Honey Caramel Apples

Every fall I get this craving for caramel apples.  They are the quintessential autumnal treat, a perfect blend of tart, crisp fruit, chewy sweet caramel, and--if you like a little extra flash--crunchy nuts.  While I do have the perfect neighborhood spot to get caramel apples, I've always wanted to make my own. 

I've tried my hand at homemade caramel apples several times over the years but had the kind of issues I now know are common among first time caramel apple makers.  The caramel would either be so soft that it would slide right off the apples or too hard, making it difficult to bite into.  Of course, there were other issues only hippy clean-eating cooks like myself were concerned with, like not using corn syrup or having too many ingredients to count.  So there I was, ready to give up the pursuit of a perfect homemade caramel apple when I saw this delightful recipe from 101 Cookbooks (thank you Pinterest!).  My taste buds are already looking forward to another batch of these honey kissed caramel apples. 

This recipe has everything I was looking for: quality ingredients, foolproof instructions, and perfectly chewy caramel that stays on the apple.  Best of all?  It only takes three ingredients: honey, cream, and salt.  I usually make the salt optional in my recipes but find it works well here to balance the sweetness of the honey.  You can also add a little more to give your dessert a stronger salted caramel flavor.  Always use local honey for best quality and taste.  You can even experiment with types of honey to get different flavors.  The darker the honey, the more intense the honey flavor will be.  I like to use small local apples because they make the perfect single serving and you can't beat the flavor.  Feel free to use bigger ones so long as you stick with tart Granny Smiths.

The only sort of fancy tool you need is a candy thermometer, which you can buy super cheap at most grocery stores.  I found that keeping track of the temperature really does matter when making the caramel.  Too low a temp and you have runny caramel (great for ice cream, but not apples); too hot, the caramel become brittle.  You'll want to stick pretty close to the instructions on this one, unlike my other recipes when you have more wiggle room to adapt to your own tastes.  The creative part comes at the end when you can add nuts (I used sunflower seeds, pictured here), chocolate drizzles or other toppings to your apples.

Ingredients:

5-10 apples, washed and dried

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup honey

1/2 tsp sea salt

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Push a popsicle stick into the top of each apple.  Fill a large bowl 1/2 full with ice water and set aside.

In a saucepan, heat the cream and salt until bubbly--not quite a simmer.  Add honey.  Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and stir constantly for about 15-20 minutes or until the mixture reaches about 255-260F degrees (this is where the thermometer comes in handy; just latch it to the side of your saucepan). To stop the caramel from cooking, carefully set the bottom of the saucepan in the bowl of cold water you prepared earlier.  Make sure not to get any of the water in the caramel. Keeping stirring until caramel thickens.  (You can always put the caramel back on the stove for a few seconds if it gets too thick, but I found it needed to be really chilled and thick for it to stick to the apples.)

Tilt saucepan so all the caramel goes to one side and dunk each apple into the cooling caramel until fully coated.  Place each apple on the parchment lined baking sheets and allow the caramel to cool and set at least 20 minutes.  When it is almost set (wait at least 10 minutes), you can add extra toppings.

Makes 5-10.  Enjoy!

Enchantment Learning & Living is an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you. If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that true magic is in the everyday, subscribe to my newsletter below for regular doses of enchantment. Want even more inspiration? Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Here’s to a magical life!

On Autumn Sweaters

Last night you found yourself rummaging through your closet looking for that one colorless, shapeless sweater you've had for years and years, the one you can't remember where you got it from, but somehow always turn to when the nights get longer and cooler.  The soft cotton on the inside has been loved off by time and use so all that remains is a thin pelt.  The sleeves are frayed and overstretched, the neck a loose ribbon around your shoulders.  There it is, buried in the back with your coats.  It occurs to you as you pull this soft shell over your head that it is officially sweater season--and that you have one for just about every important occasion.  This is the sweater you wear at the end of the week when all you want to do is curl up on the couch, eat popcorn and watch a movie.  

But there are so many others that you love and look forward to wearing as the earth prepares itself for a season of quiet and rest.  There is the basic oatmeal sweater, perfect for rolling up its sleeves for a morning in the kitchen baking bread or dipping apples in warm caramel and nuts.  It is homey and solid, like the loaf you just pulled from the oven.  And you can't forget the rose-hued one that falls off your shoulders, ideal for an afternoon of drinking cinnamon tea and getting lost (found?) in a book--fairy tales, mysteries, gothic novels...doesn't matter.  But the sweater does, somehow making the afternoon complete, allowing you to let down and even doze off in your overstuffed chair, the rose cloth wrapped around you like a blanket. 

Or there is the heather purple one essential for raking up leaves and putting your garden to rest for the season; it is light enough to keep you cool as you labor, with long sleeves to protect you from the prickly bones of dried plants, skeletal trees, and the early morning bite.  You don't fret over messing it up as you would one of your teaching blouses because it was made for getting dirt and crumbled leaves on its cuffs.

You look at the sweater you are wearing now, the one you paused your writing for long enough to slide your arms into before returning to that next page.  The open window brings in the cool, lush air of the season; your writing cardigan (a sub-genre of the autumn sweater) and cup of chai tea, echoing the heavy scents of autumn, chase away the chill.  You love this sweater perhaps most of all (though you say that about each one as you don it and feel the memories stitched into its fabric rub against your skin).  This sweater is long and faded, the color of sage, with fat pockets for storing seeds or tea leaves or a few words.  There are no buttons to this cardigan, so you must make peace with the fact that it must always be open, as you must be to your stories and experiences, wherever they may take you. This one is made for loosely wrapping around yourself just as you wrap your words around you for comfort and healing as you descend into the realm of stories.

Yes, it is sweater season now.  You look forward to being once again in the folds of these unassuming sweaters, these garments that reflect the quietest, most intimate snapshots of your life.  The moments you live without ceremony or the awareness of anything other than dipping your caramel apple into a shallow tray of sunflower seeds.

Enchantment Learning & Living is an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you. If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that true magic is in the everyday, subscribe to my newsletter below for regular doses of enchantment. Want even more inspiration? Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Here’s to a magical life!

Tomato, Tomatillo & Goat Cheese Tart

There is no such thing as too many tomatoes in my opinion--at least not during the long hot days of summer when these juicy fruits are in their prime. 

This recipe is a riff on both my calabicatas tart (once you have a good tart crust you can fill it with just about anything) and a goat cheese tomato tart we used to make as kids when we wanted to look like culinary pros and beat the heat with an easy one dish meal.  I've added tomatillos as an extra twist along with some pepper; both bring an unexpected spice and tartness to the dish.  That said if all you have on hand is tomatoes then, by all means, stick with the classic version of just tomatoes, onions, and goat cheese.

And speaking of goat cheese, you'll notice that I gave you a range of ounces to use in this recipe; if you want gooey-cheesy use more cheese. If you want it to just to play backup singer to the tomatoes, use less.  This dish is excellent on its own or paired with a side salad for dinner, and it makes a great left-over lunch!

Ingredients:

For crust:

1/2 cup blue cornmeal

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup white flour

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup water

For filling:

2 medium tomatoes

6 tomatillos

3-5 oz goat cheese

1 medium sweet onion

1 tablespoon oregano

Pepper to taste

Salt to taste

Olive oil

Preheat oven 350 degrees.  Whisk together flours and a pinch of salt to taste.  Then add oil and water and mix until a ball forms.  Press dough evenly into a tart pan (I use one with a removable bottom for easy serving), then use a fork to prick holes into the bottom.  Cook in oven for 30-35 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

While the tart crust cools, dice up onions and sauté in olive oil with half a tablespoon of your oregano and pepper in saucepan until softened.  Slice tomatoes and tomatillos into thin disks.  Once the crust and the onions have cooled, pour your onions on the bottom layer of the crust, then break chunks of your goat choose and layer it over them.  Sprinkle one-fourth of a tablespoon of oregano and a pinch of pepper over the cheese; then layer the tomatillo circles over that.  Lastly, layer your tomatoes, starting in the center and working your way out to the tart crust to give it a uniform look.  Sprinkle with the last of the oregano, some pepper and salt.  Drizzle top with olive oil.

Place tart in oven and cook 35-40 minutes until egg is set.  Let cool for at least ten minutes before serving.  Serves 4-8.  Enjoy!

Enchantment Learning & Living is an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you. If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that true magic is in the everyday, subscribe to my newsletter below for regular doses of enchantment. Want even more inspiration? Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Here’s to a magical life!

Calabacitas Tart

Nothing says harvest time here in New Mexico like when you find yourself looking for creative ways to use up that extra zucchini and squash from your garden--and get your chile fix. No dish epitomizes this better than calabacitas.  I have fond memories of coming home as a child on a school night to roasted chicken and a casserole dish filled with this corn, chile, and zucchini veggie side.  And now that school is officially back in session, I love the idea of one dish meals that are healthy and easy to put together on a busy weekday evening (hello first week of teaching!). 

This recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart's spinach tart.  I've added blue cornmeal to the crust because yum! and then swapped out the spinach for the traditional Southwestern filling of alabacitas.  For the tart pictured, I omitted the squash, simply because I didn't have any on hand, but feel free to add it as an extra layer to your own--I know I will once I get my hands on some!

This tart is great as an easy dinner by itself, with a side of greens, or, if I am feeling nostalgic, with roasted chicken.   It's also delicious the next day for breakfast with an over easy egg on top.  I used nutritional yeast in place of cheese for this recipe, but you could easily swap it out with aged gouda or sharp cheddar.  Keep in mind that if you are using cheese in place of the nutritional yeast, you don't have to drizzle olive oil over each additional layer.

Ingredients:

For crust:

1/2 cup blue cornmeal

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup white flour

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup water

For filling:

1 cup chopped green chile

1 cup yellow corn

1 small zucchini or half of a medium one

1 medium sweet onion

1 minced garlic clove

1/2 cup nutritional yeast (or cheese of choice)

1/4 cup red chile powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

2 eggs beaten

salt to taste

Preheat oven 350 degrees.  Whisk together flours and a pinch of salt to taste.  Then add oil and water and mix until a ball forms.  Press dough evenly into a tart pan (I use one with a removable bottom for easy serving), then use a fork to prick holes into the bottom.  Cook in oven for 30-35 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

While the tart crust cools, dice up onions and sauté with minced garlic clove, olive oil and cumin in saucepan until softened.  Slice zucchini into thin disks; you should end up with about one cup (you can save any zucchini not used here for pizza toppings or a veggie stir-fry). Now you can begin to layer your ingredients: start with in the onions and garlic first, then the chile and finally the corn, making sure to add some of your red chile powder, salt, and nutritional yeast (or cheese) between layers.  Then pour the beaten eggs over your layers.  For your final layer, arrange your zucchini disks over the tart, starting in the middle and working you way out to the edge.  Drizzle the whole thing with olive oil and dust the top with your last bit of red chile and nutritional yeast (or cheese).

Place tart in oven and cook 35-40 minutes until egg is set.  Let cool for at least ten minutes before serving.  Serves 6-8.  Enjoy!

Enchantment Learning & Living is an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you. If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that true magic is in the everyday, subscribe to my newsletter below for regular doses of enchantment. Want even more inspiration? Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Here’s to a magical life!