(Hopefully) A New Beginning

It has been quite some time since I posted, for a variety of unimportant reasons.   I recently turned 25 and decided this would be the year of doing things.  One such thing will be posting again and as today is Mama Sarah's Kitchen's birthday (4 years old!), I thought this would be a nice day to start.  For the foreseeable future, I plan on posting once a week, probably on Sundays.  We'll see how it goes from there. 

Tonight I have a simple dessert for you, but I made it up on my own so I'm fairly proud of it.  I'd like to move more towards coming up with my own recipes, though there are still so many fabulous recipes out there to try.  I wanted something like an apple crisp, but without the oats and decided on a cobbler.

Apple Pecan Cobbler

• 3 large apples, cored, peeled, and chopped into bite-size pieces (I did a combination of bite-size pieces and chunks because I like a little variety)
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup flour
• ¾ cup white, granulated sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 2/3 cup milk
• ¼ cup pecan pieces

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9 inch round baking dish.

In a large bowl, sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over apples; toss to coat. Spread apples into prepared dish and dab butter pieces on top. Set aside.

In the same bowl, combine flour, white sugar, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add milk, stirring until well combined. Pour over apple mixture, then sprinkle pecan pieces on top.

Bake for 55-65 minutes or until top is golden brown and set. 

The edges end up nice and firm and the middle is still a little squidgy; just how I like it!  This would be fantastic with lightly sweetened whipped cream or, of course, vanilla ice cream.  

September 2010 Daring Cooks Challenge: Food Preservation, the Apple Butter of Knowledge

The September 2010 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by John of Eat4Fun. John chose to challenge The Daring Cooks to learn about food preservation, mainly in the form of canning and freezing. He challenged everyone to make a recipe and preserve it. John’s source for food preservation information was from The National Center for Home Food Preservation.

 I was beyond thrilled when I saw this month's challenge.  I! LOVE! APPLE BUTTER!! I've been meaning to buy some for ages and this was sooo perfect.  I love apple butter, especially with peanut butter (SO GOOD!!!).  The challenge was doubly awesome because I want to become more proficient at canning.  I plan on starting a garden next summer and I'm sure I'll eventually need to can things.  Making this apple butter was such a rewarding way to spend an afternoon.  It was relaxing and gratifying, and the results were DELICIOUS.  I am strongly considering making apple butter for Christmas gifts.  

I used a combination of Gala, Fuji, and Granny Smith in an attempt to get a full, complex apple experience.  The combination worked well.  

Apple Butter
(adapted from this recipe) 

• 6 lbs apples
• 1 cup apple cider
• 3/4 cup sugar, or to taste
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp cloves

Peel and core the apples, then cut into eighths.  In a large saucepan, combine the apples and apple cider.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the apples are soft and falling apart.  Using a potato masher or similar implement, mash the apples.

Mix in the sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves into the apple mash.  Use a stick blender (or be messy and use a handheld blender like me) to create a smoother apple butter.  Bring to a simmer and partially cover; you want the moisture to evaporate out of the butter. 

When the butter is done, it should mound on a plate without the liquid separating around the edges, creating a watery ring.  At this point, the apple butter is ready to be frozen or canned.

I'm not quite ready to blog about canning.  Hopefully, I will do so in the near future.  

Apple-Spiced Sweet Potatoes

Last weekend, hubby and I were at his granny's house for a big family dinner.  Since she was having issues with her computer, he sat down to work on it.. two hours later, basically everyone else had left and Granny came in to sit with us.  She and I started talking recipes and she brought out a cookbook she just got it: Better Homes and Gardens:  Our Best Recipes.  As I flipped through, I exclaimed every few pages at the tastiness of a recipe.  Granny, being the sweetheart she is, gave me the cookbook.  I knew immediately which recipe I wanted to try first, a slow cooker recipe combining apples and sweet potatoes.  I served it with porkchops seasoned with salt, red pepper, and ground mustard, which paired well with the apples and sweet potatoes. 

 The recipe calls for apple pie filling; I feel like this made the apples too soft and crumbly.  Next time, I'll start with fresh so they hold up a bit better. I was also pretty loose with the recipe, so I'll put the recipe and my alterations. 

Apple-Spiced Sweet Potatoes 

• 3 1/2 to 4 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks
• 1 20-oz can apple pie filling
• 2/3 cup golden raisins (I omitted these)
• 3 tbsp butter or margarine, cut up
• 1 1/2 tsp apple pie spice (I don't have this so I just sprinkled in some cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove)
• 1 recipe candied pecans (omitted)

Lightly coat the liner of a 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker with nonstick spray.  Add sweet potato chunks, apple pie filling, raisins, butter, and the apple pie spice.  Mix well.

Cover; cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours.  

Meanwhile, prepared Candied Pecans.  To serve, top each serving of potatoes with some o the pecans. 

Candied Pecans: In a large skillet, combine 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans, 1/3 cup sugar, and 2 tbsp butter.  Cook and stir over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until sugar mixture clinging to the nuts turns golden and starts to melt.  Pour nut mixture onto a large piece of foil; cool completely.  when nut mixture is cool, coarsely crush.

Slow Cooker Applesauce

Wow, so Wednesday just snuck right by me, for good reason. Firstly, I worked 8 days in a row, and some of those days were quite lengthy. Secondly (and more awesomely) I got a new job! Now, I know I just posted about becoming employed, but I received a second offer that was just too good to pass up. This is actually good news for the blog because I'll be moving from working til 7 pm (bad for cooking) to 5 pm (yay for cooking). Hopefully, I won't be missing anymore Tuesdays. 

On to the food. It's autumny good weather down here, and I'm loving these October days. Yesterday, I had the random desire to make applesauce, something about the aroma of apples, the meltingness that makes the sauce, the tart snap of apples mellowed by musky brown sugar. Mmmm. I'm also rather homesick for college, and one professor in particular who made tasty applesauce. So nostalgia meets seasonality. Here we go.

A few notes before we get started.  There are differing thoughts on whether you need to peel the apples first. Some feel it adds flavor and that it's fairly easy to pull out the peels. If you're cooking for someone who hates apple peel, they aren't going to like the few little pieces that remain behind. It's up to you. Also, this recipe makes a couple servings of applesauce. Definitely double or triple the recipe as you see fit.

Applesauce

• 5 large apples,  cored, peeled, and quartered.
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar

Place the apples in a slow cooker and cook over low for 5 hours.  Mix in the sugars and stir well. Add lemon juice or cinnamon if you'd like.  As you stir the apples, they'll break up and become the mushy awesomeness that is apple sauce.  Cook an additional hour or two.

Apple Pudding

Suddenly, it was Wednesday night and I needed something to post.  Having started work this week (woohoo!!), I haven't cooked much, and that which I have cooked has been repeats. I had planned to make some apple chips tomorrow, but decided those apples might go better baked into some goodie, so I sifted through recipes until I found an upside-down toffee apple cake which looked divine. I got all ready to make it, then I realized I didn't have enough apples. Sigh. I came this close [] (that tiny box is how close) to not baking anything, but then I remembered this apple pudding recipe I came across in my apple search.  

The recipe called for the use of ramekins, which I shamefully don't own, so I use a small pie pan instead. I think it worked out  well. 

The recipe is simple and the results are delicious.  Of course, it would be great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. What apple treat isn't?

Apple Pudding
(original recipe here) 

• 2 large apples: peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped
• 1/2 lemon, it's juice and zest [no lemons here, so I just sprinkled in a tbsp or 2 of lemon juice]
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 80 grams [roughly 3/4 cup] butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar [yes, it is meant to be listed twice]
• 1/4 cup self-rising flour*
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  

Preheat oven to 350F.  

In a small bowl, combine apple, lemon juice, zest, cinnamon, and 1/4 cup brown sugar.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat together the butter and sugar for about 2 minutes.  Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until just combined.  Slowly add the flour until it is just combine. 

Divide the apple mixture between 4 individual ramekins and spoon over the flour mixture. [Alternately, you could just spread the apples in the bottom of a pie pan, the dollop the flour mixture on top, spreading and smoothing it with the back of a spoon.]

Bake 40-45 minutes. [Mine only needed 35 minutes, perhaps because it was more shallow than the ramekins might be.] Let rest a moment or two before enjoying it warm.

* If you don't have self-rising flour, you can easily mix up your own substitute. For 1 cup of self-rising flour, just mix together:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda

Apple Crisp

Many months ago, my supervisor requested apple crisp. I completely forgot until recently, when I made a list of things to bake before I leave. Looking through recipes, I realized there are two schools of thought: 1 involves those who put oats in their crisp and 1 that does not. What to do, what to do. Finally, I just asked the supervisor, because I didn't want to disappoint him. He's of the second, no-oats kind of man. Most of the recipes were really similar, so I went with this one, which is someone's grandmother's so it has to be good right? Right. Grandma's know best, especially this one.
Now, the original recipe called for granny smith apples, but I decided to go with a mix of granny smiths and jonagold. I didn't want the dish to be too tart, plus I thought the slightly different textures would create different stages of softness for the apples. I think the apple combo turned out quite well.


Apple Crisp

• 3 lbs apples, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices (I used 4 jonagold and 4 granny smiths)
• juice from 1 lemon
• 1 1/2 tbsp flour
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 8 tbsp unsalted butter, cold and diced
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed

Preheat oven to 375F. Butter a large casserole dish with 1 of the 8 tbsp of butter.

In a large bowl, toss the apple slices, lemon juice, 1 1/2 tbsp flour, sugar, and cinnamon until the apples are nicely coated. Transfer to the baking dish, making sure they are nicely packed down.

In the same bowl, combine the 2/3 cup flour and brown sugar. Using a pastry knife/cutter/blender (this thing) or your hands, cut in the butter. You want to make a loose crumble (it'll look like coarse sand).

Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the top of the apples.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the sides of bubbly. Let cool for 1 hour before serving. Best served warm, and perhaps over ice cream.

This is delicious. And Amazing. A wonderful comfort food. A delicious ice cream topping. Please make it; you won't regret it.

Rosemary Apple Cake

Today was crummy. For some reason, I was super irritated my entire work day. Of course, I cheered myself up with some good ol' baking. First, I took the dry left-over pound cake and made a bread pudding of sorts with it. I'm still not sure how I feel about it and if I'll post it. We'll see.


Over the weekend, I bought some rosemary for supper. I've seen many recipes utilizing rosemary in desserts (cakes, cookies, etc) and happened across an apple cake with a rosemary syrup which I thought would take great advantage of the apples that have been hanging out in the fridge for quite awhile as well as the left-over rosemary.

The taste of rosemary is very low-key, barely there. The cake is so very, very moist, and the apples add a cloying touch to the simple sweetness.



Rosemary Apple Cake
(Rustic Apple Cake with Rosemary Syrup, by Deborah Mele)

• 2 medium-large apples, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 sprigs rosemary
  

In a heavy skillet, melt 2 tbsp butter. Add apples, cinnamon, and 3 tbsp sugar, stirring to coat the apples in the spices. Cook until the apples begin to become brown and tender. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease and flour an 8 inch springform pan.

In a large bowl, cream together 1 cup butter (softened), 1 cup sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each one.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Fold into batter, just until incorporated. Fold in the apple mixture. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer (or knife) comes out clean. The top of my cake started to brown really quickly, so after about 20 minutes I threw some foil over the top which helped.

15 minutes after you've put the cake in the oven, bring the 1/2 cup sugar, water, and rosemary to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let sit 15 minutes. Strain the syrup and discard the rosemary.

While the cake is baking, combine the sugar, rosemary, and 3/4 cup of water into a small pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit for an additional 15 minutes. Strain the syrup, discarding the rosemary.

Using a skewer, poke holes in the cake approximately 1 inch apart. Pour half of the rosemary syrup over the cake. Allow it to sit and absorb for 15 minutes, then pour the rest of the syrup over it.

Cool completely and remove from pan.

Buttermilk Pancakes with Apple Compote

I've been expecting hubby to get bored with Pancake Saturdays; he seemed incredulous when I first told him the idea, and I've just been waiting to hear a whine of "pancakes? again??"(not that hubby whines.. unless I ask him to wash some dishes). So imagine my surprise when this morning, after I awoke to yell at him for accepting one of the Olsen twin's invitation to a weekend in Maui (weird dreams, weird dreams) he "told" me to get up and make pancakes. He seems to be enjoying this tradition, which is quite nice! Also good to hear that your food audience actually wants the food you're making!

So I've started a list of pancake ideas in my planner. It's pretty small. For this Saturday, I decided to make an apple compote of sorts, similar to what I used when I made the apple coffee cake (which I purposefully didn't post, remember?). I kept the pancakes pretty simple (adapting Nigella's recipe again), so they wouldn't be overpowering, and the combination was great. Hubby and I both really enjoyed them! To balance the sweetness, I cooked up some bacon as well for its delicious salty, smokey taste. Yum yum.


Vanilla Buttermilk Pancakes with Apple Compote:
Pancakes

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp butter, melted and cooled to room temp
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 1/3 cups buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Compote

• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 medium, sweet apples, diced *
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• approximately 1 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 200F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place in the oven. This is where you'll keep your completed pancakes so they'll stay nice and toasty while you make the rest.

For the compote, melt the butter in a large, nonstick skillet. Toss in the apples, cinnamon, and sugar. Cook over a medium-low heat, stirring occassionally, while you make your pancakes. You want the apples to soften and release some of their juice and the sugar to begin to carmelize. This will create a nice, thick syrup. I didn't cook mine long enough, but it was still good.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large measuring cup or small bowl, combine the buttermilk, eggs, butter, and vanille extract. Create a well in the dry ingredients into which you pour the liquid. Mix well. Let sit about 5-1o minutes.

Heat a small amount of vegetable oil in a large, nonstick skillet (cast iron is awesome) over medium low heat. You'll know the pan is warm enough when you splash a tiny bit of water into it and the water beads up, then sizzles.

Pour about 1/3 cup of batter into the center of pan. Use your spoon or measuring cup to spread the batter out with small, gentle circular motions. Once the pancake starts to show bubbles around the edges and into the center and the shiny sheen of it has dulled, flip it over. Gently pat the pancake. Let it cook for a few minutes, flipping it ever so often to see how the bottom looks. A great way to tell if its cooked enough is to gently press down (with a finger or spoon handle) and see if it springs back up. That is a finished pancake. Place the cooked pancake on your baking sheet in the oven. Repeat until batter is gone.

To serve, spoon apple compote on top of pancakes.

Devour.

Apple Chips

Alrighty. Here's my final Christmas goodies post. I love love LOVE apples. And someone on tastespotting had made homemade apple chips. The idea of slowly baking apples in the oven, letting the crisp, cinnamony sweet aroma waft through my apartment, was irresistable.


Making these apple chips is really easy. Slice an apple or two really really thinly (more proof that everyone needs a mandolin slicer). Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Sprinkle some powdered sugar and cinnamon on the parchment paper, then lay the apple slices in a single layer on top of it. Sprinkle again with powdered sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 200F for 1 1/2 hours. Delicious.

Apple Pie

Have you figured out that I LOVE apples? Well I do, especially in baked goods. One of the best things about Thanksgiving is that I get to make apple pie. But, I usually find other excuses to make apple pie.. Most recently, I made one for my friend David's birthday. And before that, I made one for my friends at work.
The thing I love about this pie is its custardy base. Everyone is so surprised and delighted when they bite into it and feel the rich smoothness. The custard and the paper-thin apple slices make this pie unique in the world of chunky apples and goo pies. Not to rag on those pies; they're good and have a rightful place in the pie world. But this pie, MY pie, is better. I promise.


Apple Pie
(from Bell's Best, pg 433)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced very thin
1 uncooked pie shell (I use Pillsbury because I'm not that hardcore yet)

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Whisk together the sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter and mix well. Beat in the eggs until well combined.

Toss the apples in the custard mixture until they are well coated.

Pour into the pie crust. Make sure the apples and custard are evenly distributed.

Bake 30-45 minutes, until edges look a bit crisp and the middle doesn't jiggle very much. I usually stick a knife in the middle to make sure it isn't too runny.

Apple Pie Cookies

I first made these cookies awhile ago for some kids I help out at school. They are super delicious, and I absolutely love the itty-bitty chunks of apple in them. I mix in cinnamon chips as well, and they're just super moist and soft and amazing and soft and delicious. I heart them. These are probably in my top 5 favorite cookies.

Apple Pie Cookies
(originally Apple Jacks by BakingBlonde)

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup apple, diced
  
• 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup Hershey's cinnamon chips
  

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, beat the butter. Beat in the brown sugar, vanilla, and egg until fluffy.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add to the butter mixture. Combine well.

Stir in the apple and cinnamon chips.

Using a cookie scoop (these things are amazing), drop onto the baking sheet. Make sure these are well spaced, because the cookies will expand a bit.

Bake 9-12 minutes until the cookies are a light/golden brown and the edges are set. Let cool a bit before removing them to a wrack.

IF you have leftovers (which I've yet to experience) BakingBlonde advises against covering them tightly. Instead, loosing wrap them and keep them in the fridge. Otherwise, all the moisture from the apples will make them soften too much.

Apple Blondies

I made these gems for work; I received great compliments and one marriage proposal. I forgot to take a picture before I left for work in the morning, so this is all I have left to photograph:


This recipe comes from Maria over at The Goddess's Kitchen. It is GREAT, though if I make this again, I won't include the icing. It's sweetness detracts from the absolute divine nature of the blondies. Please note, many of my coworkers disagree with me.

Apple Blondies:
Batter
2/3 cup butter, softened
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup peeled, chopped apples
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Frosting
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup milk or cream
2 cups powdered (confectioners) sugar

Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9x13 pan.
On medium speed, beat butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla for about 3 minutes.
In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to batter and mix well.
Stir in apples and cinnamon.
Spread into greased pan and bake for 25-50 minutes (until the middle is set).
Cool completely.

To prepare the frosting, melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in the brown sugar and milk and let the mixture come to a boil. Remove from heat and let it cool until lukewarm.
Stir in the powdered sugar - I did this 1/2 cup at a time and stirred vigorously to make sure the sugar mixes in completely.
Spread the frosting over the bars. Let it cool completely before cutting into these AMAZING bars.

Rainy Day Golden Apple Cake

By now I hope you assume most recipes I find are through TasteSpotting. This time it brought me to Pictures of Cake and her self-concocted Rainy Day Golden Apple Cake. I'm not cool, so I don't have 5 inch cake pans, but other than that I stuck with recipe. It was very simple.

• 1 medium Golden Delicious apple
• 1 tbsp diced unsalted butter
• 1/2 tsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp softened unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/8 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 5 (or 9) inch cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Butter that as well.
Thinly slice the apple. I did so using the mandolin slicer. Line the pan with apples, overlapping slices. Make it pretty because this will be the top of your cake.
Spread the butter bits and 1/4 tsp brown sugar over the apples.
Cream the rest of the butter and brown sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, and vanilla extract.
Stir egg mixture into butter/sugar mixture. Mix well.
In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix into sugar mixture. Mix until no dry spots remain.
Pour batter on top of apples. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before running a knife along the edges and turning the cake out of the pan to cool completely.
It is advised to serve this with cream. Good either warm or cool.

This is a simple, pretty cake. If I made this again, I don't think I'd add the lemon zest, and I'd spice up the batter some more.

Also, the cake had a bunch of weird air pockets. Perhaps I did not mix well enough?

Apple Ladder Loaf

So.. I made this awhile ago.. Remember, I mentioned it? It went over amazingly well. Hubby said it reminded him of king cake, which I think is flattering knowing his love for it. I'm a big fan of apples in bread, so I'll definitely make this again, tweaking the recipe.. as usual.. So here goes.. This is from The Taste of Home Cookbook, recipe by Norma Foster.

Apple Ladder Loaf

Bread:
2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110-115F)
1/2 cup warm milk (110-115F)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
4 eggs
4-1/2 to 4-3/4 cups flour

Filling:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp flour
1-1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground allspice
4 cups thinly sliced and peeled tart apples (I used granny smiths and had hubby slice them super thin using our mandolin slicer.. oh mandolin slicer, how I love thee!)

Icing:
1 cup powdered (confectioners') sugar
1-2 tsp orange juice or milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extra

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. (My mom always taught me to do so in a smaller container, like a measuring cup, but do as you will. I followed Mom's advice, then just transferred to a bowl.) Add the milk, butter, sugar, salt, eggs, and 2 cups of the flour. Beat on low for 3 minutes. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough. (I didn't have a sturdy enough spoon, so I used my hands and basically kneaded in the rest of the flour.)
Next, turn onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic - about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours; punch the dough down. (I love this step.) Cover and refrigerate over night. (I didn't cover it overnight. I'm impatient and didn't feel the step was necessary. Maybe doing so would have made it extra-super-duper amazing, but it's fine without the overnight step.)
If you did the overnight thing, punch the dough down again. Turn onto a floured surface and divide in half. Roll each half into a 12x9 inch rectangle. Place each on a greased baking sheet. (I went a slightly different route; I placed the rectangles on parchment paper. This made working the dough easier AND kept my baking sheets clean. I just placed the parchment paper on top of the baking sheet when it was time for the bread to rise and when it was time to bake.) Spread each with 1/8 cup butter - make sure it is very soft.
For filling, combine brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice in a large bowl; add apples and toss to coat. Spread filling down the center third of each rectangle.
On each long side, cut 1 inch wide strips about 3 inches into the center (a ruler is very helpful at this point). Starting at one end, fold alternating strips at an angle across filling, seal ends. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 45-60 minutes.
Bake at 350F for 3-40 minutes or until golden brown. (Mine took ALOT less time to bake, perhaps 20 minutes. I ended up slicing into mine to see if the bread was fully cooked - it was.) Combine icing ingredients until smooth; drizzle over warm loaves. Serve warm or at room temperature.


So I'm not as good at ... laddering bread as I was at braiding it. Hubby says it's just a matter of practice, which is sweet of him. Now, to changes... One person recommended using different apples; she's not a fan of the granny smith. I personally love baking with the granny smith; I find their tart and crisp nature hold up well after baking and also complement the sweetness of the sugar mixture and icing. Regarding the spice mixture, I felt it was a bit too heavy on the nutmeg, but then again many other people thought it was great. My mom never baked with nutmeg, so I'm pretty sensitive to it.

I'll definitely make this again. It'd be great for a brunch. Watch out though; it makes 2 full loaves. I ended up bringing one to school and leaving it in the writing center.

The semester is ending, and my summer plans are to read and bake so expect a foodsplosion again.

I just took a lemon cake out of the oven, and I'm making manicotti tonight. I'm excited, and you should be too.