are made, spread the apple sauce and slices across the pancake stack, and eat them, for there is nothing left to do.

You can do lots of other things with them, like put them in muffins, smoothies, cakes, and of course apple pie. You can even just dip them in honey or put them in yogurt or oatmeal. Whatever floats your boat, make the best use of apple season, because it only comes once a year!

Until next time! Happy Baking (and Eating!)