how about them apples?

last weekend a friend and i went apple picking and, as predicted, picked waaay too many apples.  note to self:  1/2 bushel = 63 apples = too many!

to make matters worse, i can't actually eat raw apples (i have oral allergy syndrome), so i've been trying to find ways to work them into baked recipes.  so far i've had mixed results.  i made an apple "cake" which was more like a gluey bread (yuck), and this apple cobbler which was fantastic!

apple cobbler with spelt crust

filling:
4 apples (i used macoun and cortland), cored (i left the peels on)
1 tablespoon spelt flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted

crust:
(this delicious crust is based on this one)
1 1/4 cups spelt flour (i used white)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 oz cold butter (i prefer salted)
3-4 tablespoons ice water

preheat oven to 375.
butter a baking dish (i used an oval dish, but an 8x8 or 9x9 pan would work as well)

for the filling,
cut the apples into medium sized chunks, roughly 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes
stir in the melted butter, then the sugar and the flour.  mix well.  place apple mixture into the prepared baking dish.

for the crust,
add the flour and salt to a bowl, mix well.
cut the butter into small pieces and add to the flour.
using a pastry cutter, work the butter into the flour until it looks like a coarse meal.
gradually add the water, mixing until the dough forms a ball.

turn the dough out onto a floured surface and form into a disc.  cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

after the dough has "rested", take it out of the refrigerator and remove the plastic.  place on a floured surface and roll out until it is about 1/4 thick.  carefully lift the dough from the counter and drape over the apples.  tuck in the edges and make sure there are vents for steam to escape.

bake for about 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the fruit juices are bubbling to the surface.

raspberry swirl blondies

one of the challenges of not eating wheat is that it isn't easy to whip up a quick dessert.  long-gone are the days of opening up a box of brownie mix, adding in a couple of ingredients, popping it all in the oven and enjoying a warm dessert in less than an hour.

or so i thought!

enter the blondie!

blondies are my new favorite quick dessert.  they take almost no effort to pull together, bake in a flash and can be doctored up in many ways.  you can make the basic recipe, or add things like chocolate chips, dried fruit, spices, etc, etc, etc.  in this version i have swirled in raspberry jam......so good!

spelt blondies
adapted from the amazing smitten kitchen

1 stick butter, (i prefer salted)
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp good vanilla (some vanillas contain corn syrup....grrr!!)
1 pinch salt
1 cup spelt flour (i usually use a mixture of 1/4 cup whole grain and 3/4 cup white spelt)
1/4 tsp baking soda

preheat oven to 350

butter 8x8 baking dish

melt butter

add brown sugar and stir until shiny and smooth (i use a whisk)
add egg and then vanilla

add flour, salt and baking soda.  stir to combine.

pour batter into prepared pan.

(in this version i added about 2 tablespoons worth of raspberry jam.  i plopped little blobs down on top of the batter and swirled it through with a knife)

bake 20-25 minutes

remove from oven and allow to cool at least 10 minutes.

try not to eat the whole batch in one sitting!