End of Winter Apples--Dessert's Best Friend!

As you move through the produce section of your grocery store, have you noticed some "killer deals" on apples lately? There are two times of year apples are super affordable--Autumn when they first come on, and the end of winter (all the storage bins are being emptied and readied for the next crop).

While it's true the end of winter batch tends to be a little mushy, these apples are nonetheless just right for desserts, bars, and cookies. I just bought a big bag and have great plans for them. Here are a few of the recipes I found in an issue of a 1998 Eating Well magazine that I'll be making in the next week or so:

APPLE CUSTARD TART (serves 8)
CRUST
1/2 C old-fashioned oats
1/2 C flour
1Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp brown sugar, well packed
3/4 tsp baking powder (I prefer non-aluminum, such as Rumford's)
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
3 Tbsp water
FILLING
6 Tbsp sugar, divided
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3 medium apples
1/3 C cottage cheese
3 oz. cream cheese
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

For crust: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, or coat with nonstick spray. Spread oats in a pie pan; bake for 7-15 min., or until toasted. Let cool. Process in a food processor until finely ground.

In a large bowl, stir together ground oats, flour, sugars, baking powder and salt. Drizzle oil onto dry ingredients and mix with a fork or your fingers until crumbly. Use a fork to stir in water, 1 Tbsp at a time, until dough just comes together.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface; knead 7-8 times. Roll dough out into an 11-inch circle. Transfer dough to prepared pan, pressing to fit. Trim edges. Prick bottom of crust in a few places with a fork and line with foil or parchment paper. Fill with pie weights, dry beans, or rice. Bake crust for 8-12 min., or until firm. Remove foil or parchment and weights; cool on wire rack.

For filling: In a bowl, mix 3 Tbsp sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and cinnamon. Peel, core and cut apples lengthwise into 12 wedges each, tossing apples in sugar mixture as you work. Arrange apples in a single layer in prebaked crust and drizzle with any liquid from bowl. Place pan on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 min., or until apples are tender but still hold their shape.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, puree cottage cheese until smooth. Add cream cheese, egg, vanilla, salt and remaining 3 Tbsp sugar; process until smooth. Pour over apples. Bake tart for 15-20 min. more, or until custard is set. Let cool on wire rack. Serve warm or chilled. I plan to serve this with lots of sweetened whipped cream (yeh, I know...).

FRESH APPLE SQUARES (makes 16 squares)
1 1/2 C flour
1 C old-fashioned oats
1 C packed brown sugar
1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
3/4 tsp baking powder (as usual, non-aluminum; I prefer Rumford's)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
1/4 C apple juice concentrate, thawed
2 tart medium apples (Granny Smith, etc.), peeled, cored, thinly sliced
1/4 C coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 9-inch square baking pan or coat it with nonstick spray. In large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Work in oil and apple juice concentrate with your fingers until coarse crumbs form.

Firmly press 2 C of the oat mixture into prepared pan. Arrange apples over crust in three rows. Mix nuts into remaining oat mixture. Sprinkle nut mixture evenly over apples and pat firmly into an even layer. Bake for 30-35 min., or until top is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced with a sharp knife. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

And for a yummy Sunday morning breakfast:
BAKED APPLES WITH GRANOLA (serves 4)
2 Tbsp butter, divided
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 large apples
3 Tbsp sugar
2/3 C granola of your choice
1 large egg white
1 1/2 C apple cider

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Peel apples nearly halfway, leaving skin on bottom halves. with a paring knife, carefully cut out apple cores, leaving bottoms intact. Holding the paring knife at a 45 degree angle, widen the opening at the top of each apple by about 1/2 inch. Place apples in an 8-inch square or round baking dish. Brush peeled parts of apples with 1 Tbsp butter mixture and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp sugar.

In food processor, pulse granola until it forms coarse crumbs. Add egg white, remaining butter mixture and 1 Tbsp sugar; pulse until just combined. Spoon granola mixture into apples, spreading it slightly over tops and mounding up a bit. Sprinkle with remaining 1 Tbsp sugar. Pour cider into baking dish around apples.

Bake apples for 50-60 min., or until tender and filling is puffed and lightly browned. (Cover apples loosely with foil if browning too quickly.) Cool in pan for about 15 min. Serve warm, spooning pan juices over apples. I will also be adding dollops of sweetened whipped cream. (Yeh, yeh, I know...)

Do YOU have an apple recipe you could share? Please do--as I always say, we're all in this together, so let's spread the good stuff. And until next time, happy cook'n!