Forget all that pumpkin spice crap, apples will forever be the queen of fall flavors. We’ve compiled the best apple recipes that are small on time and effort, but huge on deliciousness. So get your chop/cook/simmer on!
1.) Applesauce
Applesauce is glorious on its own, but I suggest you make a huge batch and use it in all of your fall cooking! As a glaze, a dip, a batter–I’m not kidding, applesauce is the Master of Disguise of the food world.
There’s also this great slow-cooker version!
2.) Kale Apple Salad
After a few quick chops in the morning, stick this baby in some tupperware, and you have a way better lunch than the Subway on the corner. Kale and apples are a seriously tasty combo.
These would be fantastic as a crunchy breakfast treat or afternoon snack. Then again, these would probably be just as delicious standing in front of my fridge at 3AM. Make them, eat them whenever, be filled with apple-y goodness.
Use this recipe as a jumping-off point to get creative! Besides, who actually owns “coconut sugar” anyway? Have a little science experiment with all of the spices and mixtures you can think of (I want to try chili powder!). If it goes horribly wrong (like the chili powder probably will), they’re so easy to make you can keep trying until you get it just right.
5.) Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Apples
This is the kind of thing I want to have in a giant bowl to mindlessly eat while I watch the Charlie Brown Halloween special. In fact…excuse me while I go do that…
Bonus Points: Use your apple chips from the last recipe as a garnish!
6.) Apple, Ham, and Cheddar Melt
Once, as I was making grilled cheese, I was met with the strangest expression for putting apple slices on top. I wish I could find that person now and show them that the one and only Martha Stewart approves of that oh-so-delicious concept.
I don’t guarantee many things, but I guarantee that homemade caramel apples are a world beyond the sticky, paste-y things they sell in plastic wrap at the checkout counter. Not to mention it is the world’s best lick-the-spoon experience.
8.) Apple Crisp With Oatmeal Streusel
Whoever invented the concept of a “crisp” will forever be my personal hero. All the deliciousness of a warm and tasty pie but without all that pesky crust-making.
What are some of your favorite apple treats? Let us know in the comments!
Image via Smolak Farms.
All other images via their respective links.