Recipe: Caramel Apple Nachos
Apple season is at its finest right now – so is “having too much candy around the house” season! Combine these into this delicious snack or dessert idea from The Pin Junkie. Of course, you can always change candy and apple types, and add or take off some of the toppings. The apple nachos would also be good with chocolate syrup or pre-made caramel sauce.ENJOY!
Ingredients:
- 2 green granny smith apples, cored & sliced
- half a bag of caramel
- 1 teaspoon water
- 1/4 cup chopped peanuts
- 2 Tablespoons mini chocolate chips (or M&Ms)
Directions:
1. Unwrap all individual caramels. Place them in a saucepan with one teaspoon of water over medium-low heat. Stir the caramel constantly until caramels are completely melted.
2. Drizzle melted caramel over sliced apples.
3. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and mini chocolate chips.
Recipe: Apple Pie “French Fries”
Okay, so maybe these Apple Pie “French Fries” aren’t the healthiest snack, but how cute are they? They look like real French fries with salt and shape. These would be really fun to have at a birthday party. The recipe below from Oh Bite It! serves 25-30 “fries”, so you may need more than that for parties.
Ingredients:
- 1 pkg of Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts (2 ct., but brand doesn’t matter)
- 1.5 cups of Apple Pie Filling
- 1 Egg
- Sparkle sugar for sprinkling “salt” onto the fries
- Caramel sauce and/or ice cream for dipping
- Optional: Food processor, Decorative edge roll-cutter
Directions:
- Chop up apple pie filling as best as you can, or use food processor and save tons of time.
- Unroll the 2 pie crusts. On 1 of the crusts, spread the apple filling around leaving 1/8″ at edge, then lightly press the other crust onto the top of it to secure it.
- Make egg wash by combining an egg with a splash of water.
- Brush egg wash across the entire top of the crust and sprinkle with the sparkle sugar.
- Cut the crust into 1/2″ strips then again into “fries” shape and size. Place very carefully onto parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 350-degrees for 12 minutes or until slightly golden and firm.
- Serve with caramel and/or ice cream for dipping.
20+ Recipes for Homemade Flavored Coffee Creamer
My hubby and I love coffee in the morning with that lovely and oh so expensive flavored coffee creamer. It is super expensive and it seems that prices are continuing to rise. You can make this for just over 1/2 the cost of those that you buy in the store. If you can grab the ingredients on sale, grab it for less than half the cost.
Ingredients for the Base:
- 14oz sweetened condensed milk
- 1 3/4 cup milk or cream (whole, lowfat, skim, almond, soy, heavy cream, half & half etc – whatever your preference, however the more fat, the more creaminess)
Then you need to choose which is your flavor choice. If the flavor your choose has an ingredant that is powdered (like cinnamon or cocoa) then heat about 1.2 cup of the base and disolve the power in that first…it helps so that your creamer is not grainy!
Choose Your Flavor
French Vanilla Creamer
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract OR vanilla coffee syrup (most grocery stores have this now where they sell coffee or get it at Stabucks)
Vanilla Bean Coffee Creamer
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (vanilla extract will not work)
Chocolate
- 2-3 tablespoons chocolate syrup (any brand, I like Hershey’s)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Almond
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
Recipe: Lemon-Poppy Seed Zucchini Bread
For a refreshing change from regular zucchini bread, bake this lemon-poppy seed version from Southern Living Magazine. It’s perfect for summer and rated 5-stars!
Ingredients (Makes three 5- x 3-inch loaves):
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 1/3 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup shredded zucchini
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 325°. Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each egg is added.
- Stir together flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in zucchini and next 2 ingredients. Spoon batter into 3 greased and floured 5×3-inch disposable aluminum foil loaf pans (about 1 1/3 cups batter per pan).
- Bake at 325° for 40 to 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely (about 30 minutes).
Picture via Living Rancho Deluxe.
Recipe: Nutella Banana Bread
Nutella added INTO banana bread? Yes! It’s a simple recipe to make such delicious bread that you’ll never go back to “regular” banana bread again. Thanks to Chef In Training for the yummy recipe!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cup mashed ripe bananas
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/3 cup milk
- 3/4 heaping cup Nutella
- 2 cups flour
- 3/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup softened butter
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray an 8×4-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.
- Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl.
- Beat sugar and butter in another large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until fully blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one. Add banana, milk and vanilla, then beat until blended. Add the flour mixture from the other bowl and beat at low speed just until flour is mixed in, but not too blended.
- Put the Nutella into a small dish and warm in the microwave for 15 seconds. Add 1 cup of the banana bread batter to the Nutella in the bowl and stir them together until well blended.
- Add this newly made Nutella batter, then the plain banana bread batter in alternating layers into the bread pan. Lightly swirl the two types of batter with a knife.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes. The bread will seem a little underbaked, but that’s what makes it so good and moist! Let the bread cool for at least 15 minutes in the pan before taking it out of the pan to cool completely.