Fireball Cinnamon Apple Jelly

Ok ya’ll, here it is almost Christmas. But not yet, not yet! It certainly doesn’t feel like Christmas as far as the temperature goes. It has actually been pretty balmy recently. Maybe like early Fall or even Spring. So I’m going to take this opportunity to give you one last lovely Autumn recipe for this year – Fireball Cinnamon Apple Jelly. I am giving folks a jar of this for Christmas, so it is not like you can only eat this scrumptious jelly in the Fall. No indeed! It is fantastic all year round.

I adapted this recipe from my friend Theresa Storey’s cookbook Fruit on the Table: Seasonal recipes from the Green Apron kitchen.

Theresa runs The Green Apron, which is an artisan preserve and tea company located in Ireland. She grows much of the fruit and vegetables that she uses in her preserves at her family’s orchards at Derryclough and in the walled vegetable garden at her parents 18th Century castle, Glenwilliam.

In her best selling cookbook, Theresa follows the seasons and tells you how best to keep fruit on your table all year round. It is an absolute treasure trove, filled not only with her family recipes for jams, jellies and chutneys but it also runs the full gambit of meals, including recipes for cocktails, snacks , mains and going all the way through to desserts. And it doesn’t stop with the mouthwateringly delicious recipes, Fruit on the Table also gives you the low down on growing your own fruit, the ins and outs of preserving, tips on foraging as well as drying fruit.

I have shared several recipes from her book over the years. Like this one for her Prize-winning Scones with Strawberry Jam and Clotted Cream.

I’m telling you, she does know her way around a jam jar! You will love her Cinnamon Apple Jelly too I wager. I’m the one who went and added that Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey into the mix. I couldn’t resist. You know me, if I can add booze to a recipe, I pretty much will.

I slather this jelly on toast, add a dollop atop my oatmeal or even swirl it into yogurt. Absolutely delish!

There are quite a few steps involved in this recipe, but I am telling you it is worth it! If you love that cinnamony apple flavor, you will be over the moon with this jelly! It’s like bottling up a little bit of autumn, you know…with some whiskey thrown in for good measure!

• Servings: makes roughly 52 oz. - how every you would like to divide it between jars. Personally I think the little 4 oz jars are perfect for jelly.
• Difficulty: easy
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recipe adapted from: Fruit on the Table: Seasonal recipes from the Green Apron kitchen by Theresa Storey

Ingredients:

• 6 lb apples, washed (I used HoneyCrisps. Use your favorite, or a blend of sweet and tart varieties)
• 2 cinnamon quills
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 ounces Fireball cinnamon whiskey, plus a bit extra

Directions:

Place a saucer into the refrigerator to chill

Roughly chop the unpeeled and uncored apples and place them in a large preserving pan. Add enough water to just cover them.Throw in the two cinnamon quills.

Cook over medium hight heat for about 45 minutes or until the flesh has turned to pulp and the skin has started to disintegrate.

Remove the cinnamon quills and thrown away. Put the apple pulp in a clean rinsed jelly bag placed over a large bowl. Leave it to drain for at least an hour, but it would be better to leave it overnight.

Measure the juice. Pour it into a clean preserving pan with 450 grams (1 lb) of sugar for every 600 ml. of juice. Stir in the 1/4 cup of lemon juice. The mixture will appear cloudy, but once you add the sugar and begin heating, it will magically become clear.

Cook over high heat. It may take anywhere from 20 -40 minutes until it reaches the setting point.

Spoon a little of the boiling preserve onto the cold saucer. Let it cool and then push it with your finger. If it has reached setting point, the top of the blob of jelly will wrinkle.

Once it has reached setting point, remove from heat. Stir in the two teaspoons of cinnamon. Mix well. Then add 60 ml (2 fl oz) of Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey to the pan and stir to combine. It will bubble a bit but settle down quickly.

Pour into warm, sterilized jars to within 6 mm (1/4″) from the top. Splash a little bit of Fireball whiskey on the top of the jelly. Folks will love the whiff of boozy cinnamon goodness they get when they open a jar!

Wipe any drips off the rims of the jars to make sure there is a good seal between the jar and lid. A dampened paper towel works well for this. Place the lids on and seal.

If your plan is to scarf down all of this cinnamon apple jelly immediately, just put the lids on and place the jars in the refrigerator. If you would like to keep it for longer, screw rims onto jam jars. Using tongs, pick up the full jam jars and submerge them into a boiling water bath for 8 minutes.

After 8 minutes, remove the jars from the water bath and place them on the towel. As they cool, you should hear a ping type noise which tells you the jam jars are sealed. When you push down in the center of the top of the jar, there should be no click noise. Once the jars have cooled, make sure the rings are sealed tightly.

Enjoy!

Links for helpful kitchen tools & ingredients for Fireball Cinnamon Apple Jelly:

Fruit on the Table: Seasonal Recipes from the Green Apron Kitchen

OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

Kilner Stainless Steel Jam Pan

Ball Mason 4 oz quilted jelly jars

Canning Magnetic Lid Wand

Norpro 600 Jar Lifter

Ball Canning Funnel

Apple Dumpling Slices

Woohoo! Here it is the day before Thanksgiving! I bet everyone is as busy as little bees in their kitchens today, either that or out there braving the grocery stores (Boo!) Well, whatever it is you are doing, I’m sure you’re crunched for time. That is simply how it is come holiday time. Let this recipe for Apple Dumpling Slices can come to your rescue! Sweet, gooey, apple-y autumn perfection! And…(insert drum roll please) super-duper quick and easy to make!

Now I love some good old fashioned dumplings for sure. I’ve told you all about how my Mom makes Pop-pop Roy’s Old fashioned Apple Dumplings every Thanksgiving. And they are so amazing!

So this is not what I will be making for dessert tomorrow. Can’t compete with Pop-pop Roy’s dumpling gems. I’ve got something else in the works. But I’m just thinking of you. If you’ve got some extra time on your hands, by all means give Pop-pop Roy’s a whirl. But if you are sick to death of being in the kitchen already and the day hasn’t even arrived, this might be the dessert for you! These Apple Dumpling Slices are altogether a totally different thing. They are kind of a cross between an apple dumpling, a cobbler, a cinnamon roll and a pie, if you can imagine that. And sooooo easy to make. You’ll have ’em done, your feet up and a glass of wine poured before you know it!

I highly recommend using the boiled apple cider, but if you don’t have it today, no problem. The recipe will guide you along without it. Though seriously, do get some. It is like a magic elixir! I will also say, when you pour that syrup over the dumpling slices, you might freak out, thinking it is way too much liquid. But don’t despair! It will cook down to a gorgeous gooey perfection of a syrup. Just spoon any left in the bottom of the pan over the dumpling slice and top it with a bit of ice cream. Keep this recipe in your bag of tricks, I’m telling you. Great for Thanksgiving, but very welcome anytime you need a scrumptious old time-y dessert. Folks will think you slaved over this dish all day. And me? I promise, I won’t say a word.

• Servings: 16 small servings
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recipe from: King Arthur Baking

Ingredients:

For the syrup:

• 4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter, cold
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups (227g to 340g) water* (see tips below)
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups (198g to 298g) sugar* (see tips below)
• 1/2 cup (170g) boiled cider – optional* (see tips below)

For the Filling:

• 2 cups (255g) peeled, diced apple (from about 2 medium apples)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

For the Dough:

• 2 cups (227g) Self Rising Flour (King Arthur flour is the way to go!)
• 6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, cold
• 1/2 cup (113g) milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Melt the 4 tablespoons butter for the syrup in a 9″ x 13″ baking dish; glass or ceramic is preferable. Set the dish aside.

To make the syrup: In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the water, butter and sugar until the sugar melts. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the boiled cider. Set aside.

To make the filling: Mix together the cinnamon and apples. Set aside.

To make the dough: Combine the flour and butter in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Work the butter into the flour with a mixer, your fingers, a pastry blender, or pastry fork, (I used my food processor to make quick work of it) until the mixture is crumbly.

Stir in the milk, and mix until the dough just comes together and leaves the sides of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it gently, until it’s somewhat cohesive.

Roll the dough out gently until it’s a rectangle about 10″ x 15″; rolling the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper is helpful here. Scatter the apples evenly over the surface of the dough.

Starting with a long side, gently roll the dough into a log, pinching the edges together to seal. It may tear, but don’t worry; just mend it as best you can. If you’ve rolled the dough out on parchment paper, it can help prevent the tearing.

With a bench knife or serrated knife, cut the log into 16 slices, starting in the middle and moving out towards the edges.

Arrange the slices atop the melted butter in the baking dish as artfully as possible. The slices may want to fall apart, but again, not to worry. The finished product will look just fine.

Pour the syrup over the apple dumpling slices and carefully transfer the pan to the oven.

Bake the dumplings for 40 to 45 minutes, until the biscuits are lightly browned on top, and the syrup is bubbling. Be careful moving the pan, as the hot liquid can slosh from one end of the the pan to the other very easily.

Let the dumpling slices cool a bit, then serve them with syrup spooned over the top. Annnnd….probably a little ice cream as well!

Store, loosely covered, at room temperature for a day or so. Freeze for longer storage.

Tips:

King Arthur recommends using boiled cider for more pronounced apple flavor. If omitting the boiled cider, or you like your dumplings extra sweet and syrupy, use 1 1/2 cups each sugar and water. If using boiled cider, and you want dumplings that are a little less sweet but still sticky and gooey, use 1 cup each sugar and water.

Enjoy!

Links for helpful Kitchen Tools & Ingredients for Apple Dumpling Slices:

Cuisinart Pro-Classic Food Processor

Oxo Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale

Silicone Pastry Dough Rolling Mat

Boiled Cider – I absolutely love this stuff! It really intensifies that fresh apple flavor in recipes. I also use it in baked oatmeal and have been known to drizzle a bit over ice cream. Highly recommended!

A Tale of Two Apple Butters – Tipsy Sweet & Drunken Granny

Did I mention that apples were my favourite fruit? Yup, they sure are and they are now in season! My favourites are the apples that are very crisp. I really hate a mushy apple (sorry Red Delicious… you are right out! ) I prefer Honey Crisps, Jonagolds, Winesaps…. you get the picture.

There’s plenty to choose from at the markets now and I am in heaven! I have never made Apple Butter, so bolstered by my recent preserve making successes, I decided there was no time like the present and got to it. I read over the River Cottage Preserves Handbook and decided to use their recipe for Cider Apple Butter, but with a bunch of extra spices and some extra booze thrown in. No not Jack Daniels, but I can understand why you might have guessed that particular spirit. I used a bit of Calvados that I happened to have on hand. I also used Hornsby’s Cider which is a dry hard cider. The “dry” bit that I’m referring to means that in most of the natural sugar has been fermented out as the cider is made. Other brands of dry cider easily available include Woodchuck or Strongbow. If you wanted to use a non-alcoholic cider, remember that you will likely need to reduce the overall amount of sugar in the recipe, due to the sweetness of the unfermented cider.

For my first batch ( yes there will be a second…hence the tale of two butters thing in the title) of hard cider apple butter, I used my favourite Honey Crisp apples.The apple butter was very easy to make. The most difficult bit was all of the paring and coring in the beginning. I guess if you have a food mill or sieve to strain the cooked mixture through, you don’t even have to worry about doing that prep work and can remove the peels and seed etc. after cooking. I decided that it would be easier to just spend a bit of time with the apples beforehand. It was worth the effort. My Tipsy Sweet Apple Butter has a great flavour and perfect spreading consistency.

I must say though, this batch was really sweet. I know, I know…its Apple Butter, which is generally sweet. But I thought I might like a more tart version. Since the butter was so easy to make, I got to work straight away on my second batch, in which I used Granny Smith apples.

These apples are not an apple I would reach for if I was just eating one for a snack. But I knew they have the more tart flavour that I was looking for. I also reduced the amount of sugar from 2/3 cup per cup of apple pulp to 1/2 cup sugar per apple pulp. The only other change to the recipe was that I went a wee bit heavier with the cinnamon and upped it to a full teaspoon. This Drunken Granny Apple Butter was exactly what I was looking for. Great flavour, but not as sweet as my Tipsy Sweet variety. I decided to include both recipes since I know everyone’s taste varies and this will give you some options.

So I’m counting my apple butter making foray a success. We do have quite a bit of the stuff now (look out friends and family…there may be some Christmas Apple Butter coming your way), but we’ve been steadily using it up. We’ve been eating it on toast, in oatmeal, straight out of the jar.

And oh…I was inspired to make some lovely biscuits to spread it over.

Stand by for that Peter Reinhart biscuit recipe…it’s a winner. But I don’t know which one was the star of the show, the biscuit or the scrumptious apple butter. Hmmm….let me take a few more bites and I’ll consider. 🙂

Tipsy Sweet & Drunken Granny Hard Cider Apple Butters

yield: Five 8 oz. jars

ingredients for Tipsy Sweet:

• 3 lbs. 6 ounces of Honey Crisp Apples, peeled and cored
• 2 1/2  Cups Dry Hard Cider
• 1/2 Cup Calvados Apple Brandy
• Turbinado Sugar – 2/3 cup per cup of apple pulp
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds removed
• 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

ingredients for Drunken Granny:

• 3 lbs. 6 ounces of Granny Smith Apples, peeled and cored
• 2 1/2  Cups Dry Hard Cider
• 1/2 Cup Calvados Apple Brandy
• Turbinado Sugar – 1/2 cup per cup of apple pulp
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds removed
• 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Fill a large pot with tap water. Submerge five 1/2 pint (8 ounce) jars and their lids, making sure they are completely covered by the water. Boil the water.

Wash, peel and core the apples. Chop them into big pieces. Place in a large pan with the cider, 1/2 cup of apple brandy and 2 cups of water. Cook gently until soft, then remove from heat.

Drain liquid from apples. Place softened apples in blender or food processor to puree. Measure the volume of fruit pulp and return it to the pan. Add 2/3 cup sugar if you’re making Tipsy Sweet or 1/2 cup sugar if you’re making Drunken Granny (I used turbinado, but you can use granulated if you prefer) for every one cup of apple pulp. Add the cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, lemon juice and vanilla bean to the apple pulp and stir to combine.

Slowly bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Then turn the heat up to bring mixture to a rapid boil for 15-20 minutes, or until the mixture reaches your desired consistency. Remove vanilla bean prior to placing in jars.

Remove from heat and ladle apple butter into sterilized jars. Using tongs, pick up the full jam jars and place them back into the boiling water for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, remove the jars and place them on the towel. As they cool, you should hear a ping type noise which tells you the jam jars are sealed. When you push down in the center of the top of the jar, there should be no click noise. Make sure the lids are sealed tightly. Once jars have been opened, refrigerate.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Ebelskivers filled with Vanilla Whipped Cream Cheese

Just in time for the decadent food-laden Thanksgiving Holiday, here you have a delicious recipe for Pumpkin Pie Ebelskivers filled with Vanilla Whipped Cream Cheese. “Ebelskivers?” you may ask. Ebelskivers are round pancakes which originated in Denmark and are perfect for breakfast, appetizers or snacks. You will of coarse need one special piece of equipment to make these goodies-namely the Ebelskiver Pan. My husband received one for his birthday a couple of years ago. The ebelskiver turners, long, carved wooden sticks, are great to have, but you could possibly get by with chopsticks, wooden skewers or even knitting needles in a pinch.

Ebelskivers are incredibly versatile. The batter can be savory or sweet and the sky is the limit as far as what you would like to stuff inside the little guys. I have made Nutella & Banana filled Peanut Butter Ebelskivers as well as Cadbury Egg Stuffed Easter Ebelskivers in the past. For Thanksgiving, I wanted to work pumpkin into the mix so I made a pumpkin / graham cracker batter (for those of you in Ireland and the UK you could substitute digestive biscuit crumbs for the graham cracker crumbs if graham crackers are difficult to come by) and decided to stuff each wonderful morsel with a dollop of vanilla whipped cream cheese.

But I wasn’t finished there. Oh no. Then I dusted confectioners’ sugar over the tops of these gorgeous stuffed pancakes. The results were wonderful, a sweet pumpkiny taste followed by the soft, creamy tangy cream cheese filling. Mmmmm….Perfection!

If you didn’t want to bother stuffing the ebelskivers with the cream cheese mixture, you could add a bit of superfine sugar to the cream cheese vanilla mixture and maybe thin it down a bit with some milk and then drizzle it over the top of the ebelskivers as a frosting. I dare say, maple syrup would also be quite tasty over these little gems. Surprize folks over the Thanksgiving holiday with this tasty treat!

Pumpkin Pie Ebelskivers filled with Vanilla Whipped Cream Cheese

Yield: 20 Ebelskivers

Ingredients:

For the pancakes:

• 1/2 Cup ( 1 1/2 oz./45 g) Graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 Cup ( 1 1/2 oz/45 g) All-purpose flour
• 1/4 Cup ( 2 oz/60 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1 can (14 oz/440g) sweetened condensed milk
• 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted  and slightly cooled
• 1 can ( 15 oz/470g) pumpkin purée
• Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

For the filling:

• 1 Cup whipped cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 200°F (95°C).

In a large bowl, whisk together the graham cracker crumbs, flour, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, and salt.

In a small bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks, then whisk in the condensed milk and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Add the yolk mixture to the flour mixture and , using a wooden spoon, stir until well blended. The batter will be lumpy.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff, but not dry, peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the batter alternately with the pumpkin purée in 2 additions, just until well blended and no white streaks remain.

In a separate bowl, mix the whipped cream cheese and the vanilla extract together until well blended.

Brush the wells of the ebelskiver pan with some of the melted butter and place over medium heat. When the butter starts to bubble, add 1 tablespoons batter to each well.

Spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of cream cheese mixture into center of each ebelskiver.

Add 1 Tablespoon of the batter to each well, covering the dollop of cream cheese completely.

Cook until the bottoms of the pancakes are lightly browned and crisp, 3-5 minutes. Use 2 short wooden skewers to turn all the pancakes and cook until lightly browned on the other side, about 3 minutes longer.

Transfer the finished pancakes to a platter and keep warm in the oven while you repeat to make 2 more batches. Dust the warm ebelskivers with confectioners’ sugar and serve right away.

Recipe from “Ebelskivers” by Kevin Crafts

Harvest Apple Bread Pudding with a Salted Maple-Caramel Sauce

Now that Halloween is over and I’ve got all those spooky treats out of my system, I can get back to my Fall  fresh apple obsession. This recipe is part two of my covert mission to hide some morsels of the Harvest Apple Challah bread that I made a short time ago, for the purpose of making other tasty treats with it. First I managed to make some lovely Harvest Apple French Toast with a bit from my hidden stash. Then I made these two charming little ramekins of Harvest Apple Bread Pudding. And I couldn’t just stop there… Oh No! I went ahead a whipped up some mouth-watering Salted Maple-Caramel Sauce to drizzle over the top. The recipe below actually makes about 1 cup of the stunning salty-sweet concoction, which is quite a bit more than you’ll need here, but you’ll be very happy to have it around. This sauce is really quite good and goes well over ice cream, baked apples, pancakes, you name it. It’s even good squirted right out of the bottle ( not that I would be doing that… in public anyway 🙂 ). I did drizzle some right over the tops of my Harvest Apple Bread Pudding though. The result was absolutely scrumptious.

This recipe, like my previous Harvest Apple French Toast, calls for “Maple Sugar”. Maple Sugar is made from the sap of the sugar maple tree and is significantly sweeter than granulated sugar. It can be found in the sugar section of most large grocery stores, or if not in your town, it can be order online. (I’ve seen it on Amazon.) I mentioned that you could swap it out for granulated sugar if you wanted, but you might want to increase the sugar amount a bit and probably won’t get as mapley a taste. However, the sauce does call for imitation maple extract, so that might just be enough for you.

Once my husband got his hands on this dessert, all secrecy and hoarding behaviour on my part was forgiven. (He actually didn’t even suspect a thing…I’m that good!) We devoured these puddings in no time flat! So if you haven’t made the Harvest Apple Challah yet, get baking! You don’t miss out on this delicious Harvest Apple Bread Pudding!

Harvest Apple Bread Pudding with a Salted Maple-Caramel Sauce

yields: Two 8 oz. Ramekins

Ingredients:

For Bread Puddings:

• 2 cups 1/2-inch cubed Harvest Apple Challah bread
• 2/3 cup 2% reduced-fat milk or heavy cream if you’re feeling particularly decadent
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Maple sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

For Salted Maple-Caramel Sauce:

Yields: 1 cup

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup maple sugar
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/8 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 5-6 drops of imitation maple extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, or until toasted.

Combine milk, maple sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon and egg in a medium bowl. Whisk until thoroughly combined. Add toasted bread cubes and toss until coated. Gently push bread down into liquid. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter the inside of two 7-8 oz. ramekins. Divide the chilled bread/egg mixture evenly between the two ramekins.

Place ramekins in an 8-inch pan and add about an inch of hot water. Bake, uncovered, for about 35 minutes or until set.

While the puddings are baking, prepare the Salted Maple-Caramel Sauce. Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar. Whisk until sugar melts and mixture is thick and boiling. Slowly whisk in cream. Bring sauce to a boil, whisking often, though not constantly. Boil until sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat. Whisk in coarse salt and maple extract.

Just prior to serving, drizzle each pudding with the salted maple-caramel sauce.

Enjoy!

Salted Maple-Caramel Sauce Recipe from Bon Appetit as seen on Epicurious

Harvest Apple Bread Pudding Recipe adapted from Chocolate Bread Pudding for Two on Craving Chronicles

Harvest Apple French Toast

I’m happy to say the Fall weather held through the weekend around here! We went for a great hike on Saturday in a local park. The temperature was great (could’ve been a bit cooler…) and the changing leaves were gorgeous. On Sunday morning I decided to make some French Toast with a bit of the Harvest Apple Challah bread that I had made earlier in the week. It wasn’t a spur of the moment decision mind you. I had thought about it shortly after I had my first bite of that fantastic bread. I knew if I didn’t squirrel a couple pieces away for French Toast, there would be none left. So I acted quickly before we gobbled it all up!

Having that secret stash of bread was brilliant, just like this french toast turned out to be! All French toast is pretty great in my opinion, but the Apple Challah bread made this French toast particularly stunning. The recipe below is a basic french toast recipe with a little nutmeg thrown in as well as some “maple sugar”, to give it a nice fall, mapley taste. Maple Sugar is a sugar prepared from the sap of the sugar maple tree. It is sweeter than granulated sugar, so a little goes a long way. I found mine with all the other sugars in my local grocery store. It’s a bit pricey, but I really like it. It would be fine to substitute in granulated sugar and rely on Maple Syrup to provide the maple flavour. To each his own.

So, to sum it up, I guess I’m saying that you really should whip up some of that Harvest Apple Challah bread, if only to have it for the Harvest Apple French Toast. But if your family is anything like mine, you better think ahead and hide some before it’s gone. To let you in on a little secret… I have a bit more stashed away and will be making some Harvest Apple Bread Puddings soon. Stay tuned and in the meantime, enjoy the Harvest Apple French Toast!

Harvest Apple French Toast

yield: 2 pieces of French Toast

Ingredients:

• 2 thick slices of Harvest Apple Challah Bread (for recipe click here)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon maple sugar (or granulated sugar if you prefer)
• 1 Tablespoon butter

Directions:

Place milk, egg, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and maple sugar in bowl. Whisk until well combined. Place Harvest Apple Challah slices in bowl and allow bread to soak up some liquid on one side and then flip bread over.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in frying pan over medium heat. Place soaked bread slices in pan and cook, flipping as necessary, until both sides are golden brown.

Serve hot with butter and maple syrup.

Enjoy!