Jonathan Apple Recipes

APPLE CRISP - PERFECT AND EASY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking dish.
• Arrange apple slices evenly in prepared baking dish. Sift flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter using a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal; sprinkle over apples.
• Bake in preheated oven until topping is golden, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

HOW TO CAN APPLESAUCE

Steps:

• Core and cut your apples. Leave the skin intact but cut off any bad spots. This is where an apple corer/slicer comes in handy -- makes it very quick to fill your pot.
• Fill the bottom of your pot with one inch of water, add a lid and bring to a boil.
• Once the water begins to boil, stir, reduce heat to medium and let the apples soften for approximately an hour. (The lid should remain on during the heating process). Stir occasionally to prevent burning.
• Once apples are soft, remove from heat.
• **Hint - if there is a lot of extra liquid, remove the liquid to prevent your applesauce from being too runny. Save the juice to be used in later recipes.
• While the apples are warm, run them through your food mill and return the applesauce to the stove on medium heat. (No need for a lid now)
• Add cinnamon to taste and return to a light simmer.
• Add to sterilized and heated quart jars. Place a warm lid and ring on the jar and place into your canner. Water bath jars by placing water at least one inch above the tops of the jars and wait until the water begins to boil. Boil for 20 minutes.
• Once your time is up, remove canner from the heat source and let the jars sit in the warm water for 10-15 minutes.
• Remove jars and let cool on a towel in a cool place, away from drafts. You should begin to hear that wonderful 'POP' sound of the jars sealing. Let cool for 24 hours - then check by pushing down on the lids to make sure the jars have sealed. If you can not press in the lid, store in a cool dark place for up to a year. If the jar did not seal properly, immediately place in the refrigerator and eat within 4 weeks.

MAPLE APPLE CAKE

Steps:

• For the apples: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan and sprinkle with some maple sugar to coat the butter.
• Heat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat and add the 2 tablespoons butter. Add the apples and maple sugar and stir to combine. Saute until caramelized, but not cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• For the crumble: Mix the cornmeal, flour, oats, light brown sugar, maple sugar, cinnamon and salt in a bowl. Add the diced butter and use a fork to mash the ingredients together until they become coarse crumbs.
• For the cake: To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the butter, maple sugar and syrup and whip until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and creme fraiche, mixing on low speed. Add the flour, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and salt and stir to combine. Stir in the vanilla extract. Add the batter to the prepared springform pan, topping with the sauteed apples. Gently nestle the apples into the cake batter.
• Put the crumble topping over the apple mixture. Put the springform pan on a baking sheet and bake until cooked through, about 1 hour. Allow to cool slightly, about 15 minutes, before removing from the pan. Slice into wedges and serve.

JONAGOLD APPLE BUTTER

Steps:

• Combine the apples and juice in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the apples are very soft, 30 to 45 minutes. Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, ground cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and salt. Continue to cook until the apple butter is thick enough to mound when spooned onto a plate, about 45 more minutes.
• Meanwhile, place a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet. Sterilize the 1/2-pint canning jars and lids in boiling water, following the manufacturer's instructions (or see Boiling-Water Canning, page 279). Remove the jars from the water and place upside down to drain on the prepared rack. Remove the lids from the water and dry with a clean towel. Turn the sterilized jars right side up on the rack, using tongs or a kitchen towel to protect your hands. When they are cool enough to handle, dry them with a clean towel. Set aside.
• When the apple butter is cooked, fill the hot jars according to the procedure for Raspberry Jam (page 289), and process them in a boiling-water canner for 10 minutes. Store the unopened jars of apple butter at room temperature for up to 1 year. Once a jar is opened, store in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
• For refrigerator or freezer apple butter, transfer the mixture to clean airtight containers and refrigerate for up to 1 month. Or spoon into airtight freezer-safe containers, leaving at least 1 inch of headroom and freeze for up to 1 year.