Step Aside Pumpkin, It’s Apple’s Time to Shine

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By Elizabeth Wulfhorst

The smell of fall fills the air with Baked Apple Cider Donuts from Umami Girl’s Carolyn Cope. Courtesy Carolyn Cope

Although not nearly as ubiquitous as their autumnal brethren pumpkins – with a spice in everything from pie to peanut butter – apples also help signal the start of fall. Whether you pick a bushel and a peck (about 150 apples) of an heirloom variety at an orchard or just put a few standards in your cart at the grocery store, the fruit can make a dessert or even a savory dish delicious.

There are 7,500 varieties of apples and United States farmers grow over 100 of them, the most popular of which are Red Delicious, MacIntosh, Granny Smith, Gala, Pink Lady, Honey Crisp, Fuji, Empire and Golden Delicious, according to the U.S. Apple Association. Some apples are better for eating and some are better for baking. Knowing which apple to choose can mean the difference between a prize-winning pie and a saucy mess.

Carolyn Gratzer Cope, a Fair Haven resident and founder and publisher of the lifestyle website Umami Girl, said she definitely has favorite apples for different purposes. One of her first experiences with food was her mom’s homemade applesauce which she still makes the same way. “We use MacIntosh for that because they just kind of disintegrate when you cook them and that’s perfect for sauce and not at all good for lots of other types of recipes,” Cope said.

She uses anywhere from five to 10 pounds of apples, quartered – she doesn’t bother peeling or even deseeding – which she cooks down slowly with a pinch of salt and maybe a little water to get the process started. “You can put cinnamon and sugar in if you want to,” she said, but it’s not necessary. After the apples have broken down, she runs them through a food mill.

That applesauce is basically all she uses MacIntosh apples for, she said, but many other types of apples take a starring role in her recipes. “I’m a huge fan of Granny Smith both for baking and for eating,” she said. The variety’s tartness and the fact that it holds it shape when baking make it a great apple for pies, crisps and savory dishes alike. One of Cope’s favorite is her Vegetarian Cornbread Stuffing, adapted many years ago from The Silver Palate.

She also said she likes mixing different varieties of apples to get a tasty result. “There’s lots of really delicious, interesting-tasting varieties that are also widely accessible,” Cope said.

Apple by-products, like juice, cider, chips and more, can also be useful in baking and cooking, a way of layering the apple flavor in a dish. Cope cooks apple cider down into a syrup to flavor her Baked Apple Cider Donuts which get tossed in melted butter and cinnamon sugar. But to up the apple quotient, she suggests an apple cider glaze instead, using a little of the reduced cider and powdered sugar.

One of the most famous and delicious by-products of apples originated in the Two River area. Laird’s Applejack has been made in Colts Neck for over 300 years. The first recording of a commercial transaction at the distillery was made in 1780, according to the Laird & Company website. During Prohibition, the company produced nonalcoholic products until granted a federal license in 1933 to make apple brandy for “medicinal purposes.”

While not medically prescribed, spice up any baked good with a splash of Laird’s Old Apple Brandy – 7 ½ which was introduced in 1964 to commemorate New Jersey’s 300th anniversary. The brandy is aged in charred oak barrels for 7 ½ years (hence, the name) and also tastes delicious in a cocktail while enjoying the cool fall weather socially distanced around a firepit. Cope has a recipe for The Colt’s Neck Cocktail – an infusion of apple brandy, Cardamaro, lemon juice and ginger beer – or get inspired by Laird’s plentiful options on their website.

Embrace the apple this fall and happy baking!

By Elizabeth Wulfhorst

Baked Apple Cider Donuts
Start to finish: 38 minutes
Servings: 14 full-size donuts

For The Donuts
2 cups (473 ml) apple cider
1 cup (120 grams) all-purpose flour
1 cup (120 grams) whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
1/2 cup (106 grams) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (omit if using salted butter)
1 large egg
1/2 cup (118 ml) buttermilk
2 tablespoons (28 grams) butter, melted

For The Topping
4 tablespoons (56 grams) butter, melted
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375° F with a rack in the center. Spray two donut pans lightly with cooking spray.

Pour the cider into a frying pan and set over high heat. Boil until reduced to ½ cup, which takes about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, regular and brown sugars, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, butter and reduced apple cider.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir just until combined.

Pour batter into a gallon-sized zip top plastic bag, snip off a small piece of one of the lower corners, and use it like a pastry bag to fill each well of the prepared donut pan about 2/3 full.

Bake until the donuts spring back a bit when touched lightly, about eight minutes. Leave to cool for a couple of minutes, then gently remove donuts from pan to a rack.

For the topping, melt butter and pour into a wide, shallow bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon. Dip the top of each donut into the butter for just a second and then into the cinnamon sugar to coat as much as you like. Serve warm or at room temperature.

(Recipe adapted from umamigirl.com)

The article originally appeared in the September 17 – 23, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.