Friday, October 8, 2010

Old Fashioned Fall Apple Recipes

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn. ~Elizabeth Lawrence

I love autumn as many of you know, and apples are one of my favorite things this time of year, especially when they are fresh from an orchard. I finished an article for OFL last week with old fashioned apple recipes, and afterwards I found another one of my old cookbooks that had a few neat recipes. As I said, I love visiting orchards, but sometimes they aren't the most inexpensive place to buy apples, especially if they're geared more towards tourists. I picked up a bag of fresh Gala apples at the local grocery store for .59 cents a pound this week.

The following recipes are from 1933 edition of Magic Chef Cooking published by the American Stove Company in St. Louis, Missouri.

Scalloped Apples
Temperature 400 degrees F.; Time, 30 minutes

6 medium apples
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup butter

Pare, core and slice the apples. Place in a buttered casserole and add the cinnamon, salt, lemon juice and water. Work the sugar, flour and butter together until crumb like in consistency. Spread this over the apples and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. 6 servings.

Apple Dumplings
Temperature, 425 degrees F.; Time, 35-40 minutes

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup fat
4 1/2 tbsp. water
6 apples
6 tbsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. butter

For Syrup:
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter

Make a paste of the flour, salt, fat and water according to the directions for Plain Pastry (below). Roll out and cut into 6 inch squares. Place a pared and cored apple on each square. Add 1 tbsp. of sugar, 1/8 tsp. cinnamon, and 1/8 tsp. butter to each apple. Fold the dough around the apples. Prick with a fork and place in a baking dish. Heat the water, sugar and butter together until the sugar and butter are melted. Then pour this syrup around the dumplings. Bake at 425 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. 6 servings.

Plain Pastry

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup fat
4-5 tablespoons ice water

Sift the salt with the flour which has been sifted once before measuring. The fat should be worked into this, care being taken not to soften it more than necessary. Use a fork or two knives to cut it in. When the fat has been worked until it is of uniform size, add the the cold water, slowly, until the mixture becomes a stiff dough which will hold together in one ball.

Note: Use shortening for the fat in both recipes.

Apple Tarts
Temperature, 400 degrees; Time, 35 minutes

3 cups apples
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 pint cream

Mix the sliced apples with the sugar, salt, flour and cinnamon. Put into small pastry lined tart tins. Pour in enough cream to almost cover. Strips of pastry may be put across the top, if desired, or the tarts can be baked with no covering. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.

Plain Tart Pastry

1 cup pastry flour
1/3 tsp. salt
1/3 cup butter
3 tbsp. ice water

Measure the flour after sifting once. Sift again with the salt. Cut in the butter and add enough ice water to make a stiff dough. The dough may be baked over small pans made expressly for the purpose, or muffin pans may be used. Makes 6 tart shells.

You can read my new article with more old fashioned apple recipes here.

~Brenda