Happy Sunday before Christmas! With all the last minute gift giving, cooking baking, and maybe even gift making I thought it would be nice to share a quick recipe for you to enjoy this week.

Quick Apple Dumplings
Kathryn Lapacek

2 large apples, peel, core and cut each apple into 8 wedges
2 tubes crescent rolls, divided into 16 crescents
1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 can Mountain Dew soda

Wrap 1 apple wedge in each crescent, beginning at the narrow end. Place in a 9x13 pan. Melt butter, add sugar and cinnamon, stir well. Pour oven dumplings in pan. Pour soda over top. bake 45 minutes at 350-degrees.

Note: Serve warm or cold, with or without whipped cream or ice cream.

This recipe and more fabulous recipe can be found in Farm Fresh Recipe's from Lapacek's Orchard found at Kim's Crafty Apple or our Apple Store in the fall.

Happy Sunday to everyone! It looks beautiful out this morning so hurry in and get your cider donuts, cider and apples to enjoy for the week!

As I was looking through our new Farm Fresh Recipes from Lapacek’s Orchard Cookbook this one from Patty Koch caught my eye. I hope it sounds yummy to you too!

Sour Cream Apple Coffee Cake

by Patty Koch

Topping

1/2 c. white sugar

1/2 c. chopped pecans

2 T. melted butter

1 tsp. cinnamon

Cake

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. shortening (oleo)

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. sour cream

2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. apples (chopped up)

Cream together brown sugar, shortening, egg, vanilla and sour cream. Sift flour, baking soda and salt. Add sifted ingredients to creamed mixture and blend; fold in apples. Grease and flour 9 x 13 cake pan. Pour in batter and cover with topping. Bake at 350-degrees for 45-50 minutes.

ENJOY!

Happy Sunday everyone! This morning, I am baking a Apple French Toast in the oven. I prepared it last night and am excited to try it! Keep an eye on the comments below a little later and I’ll let you know how it tastes.

Since I’ve been talking about pumpkins a lot (How to Cook A Fresh Pumpkin and Yummy Recipe Using Pumpkin) lately I thought I’d post a recipe my cousin’s wife sent me for our Farm Fresh Recipe Cookbook for this Sunday’s recipe.

Dinner in a Pumpkin

Kerry Blondheim

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef or turkey

1 c. diced celery

1 small onion, diced

1 c. diced green pepper

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 c. freshly sliced mushrooms

2 tsp. soy sauce

1 pkg. long and wild rice, prepared according to directions

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 c. milk

1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained

1/4 c. melted butter

1 med. pumpkin, topped and cleaned out

salt and pepper, to season

In large kettle, brown beef with celery, onion and green pepper. Season with salt and pepper. Add mushrooms and soy sauce and cook a few more minutes. Add rice, soup, milk and water chestnuts. Cook a few more minutes. Swirl melted butter around inside of the pumpkin. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon meat mixture into pumpkin and put top on pumpkin. Bake on a cookie sheet 1 1/2 to 2 hours at 350-degrees depending on the size of your pumpkin.

Just checked out the forecast for today…cooler this morning but we’re going to be in the 50’s this afternoon! A perfect day for you and your family to come out and check out the animals, pick a pumpkin, explore our farm and take home a bag of yummy apples, cider and of course cider donuts! Hope to see you at the orchard!

Most of you all know that Friday night is Donut Night at the Lapacek’s household (Kroncke Road). Jared starts around 7 and I join him after the girls are in bed (or right away if Aunt Karma or my mom and dad around to put them down). This past Friday I took some great pictures of the entire process so everyone could see! I have to send out a huge thanks to Al, Jeremy, Leslie and Karma for all their help getting these done. We would never have the energy we still have if it weren’t for our friends. Thanks guys!The batter in the machine getting ready to be fried up!The donuts begin!Now for Number 2 They sizzle away as they get fried and delicious! Jared is in charge of getting the dough ready. My fabulous deal on a Kitchen Aid Mixer comes in handy for this (only $60!)! Al was in charge of moving the new donuts out of the way of the previous donuts. Jeremy was the cinnamon/sugar-er… I was the bagger. Leslie labeled (no picture taken…ooops) Our assembly line in action.Jeremy decided he needed an apron so I found him a really nice one to wear :) Al needed one too…

It was a successful and fun night of donut making!

Now onto the Sunday Recipe. I had never had cider donuts and since we get busy in the fall I didn’t know when I would have a chance to try them. So, Diane made up a batch of cider donuts for me at the end of the season one year…I was hooked. The recipe I am going to share with you is not the one we use for our donuts we sell at the store but it is quite delicious. This recipe can be found in our Farm Fresh Recipes Cookbook either online at Kim’s Crafty Apple or when you stop by the apple store.

Apple Cider Doughnuts

by Diane Lapacek

1 c. Lapacek’s Apple Cider

1 c. sugar

1/4 c. margarine

2 lg. eggs

1/2 c. buttermilk

3 1/2 c. flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

vegetable oil or shortening for frying

2 T. Cinnamon

1 c. sugar

Boil cider in small saucepan until it is reduced to 1/4 cup, 8 to 10 minutes; cool. Beat sugar with margarine until smooth. Add eggs and mix well, then add buttermilk and reduced cider. Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in another bowl. Add to liquid ingredients; mix just enough to combine. Transfer dough to lightly floured board and pat to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with 2 1/2 to 3-inch doughnut cutter, reserve doughnut holes and re-roll and cut scraps. Add enough oil or shortening to fill a deep pan 3 inches; heat to 375-degrees. Fry several doughnuts at a time, turning once or twice, until browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes. Remove to paper towels with slotted spoon. M ix cinnamon and sugar. While still warm, shake a few at a time in a paper bag containing cinnamon-sugar mixture. Cool on a rack.

Or, if you want to try some cider doughnuts and don’t feel like doing all that stop by the orchard on a Saturday and get your own bag that we’ve already made for you! (Sometimes Sunday’s too!)

Happy Sunday everyone! The sun is shining in on me right now and it looks beautiful out. Should be nice until later today so get out to the orchard early!

There will be donuts at the store this morning. We made a lot more than we normally do since we have made the process easier. When the machine was getting put together a piece was left over and no one could figure out what it was for. Jared called the machine’s maker and immediately he said, “Seems like you don’t have the donut drop plate in.” Turns out…that was the extra part. Now that it’s in it has made the donut making process significantly simpler…who would have thought?

Also, the raspberry patch has been going crazy these last few days…the berries are huge and the picking is plentiful! We’ll have berries until the first good frost so make sure to stop by and pick your own for freezing, cereal, muffins, jam, or whatever you can think of.

And here’s the recipe for this week. If you want to can some yummy preserves to enjoy throughout the year you should definitely try this (or you can purchase your own jar at the store next time you stop in):

Apple-Jalapeno Preserves

5 c sugar
2 c water
8 c chopped apples
1 1/2 c chopped jalapenos
1/4 t citric acid
1 T powdered pectin

Bring water and sugar to boil, stirring often. Cook, uncovered for 5 minutes. Add peppers, apples and citric acid. Return to boil. Stir in pectin and boil 1 minute. Put into prepared 1/2 pint jars and process in boiling water bath 10 minutes. Makes 6 half pints.

I made this last week and it was yummy!

This recipe is from the Wisconsin Apple Grower Association Cookbook.

Great Apple Dessert

Mary Biddick, Fennimore

2002 Finalist

1 yellow cake mix (18-1/2 ounces)

1/3 cup soft margarine

1 egg

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 T cornstarch

1 cup water

1 T. lemon juice

4 cups chopped apples

Topping:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup sour cream

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix cake mix, margarine and egg, pat into greased 9x13 pan.

In saucepan mix sugar and cornstarch, stir in water, lemon juice and apples. Simmer for 5 minutes. Pour into pan over cake mix.

Mix brown sugar, nuts and cinnamon. Crumble over apples. Combine sour cream, egg and vanilla and pour over top. Bake at 350-degrees for 40-50 minutes. Refrigerate.

Yield: 12 – 15 servings

Apple Cheddar Bread

Genny Derer, Madison

1999 Finalist

2-1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 eggs – beaten

3/4 cup milk

1/3 cup margarine

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1-1/2 cups peeled chopped Wisconsin apples

3/4 cup chopped nuts

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add beaten eggs, milk and margarine. Mix well. Stir in remaining ingredients. Spoon into greased and floured 9 x 9 loaf pan. Bake at 350-degrees for 65-70 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool.

This recipe comes from the Wisconsin Apple Grower Association Cookbook. Available for purchase online and at our Apple Store this fall.

Once again, I’ve chosen a recipe from the Wisconsin Apple Grower’s Association Cookbook. There are just so many delicious sounding recipes for me to share with you!

Apple Chicken Salad/Sandwiches

Barbara Starks, Edgerton

1996 Finalist

Dressing

1 – 8 ounce can crushed pineapple (juice packed)

1 tsp cornstarch

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup mayonnaise

Combine the first four ingredients. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Cool. Add the mayonnaise. Stir to mix well. Set aside.

1/2 cup chopped apples

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup chicken (cooked and chopped)

Combine chicken, apples and walnuts. Add the pineapple dressing; stir to mix well. Store in airtight container.

Makes enough for 2 sandwiches.

Limited quantities of this cookbook will be for sale at our orchard when we open next Saturday, August 15th.

Another yummy sounding recipe from the Wisconsin Apple Grower's Association Cookbook.

Apple Upside-Down Cake
Evelyn Ploeger, Milwaukee
2001 Finalist

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 McIntosh apples sliced, peeled and cored
Cinnamon - Optional
2 eggs (1/2 Cup)
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 T butter
1 cup boiling milk
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
Liquid whipping cream

Melt 1/2 cup butter and pour into 9x12 cake pan. Sprinkle brown sugar over butter. Peel, core, and slice apples. Layer over butter mix. Sprinkle with cinnamon (optional). Mix in a bowl the eggs until fluffy. Beat in sugar, salt and vanilla. Melt 1 T of butter in boiling milk and add to above ingredients. Quickly beat in flour and baking powder. Pour over apple mix and bake 45 minutes in a 350^ oven.

To Serve: (warm if possible) cut in 2 to 3 inch squares. With spatula invert on dessert plate. Pour over squares 2 T liquid whipping cream or if desired whipped cream.

My mouth is watering!

Another great recipe from the Wisconsin Apple Grower's Cookbook:

Crispy Festive Apple Salad
Shirley Johnson Warrens
2000 Finalist

3 red Wisconsin apples, diced (unpeeled)
1 banana, sliced
1 cup chopped celery
12 grapes (red or green or both) cut in half
4 dates, chopped
12 ounces fat free pineapple or tropical yogurt

Mix all ingredients together. Store in refrigerator until serving time. Garnish with mint leaves if desired.

Yield: 8 servings, 95 calories

I thought this recipe sounded good for the middle of July. Great to enjoy with friends at a cookout.

This recipe come from the Wisconsin Apple Grower's Association Cookbook.

Apple Toss
Mary Jean Hlavac, McFarland
2001 Finalist

5 cups assorted melon balls (watermelon, cantaloupe, etc.)
1-8 ounce lemon yogurt
2 T. orange juice
1/2 of a 4-ounce container frozen light whipped topping thawed
3 medium apples, cored and chopped, coarsely
A sprinkle of broken pecans - optional

Store the melon balls in a covered container. Chill till serving time. In a 1-1/2 quart covered container stir together yogurt and juices, fold in thawed topping. Stir in chopped apples. Cover and chill up to 4 hours. Optional - sprinkle with pecan pieces before serving.

Yield: 6-8 servings. 92 calories.

This recipe comes from the Wisconsin Apple Grower's Association Cookbook...looks good to me :)

Coconut Apple Cake
Janet Brooks, Oshkosh
1995 Finalist

2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup cream of wheat (uncooked)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup flour
4 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup plus 1 T 2% milk
3 to 4 apples, chopped
1/4 cup liquid margarine

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Add milk, vanilla and margarine. Mix together into a batter. Pour into a greased cake pan with removable sides. Top with peeled, chopped apples. A sprinkle of cinnamon can be added to taste. Bake in 350-degree oven about 40 minutes. Serve slightly warm with cream or ice cream.

Hope you all had a great holiday weekend. Since my zucchini is starting to ripen, I'm betting yours is too. This recipe is from our third cookbook, which will be available this fall in our store.

ZUCCHINI BREAD
by Linda Finn

3 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 c. vegetable oil
3 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
3 c. finely chopped/shredded zucchini
3 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. chopped nuts (optional)
3/4 c. raisins (optional)



Beat eggs. Add sugar and oil and beat again. Add dry ingredients alternately with zucchini. Add vanilla, nuts and raisins. Mix well. Fill greased and floured loaf pans 3/4 full and bake at 350° for 1 1/2 hours.

I'm going to be featuring another delicious sounding recipe from the Wisconsin Apple Grower Association (WAGA) cookbook.

Apple Harvest Blondies
Mary Jurgensen Halpern, Walworth
2000 Finalist

2/3 cup butter
2-1/4 cup packed brown sugar, divided
3 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 medium/large Paula Red apples, peeled, cored and chopped
3 oz. cream cheese
2 oz. chopped pecans
1 tsp. cinnamon

Place cream cheese in freezer for one hour. Preheat oven to 350^. Melt butter in a large saucepan. Remove from burner and stir in 2 cups brown sugar and stir thoroughly. Add the eggs, flour, baking powder, salt and vanilla and stir until well blended. Fold in chopped apples and place the mixture in an ungreased 9x13 baking pan. Chop the cream cheese into small pieces (much easier when has been frozen) and mix with the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar, pecans, and cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture on the batter and bake for 35 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Refrigerate leftovers.

I hope all you father's out here who are reading this have a FABULOUS Father's Day today!

Maybe your wife and children decided to bring this to you for 'breakfast in bed' this morning...

from the Wisconsin Apple Grower's Association Cookbook

Apple French Toast
by Nancy Voge, Black River Falls
1997 Finalist

8 slices of white bread
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 T milk
3 large Golden Delicious apples or 5 mediums
1-1/2 cups water
1 cup sugar
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1/3 cup honey
Cinnamon (optional)

Crumble bread; place half of crumbled bread in a greased 9x9x2 baking dish. Mix softened cream cheese with milk; spoon over bread. Cook apples, sugar and water; bring to a boil and let boil gently 10 minutes stirring occasionally, until apples are softened. Then spoon all of the apple mixture over bread mixture. Top with remaining crumbled bread. In large bowl, beat eggs. Add milk and honey; mix well. Pour over bread mixture. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight. Remove from refrigerator. Cover and bake at 350-degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 25-30 minutes more until golden brown and the center is set. Remove from oven and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon if desired. Serve warm, with syrup. Yield: 6-9 servings

A nice and easy recipe for this Sunday...

Microwave Apple Muffins
by Iva Donahoe

1 egg
1/4 c. oil
1/2 c. milk
1 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 grated apple

Mix egg oil, and milk. Blend in dry ingredients. Add grated apple. Use double paper in muffin cups. Fill 1/2 full. Cook on high 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 minutes for six muffins.

Enjoy!

This recipe caught my eye so I hope it's good!

From the WAGA cookbook:

Spiced Apple Bagel
Beverly Raatz, Wisconsin
1999 Finalist

3 T light cream cheese, softened
1 honey-wheat or plain bagel split
3 T chopped apples
3 tsp. raisins
1 tsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg

Spread cream cheese on bagel. Top with apples and raisins. Combine brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, sprinkle over top. Place on a baking sheet; broil 6-8 inches from the heat or 2-3 minutes or until hot and bubbly. 240 calories

Sounds super yummy to me! Nice way to spruce up that bagel of yours. Have a great Sunday!

I'm going to feature a recipe today that comes from the WAGA Cookbook - we will have a limited quantity of these for sale at the orchard this fall.

I chose this one for my friend Kiki who loves apple pancakes!

Spicy Apple Pancake with Cider Sauce
-Dick and Wendy Dart, Maiden Rock

2 cups Bisquick
3/4 cup McIntosh apples
1 egg
1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1-1/3 cup milk

Mix all ingredients together. Measure 1/4 cup onto hot griddle.

Sauce
1 cup sugar
2 T cornstarch
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 cups apple cider
2 T. lemon juice
1/4 cup butter or margarine

Mix first 4 ingredients. Stir in cider and lemon juice. Cook stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in butter.

The recipe that I'm going to share with you all today is from my Grandma!

Enjoy!

Cranberry Apple Bread
Grace "Mike" Landwehr

2 c. peeled, chopped apples
3/4 c. sugar
2 T. oil
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 sp. cinnamon
1 c. cranberries
1/2 c. chopped nuts

Heat oven to 350-degrees. Combine apples, sugar and oil. Add eggs. Mix flour, baking powder, soda and cinnamon. Add to apple and egg mixture. Stir in cranberries and nuts. Pour into 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch pan. Bake 1 hour.

For your very own copy of this delicious recipe and more grab Apple-tizing Recipe's from Lapacek's Orchard either at KimsCraftyApple or at Lapacek's Orchard in the fall.

Almost forgot...but I didn't!

Baked Oatmeal
by Sarah Failing (now Larson)

1/2 c. applesauce (preferrable Lapacek's Orchard's Applesauce)
1 c. sugar (brown or white)
2 eggs
3 c. quick oats
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Mix all ingredients and bake in a 9x9-inch pan at 350-degrees for 30 minutes. Serve warm.

If you like these recipes and past Sunday Recipe's don't miss out on getting your very own 'Appletizing Recipe' Cookbook from Lapacek's Orchard! Availabe at KimsCraftyApple or at the store in the fall.