Last Minute Thanksgiving Treats

So you’d think having a food blog would mean I’d have some elaborate Thanksgiving recipes for your entire feast. Ha. As my students would say, "Ain't nobody got time for that." Just like everyone else right about now, I’m busy. But I do need to bring some treats to family get-togethers.  So rather than a full post, I’m going to show you two recipes I’ve made in the past and will be making this Wednesday.

Pumpkin Cookies

I made these delightful things for some of my students recently, and they got rave reviews. From teenagers. So, yeah, they’re good. These cookies are really more like little cakes or muffin tops. They’re not too sweet, and I could eat these for breakfast with my coffee every morning. Note: I leave off the nuts and the glaze. (Again, "Ain't nobody got time for that.")

 Chocolate Pie

If you’ve read or watched The Help (which I highly recommend if you haven’t), you know about Minny’s legendary chocolate pie. This recipe is the one used on set for the movie, and yes, it’s as good as you imagined it would be. It’s somewhat custard-like, somewhat caramel-like. Again, it gets high marks at potlucks.

One last thing, whatever you cook up this Thanksgiving, I hope you are sharing it with those people whom you are truly thankful for. Happy holidays!

Enjoy!

-Madison

Grandma's Recipes: Apple Dumplings

I like apple pie as much as the next red-blooded American, but oh boy, these apple dumplings are good. It’s like the perfect individual pie. I don’t need to tell you how fall this recipe is. It’s legit. My Grandma McCaskey penned this recipe, and believe me, it’s a treat for her to make these for you, because she’s typically very health conscious. (Her favorite joke to make, at my Grandpa’s expense, is to tell you he has Dunlap’s disease, because his belly ‘done lapped’ over his belt. She’s hysterical.)

My original recipe from Grandma calls for “easy flaky pastry” which, my Mom has penciled in, is code for store-bought refrigerated pie crust. Again, it’s not about what’s fancy; it’s about what’s good.

Apple Dumplings

Makes 6

Dumplings:

6 medium tart apples (McIntosh or Jonigold) 

*I used Granny Smith for 3 dumplings and Honeycrisp for 3 dumplings, just to experiment a bit. My pick is Honeycrisp.

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

several tablespoons of butter (I used 6-8)

1 recipe of easy flaky pastry (i.e. two store-bought pie crusts) 

*I used 3 pie crusts, because the crust is my favorite part, and it was easier for me to roll out the dumplings if I had a little extra pastry to work with. 

Syrup:

Apple peelings

1 1/2 cups boiling water 

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup butter

1/4 tsp cinnamon

about 1 tbsp lemon juice

Roll pastry into 6-7 in. circles about 1/8 in. thick. 

Peel and core apples, saving the peelings. I use a potato peeler and apple corer to do this. 

Place each apple in the center of a circle of dough. Fill the apples with the cinnamon sugar mixture (the 1/2 cup and 1 tsp mixture). Dot with butter (about 1 tbsp per apple). 

Moisten the edges of pastry with cold water. Wrap the apples up, pressing the edges of the pastry together. 

Place in a greased baking dish and chill. For the syrup, pour boiling water over the peelings. Simmer covered for 20 minutes. Drain off the syrup (I usually just fish out the apple peels with a slotted spoon), and add the rest of the ingredients to the apple liquid. Stir until combined. Pour over dumplings. You really can't skip the syrup; it's what makes the dumplings. 

Sprinkle with a little sugar and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes (a bit longer if you used more pastry like I did). 

Now, as for how to eat an apple dumpling--a hot debate in my family. Do you serve them hot, cold, or at room temperature? I personally like them at room temperature. I served mine up with whipped cream--so good--but my favorite way to eat apple dumplings is with milk poured over them. My grandpa and my mom do this--bizarre but delicious. 

So much pie crust . . . I'm in heaven!

Enjoy!

-Madison