It’s that time again – we want to compile a new cookbook.  This round we would like to collect recipes from our customers of classic, go-to recipes.  I want the recipes that you like to make when you have people over, you’re asked to bring a dish to pass, or a special dessert to someone’s house.  It doesn’t have to included apples but it is a bonus if it does.  Let’s make this a cookbook full of recipes that folks will be able to easily make and that taste good! If you have a memory, funny story, or a reason it’s your favorite recipe I’d love to included some of these antidotes as well!

Please email your recipe and stories to:  orchardlifefun@gmail.com and I’ll start to create a compilation that we will hopefully be able to release in Fall of 2019. 

Please spread the word!  Let’s make this a great community cookbook full of “Classic Recipes from the Customers of Lapacek’s Orchard.”

A few years back I discovered that you can mix a can of diced pineapple with a box of Angel food Cake Mix (the kind you just add water), bake it and have a delicious (and super easy) cake.  Then a year or so after that I learned that you can mix a can of cherry pie filling with a box of Angel food Cake Mix and again make a delicious (and super easy) cake.

 

The other day – I wanted to make a treat or the guys since they’ve been working so hard.  I thought – how about I try mixing a jar of our ‘Apple Pie in a Jar’ with Angel food Cake and bake it?  The other things worked – so why wouldn’t this?

So I did!

I baked it for the same time and temperature you would a regular angel food cake.  It was delicious!  I highly recommend this fun and super easy treat!

the big fat red juicy Apple Cook Book. 

I rediscovered this cookbook the other night (and one other) and found some really ‘interesting’ sounding recipe’s in it.  Since this blog started out with a new recipe every Sunday – I think this apple season I’m going to post a new ‘old’ recipe every Sunday.

Apple Butter Bundt Cake

1 pkg yellow cake mix

1/2 C finely chopped nuts

1 C peeled, diced apples

1 C dairy sour cream

1/3 C apple butter (available at Lapacek’s Orchard)

4 eggs

Filling:

1 C chopped nuts

2 T brown sugar

2 t cinnamon

 

Glaze:

1 C powdered sugar

2-3 T apple butter

Blend all cake ingredients and beat for 2 minutes.  Pour 1/3 of batter in prepared bundt pan; sprinkle with 1/2 the filling; and repeat these two layers.  Cover with remaining batter.  Bake at 325 degrees, 50-55 minutes.  Cool in pan and invert on serving plate. Spoon glaze over cake.

Be prepared – this is beyond delicious.  You may not want to read any farther…You’ve been warned.

Bake up a box of your favorite Brownie mix per box instructions.  I actually doubled the batch because Uncle Bob was here for lunch and I know he loves desserts. 

Poke holes in the top of the brownies…I used a knife.  A fork would work too.Take a jar of Lapacek’s Orchard’s ‘Chocolate Raspberry Spread.Pour it over the brownies.  If you do a single batch, half the jar would work fine…I used the entire thing since I doubled the batch.

Let the brownies cool and sauce seep into them.

Cut and serve with whipped cream or ice cream. 

Enjoy!

Jam, in my mind, is a summer creation. I associate the sticky process of making jam with fresh berries, but that's not always the case. Frozen berries can make excellent jam. And jam is not reserved just for berries.

I certainly broadened my jam repertoire this summer with new creations involving tomatoes, basil and ground cherries (not all in the same jam). This fall, I fell in love with my cranberry jam creation. And a surplus of pears led to my latest jam, Vanilla Pear Jam.

This jam retains the distinct texture of the pears and combines their sweetness with flecks of vanilla. This jam was an experiment for me with whole vanilla beans, which might become a staple in my kitchen. There's something satisfying about using ingredients in their purest form.


Vanilla Pear Jam
8 cups chopped pears
4 cups sugar
2 vanilla beans

Chop the pears into fairly uniform pieces, removing the cores but leaving the skins intact. Split vanilla beans down the center, and scrape out the tiny seeds. Combine pears and sugar in a large, heavy-duty pot. Add both the vanilla bean shells and the seeds. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the pears are soft enough to mash with the back of a spoon.

Remove pears from heat, and remove the vanilla bean shells. Puree the pear mixture in a food processor or blender to reach desired texture. A potato masher may also be used.

Return the pear mixture to the pot, and continue to cook over medium heat until the pears are fairly thick (approximately 20 minutes). Remember, the jam will thicken slightly once you remove it from the heat. There are various ways to test jam, such as a plate method or spoon test. The nice thing about jam is that even if it's thicker or thinner than intended, it still tastes delicious.

Ladle jam into sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Cover with sterilized lids and bands. Process in a hot water bath 10 minutes. Cool completely. Check to ensure each jar is sealed. Any jars that aren't sealed should be refrigerated.

Lesson learned while putting my jars in the basement: dropping jars on a concrete floor may pop the seal. I figured that's better than the jar itself cracking and ruining a jar of jam.

Notes: I used several varieties of pears (Bosc, Red Anjou, Green Anjou and Bartlett) for my jam, but one would also work. This recipe should yield approximately 3 half-pints of jam.

~Kerry Blondheim, Nonesuch exist

Kim is off to her first ever wholesale craft show, so I'm pinch hitting on Recipe Sunday. This is one from our third cook book, which will be available this fall. I have had a draft copy of it by my chair for the couple of months. I make changes and run a new copy which replaces the old. It's getting really close to being ready to go to the printer, which is a good thing because I'm tired of looking at it every time I sit down in the evening.

I picked this recipe because it was on the page that I was currently editing...good reason, huh?

Apple Pie Cake
by Diane Lapacek

1/4 c butter
3/4 c sugar
1 egg
2 T water
1 tsp vanilla
1 c flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cloves
2 1/2 c chopped apples
1/2 c chopped nuts

Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in egg, water and vanilla. Stir in flour, soda and spices. Add apples and nuts and mix thoroughly. Spread batter in 9 x 9 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

I'm off to plant pumpkins......

In honor of mother's day I'm going to share with you an apple recipe from my mom!

Apple Nut Bread
Joan Van Grunsven

2/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. soft shortening
2 eggs
3 T. buttermilk
1 c. grated apples
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. chopped nuts

Mix together sugar, shortening, and eggs. Stir in buttermilk and apples. Sift together and stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add chopped nuts. Pour into a greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350-degrees for 1 hour.

ENJOY

Have a great mother's day everyone!

I almost forgot to post Sunday's recipe! But, luckily for you I didn't! The recipe I chose to post today is one that my mom and aunt's all RAVE about. (Did I mention that I have 17 aunt's...)

It is Kathryn Lapacek's (my grandma-in-law) French Apple Pie

Crust
1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 c. oil
2 T. cold milk

Mix flour, salt, and sugar together in pie pan. Add oil and cold milk to flour mixture. Stir together with fork and hands. Press into pan to form crust.

Filling
6 c. apple slices
1/2 c. sugar
3 T. flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
dash salt

Mix ingredients together and put in crust.

Topping
3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. butter
1/3 c. brown sugar

Mix ingredients until crumbly. Bake 50 minutes at 425-degrees. Cover with foil the last 10 minutes if top browns too quickly.

Recipe Note: Best served warm

Grandma Lapacek is an amazing cook and baker. This pie is delicious! Also, I just wanted to give her a shout-out for winning the chili cook off at her residence this past week. Seventeen different people entered and hers won hands-down! Congratulations Grandma!

This recipe, along with 100 other's can be found in our "Apple-tizing Recipe's" for sale in the fall at Lapacek's Orchard or available year round at my etsy site!

I almost forgot to post Sunday's Recipe! But I didn't...here you are:

Caramel Apple Bars
by Karma Lapacek

Crust
3/4 c. butter or margarine
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. oatmeal
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. chopped pecans, optional

Cream butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add flour, oatmeal, salt, and baking soda. Mix well. Stir in pecans. Set aside 2 cups. Press remaining oat mixture into bottom of ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

Filling
4 1/2 c. coarsely chopped, peeled apples
3 T. all-purpose flour
1 (14-oz.) pkg. caramels
3 T. butter or margarine

Toss apples with flour. Spoon over crust. Melt caramels and butter over low heat. Drizzle over apples. Top with reserved crust mixture. Bake at 400^F for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool before cutting into bars. Yield: 15-20 servings.

This recipe is taken from 'Apple-tizing Recipes' from Lapacek's Orchard. It can be purchased at my etsy store... www.kimscraftyapple.etsy.com year round or during apple season at the orchard. We are starting to run low on supplies and will soon be publishing a new cookbook. Make sure you don't miss out on this wonderful cookbook (over 100 apple recipes and we've recieved A LOT of wonderful feedback!).

APPLE FRITTER RINGS
Diane Lapacek

Ingredients:
1 egg
1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1 c. all-purpose flour
2 T. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
dash salt
5 large, tart apples (from Lapacek's Orchard whenever possible)
1 1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Beat egg, milk, and oil. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir into egg mixture until smooth (batter will be thick). Peel, core, and slice apples into 1/2-inch thick rings. In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375^. Dip apple rings into batter. Fry, a few at a time, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Roll in sugar and cinnamon. Serve warm.

Yield: about 2 dozen

Hello All! I almost didn't get down here to write tonight...I'm exhausted (I think it's from my allergies because I actually sort of got to sleep in today...) and Capri just wanted to play and play. Finally she rubbed her eyes and I put her to bed.

It was a good weekend at the apple store. We've had many people come by excited about fresh apples. One couple stopped in who had never been at the orchard before and are now addicted to our caramel apples...doesn't take too much, just one bite. I was also able to make some more really fun flower hats and I have created some pretty neat button jewelry you'll have to make sure to check out.

Diane will have to write a little about the fun they all had with the calves this weekend. I'll only say that Jared's moving quite a bit slower than usual...

I got a bit of a break this afternoon and escaped to a baby shower for a few hours. A friend of mine is going to be having a baby boy at the beginning of October...very excited for her and her husband! They served all 'mini' food so I brought what I considered 'mini' caramel apples...they actually werent' so mini looking when they weren't next to our gi-normous regular caramel apples...oh well, I tried. Pretty sure the guests will still like them (they were going home favors so I haven't heard the verdict yet...)

Grandma and Capri ran the store while Grandpa, Pappa and Cedi picked apples. The arrangement seemed to work out pretty well. We had a partial Lapacek Family reunion this afternoon. Great Grandma and Grandpa Lapacek were there as well as one of Frank's brothers', Dave, and his wife Peggy. It's always nice when family stops by for a visit since we don't have very much time to do too much visiting ourselves during the season.

When we got home, I played around with a two person apple crisp recipe...Jared liked it...I think it still needs a little bit of work. I'll have it down sooner than later and then I'll be sure to share it with you all. I'm trying to make it so it works perfect in our baked apple dish and so that it's microwaveably simple.

Oh, I do have to give a shout out to my cousin's wife, Carrie, who just delivered a 10 lb 1 oz (WOW!) baby girl on Friday, Charlotte Marie. Both mom and baby are healthy! Congratulations Josh, Carrie and Jackson on your new addition!

That's all for tonight! Hope to see more of you in the upcoming days!