APPLE DUMPLING BAKE

 Friends Patricia and Gary were our hosts for the October gathering of our Tasty Bunch Group. After a delicious dinner at Summit Grill, we traveled to their house for further conversation and dessert, delicious Apple Dumpling Bake with ice cream.

They are a delicious, easy dessert to make and sure to be a family favorite. Saturday night neighbors invited us to pot luck dinner and someone brought the same dessert. It may be popular during the fall but doesn't have to be limited to the fall. The very first time I enjoyed them was when Friend Janice and I were having lunch after a morning of going to estate sales. We got the last four (two each) that the restaurant had. I asked the waitress how they made them and then served them myself at a gathering.  

You can use a diet soda and I would also use a sugar substitute like erythritol, stevia, or Splenda for the cup of sugar. 

APPLE DUMPLING BAKE

2     medium Granny Smith or Golden Delicious apples

2     tubes (8 ounces each) refrigerated crescent rolls

1     cup sugar

1/2  cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1/2  teaspoon  ground cinnamon

3/4  cup Mountain Dew soda

Vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Peel, core, and cut each apple into 8 triangles. 

Unroll both tubes of crescent dough; separate each into 8 triangles.

Wrap a triangle around each wedge starting at the widest end. Place in a greased 9 x 13 - in baking dish.

In a bowl, mix sugar, butter, and cinnamon until blended; put a tablespoonful on top of each roll up and press it down.

Slowly pout the Mountain Dew around the rolls (do not stir).

Bake, uncovered, until golden brown and apples are tender, 35 - 40 minutes.

Serve warm with ice cream.

The top cooks a little crispy like a pastry and the bottoms bake custardy.

APPLE CIDER DOUGHNUT CAKE

One thing I love about fall is all of the pumpkin, apple, etc desserts I can make. There really isn't any reason they can't be made all year long, but they just seem to be really prevalent in the fall.

Friend Julie has been the Hospitality Coordinator at our church for several years and decided to resign so she could spend more time with her teenage children. She didn't resign from church so I will still be seeing her, but I will miss working with her. I always said when I retired from teaching I wanted to be a "Walmart Greeter" because I love greeting people. Well, I didn't become one but I did join the hospital team at the church. I could greet the congregation ever Sunday without a problem.

As it turned out Julie had a birthday a few days before her last official Sunday so I decided to make her a cake to celebrate both occasions. At first I couldn't understand why it was called a doughnut cake, but the only thing I could come up with is it might look like a giant cinnamon sugar doughnut. She liked it so much that she told me she gave her daughter Faith one piece and she, Julie, ate the rest. That was a lot of cake!

I made the cake for us first using a SF yellow cake mix, but used a regular yellow cake mix for Julie's. Good either way especially if you are wanting to reduce your sugar intake.

APPLE CIDER DOUGHNUT CAKE

Cake:

1     box yellow cake mix (without the added pudding) (Can use a SF yellow cake mix)

3/4  cup apple cider

1/2  cup butter (1 stick), melted

4     eggs

2     teaspoons ground cinnamon

1     teaspoon ground nutmeg

1     cup coarsely shredded peeled tart apples ( ~1 large or 2 smaller apples)  

Topping:

3     tablespoons butter, melted

1/4  cup sugar

1     teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously spray a fluted cake pan with baking spray with flour or grease and flour. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, add cake mix, apple cider, melted butter, eggs, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Beat on low to moisten the cake mix and then scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula.

Increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl again and

stir in the apples til

well distributed.

Pour batter into pan.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in center.

Remove cake from the oven and let stand for 20 minutes on wire rack.

Run a knife or metal spatula around outer and inside edges of the pan to loosen the cake.

Invert pan onto cooling rack and place cooling rack over waxed paper.

Brush the top and sides of the cake with the melted butter

coating well.

Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl

and press 2 tablespoons of the mixture up the sides and top of the cake with your fingers.

Let stand  20 minutes and then repeat with remaining cinnamon mixture.

Cool completely, about an hour. 

Store loosely covered at room temperature.  

PUMPKIN CRUNCH

 This is another one of the desserts I made for Pastor Appreciation Day at our church. The first one I shared was . O have seen other crunch recipes, but this one was a little different. It was so easy to make and looked delicious finished.

It is another recipe from my latest addition to my cookbook collection entitled Given to Hospitality II, another collection of recipes from the ladies of the Ozark Mennonite Church and School. It was attributed to LaVonne Overbolt.

PUMPKIN CRUNCH

1       (16-oz) can solid packed pumpkin

1       (12-oz) can evaporated milk

3       eggs

1-1/2 cups sugar

1/2    teaspoon salt

4       teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

.....................................

1        box yellow cake mix (I used a white cake mix)

1        cup chopped pecans

1        stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted

Cool Whip or ice cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or spray a 9 x 13" pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredient (first five).

Stir until smooth with a whisk.

Pour into prepared pan.

Sprinkle dry cake mix over top.

(Make sure you don't have any large lumps.)

Swirl into mixture.

Top with nuts.

Drizzle with butter.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Serve with Cool Whip or ice cream. Refrigerate leftovers. 

 

PUMPKIN SPICE PANCAKES

 One of my favorite things about fall is going to IHOP to eat their Pumpkin Spice Pancakes. We have already been three times, but after today, I can enjoy them at home. And I must say after eating some, I can't tell that I haven't been to IHOP. This recipe definitely makes restaurant quality pancakes. Even my husband said they were really good. It was also a good use of leftover pumpkin after making a dessert that only called for a cup of pumpkin.

PUMPKIN SPICE PANCAKES

1        egg, beaten

1-1/4  cup milk (I used skim milk)

2        cups baking and pancake mix (I used CB, the Country Store)

1/2     cup canned pumpkin

1        teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2     teaspoon ground allspice (I used a scant 1/2 teaspoon)

Real maple syrup, if desired (I used sugar free syrup)

Combine all ingredients, except syrup in a bowl til blended.

I started with a wooden spoon and then

whisked the batter a few seconds to make sure most lumps were broken up. 

Heat griddle and spray or spread a little oil on it. Pour less than or equal to 1/4 cup for each pancake depending on the size of pancakes you like. I personally like smaller pancakes so I used my smaller ice cream scoop that holds a little less than 1/4 cup. Cook until bubbles form.

Turn pancakes and cook until the bottom is golden brown.

Serve pancakes as you like with butter, cinnamon butter, or syrup.

Since it is only the two of us, I stored the rest of the batter in a plastic container to cook fresh later.

PUMPKIN AND SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE

 

Yesterday in Missouri it was Pastor Appreciation Day in United Methodist churches. Two of our pastors came new to us last summer during COVID. The other one came new this summer. Since we weren't able to gather in church during most of COVID, we "met" our Lead Pastor, Yvi, and Choongho, one of our Associate Pastor through online worship. We started meeting back in the church with masks and social distancing the Sunday after Easter this Spring and Jess came in July as our second Associate Pastors. We have been blessed with three outstanding pastors and I wanted to show my appreciation to them by doing one of my favorite things to do - bake and gift my baked goods to others. 

I made three desserts on Saturday and took them to church yesterday morning and let them choose the one they wanted. I saw Yvi first and gave her first choice. This Pumpkin and Sour Cream Coffee Cake is the one she chose. 

If it seems like I left out some pictures, in one way I guess you could say I did. I did, because I was so busy making the recipe that I just forgot to take all the pictures I usually do. I'm sure you can manage okay without them. 

Since I have company in the kitchen while I was working so hard, I had to take a picture to share with you. You will find it after the recipe directions.

PUMPKIN AND SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE

Cake Batter:

1       stick of butter (1/2 cup)

1/2    cup sugar

1       teaspoon vanilla

3       eggs

2       cups flour

1       teaspoon baking powder

1       teaspoon soda

1       cup sour cream

Pumpkin Layer:

1-3/4 cups (1 15-ounce can) pumpkin or butternut

1       egg, beaten

1/3    cup sugar

1/2    teaspoon cinnamon

1/4    teaspoon ginger

1/8    teaspoon ground cloves

1/8    teaspoon nutmeg

Streusel:

1       cup brown sugar

1/3    cup flour

1/3    cup butter

2       teaspoons cinnamon

Glaze:

3/4 - 1 cup powdered sugar

1       teaspoon maple flavoring

2       tablespoons milk or coffee (I used skim milk)

1       teaspoon vanilla

2       teaspoons light corn syrup

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease or spray a 9 x 13 - inch baking dish. Set aside.

Prepare the cake batter first.

Cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla in a mixing bowl

until creamy.

Add eggs and beat well. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.

In a separate bowl, stir together the dry ingredients with a whisk. Add the dry ingredients alternately to the creamed mixture with the sour cream. Set aside.

Prepare the pumpkin layer next.

Combine all of the ingredients listed in another bowl and

mix well with a whisk. Set aside.

Prepare the streusel ingredients with a pastry blender; set aside.

Spoon half of the cake batter into prepared baking dish. This will be a thin layer so spread carefully to cover the bottom of the dish.

Sprinkle half of the streusel over the batter.

Spread the pumpkin mixture over the streusel.

Carefully spread remaining batter over the pumpkin. 

 Bake for 50 to 60 minutes.

A few minutes before it is done, whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth.

Drizzle on cake immediately after taking out of oven.

Cool in pan on wire whisk. Most of the glaze will soak into the cake.

Parker (blue collar) and Charlie (red collar) 5 to 6 months old now didn't want to be too far away from me, I guess. They took their whole afternoon nap on a dish towel right in front of the stove.