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  • in Recipes

    Apple Pie Bars with Crumble Topping

    These apple pie bars have all the sweet cinnamon flavors of an apple pie in hand-held form! They’re easy to make, easy to share, and easy to transform into caramel apple pie bars should you want to make them extra special. If you need to plan ahead these bars are even freezer friendly! Let the fall baking commence!

    For me, the smell of autumn is the scent of apple pies baking and cooling in the kitchen. And though I love baking a classic apple pie, sometimes I don’t feel like going through the process of making pie crust, chilling it, and rolling it out. Apple pie bars are my easy solution!
    Apple pie bars feed a crowd! No need to worry about using a pie server and knife to cut out messy slices. The bars can be brought to a gathering or individually wrapped as gifts to lift someone’s spirits and to serve up and share with ease.
    On top of all that, the bars are easy to make.
    The dough you make for the crust doubles as the crumb topping. A little addition of optional pecans along with the rolled oats means the pie bars have texture and crunch to balance the sweet apple filling packed with all those glorious warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.
    Think of these bars as a great fall flavor treat that you can hold in your hand.

    WHAT APPLES ARE BEST FOR APPLE PIE BARS?
    I like to use a mix of different apples for these bars, as each apple tends to have different characteristics.
    Some are tart, some are firm, some mushy, and some softer. If you use a mix of apples (I use two or three different varieties), you get more interesting texture and apple flavor.
    I recommend using Granny Smith apples, which are almost always firm and tart in the mix. They ensure that your filling has some bite, firmness, and texture, without being completely mushy like applesauce. I also like to pick a sweeter apple.
    For sweet apple options I like:
    Braeburn
    Jonagold
    Gala
    Jazz
    Cortland
    Honeycrisp apples are super sweet and crisp.
    Pink Lady and Opal apples are nicely balanced with acidity and sweetness.
    And if you’re lucky enough to get a hold of Gravenstein or Arkansas Black apples, both heirloom apples, grab a bunch. They are some of my favorite apples and I look for them every year. Their season is fleeting but they have great intense apple flavor.
    Certain apples are better for sauces where they are prized for disintegrating easily. This means they are best to avoid for an apple bar (or pie) recipe. For this recipe, stay away from:
    Red Delicious
    Rome
    McIntosh
    For more information on the best apples for baking, check out the Guide to Apples.

    THE BEST NUTS FOR CRUMB TOPPING?
    These bars use pecans in the topping for crunch and flavor. If you aren’t a fan of pecans, you can easily swap out the same amount for another kind of nut. Any of these would work:
    Walnuts
    Pistachios
    Almonds
    If you are allergic to nuts or don’t like them in your desserts, just omit them. Instead, add an additional 1/2 cup of rolled oats in place of the nuts.
    To up the “crunch” factor, try sprinkling two tablespoons of sparkling sugar or turbinado sugar (sometimes sold under the name brand Sugar in the Raw). The larger sugar crystals will give a sweet crunch to the top of the bars.
    HOW TO DRESS UP APPLE PIE CRUMBLE BARS!
    The beauty of these apple bars is the simplicity in making them!
    Make a crumbly dough, use half for the crust, layer it with some sliced apples tossed in sugar and spices, then crumble the remaining dough over the top with some nuts. Once baked and cooled, dust it with a little powdered sugar to fancy them up a bit.
    But you can take the bars in a few different directions. Try mixing up the spices in the filling. I kept the filling of the bars straightforward with a heavy dose of cinnamon and a touch of nutmeg. But any wintery warm spice works!
    Add an additional 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of these spices to take it up a notch:
    Ground ginger
    Cloves
    Mace
    Allspice
    Ground cardamom
    Black pepper
    Coriander
    Chinese five-spice blend
    And, if you have a super well-stocked pantry or want to splurge on some esoteric spices, grains of paradise and long pepper both add warmth and earthy depth that folks won’t be able to place, but that blends wonderfully with apple.

    MAKE CARAMEL APPLE PIE BARS
    Skip the powdered sugar step in this recipe and drizzle the top of the apple bars with caramel. You can even get more fancy pants and, after you drizzle the bars with caramel, sprinkle them with a bit of finishing salt for salted caramel apple pie bars!
    Make it easy on yourself and use a store-bought caramel sauce or make your own homemade caramel sauce. Either way, the results are sure to be fantastic.
    HOW TO STORE, FREEZE, AND REHEAT APPLE PIE BARS
    These bars are best eaten the day they’re baked (as most desserts are), but they keep surprisingly well.
    To Store: Keep the bars layered between pieces of parchment paper in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. The longer they are in the fridge, the more the crust and crumb soften.
    To Freeze: Yes, you can freeze these bars! Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and put in the freezer until frozen solid (about two hours).
    To store the frozen apple pie bars transfer them to an airtight container or resealable freezer ziptop bag, with a piece of parchment paper between layers, for up to three months. Thaw them overnight in the fridge before serving.
    To Reheat: You can refresh the bars by placing them on a baking sheet and warming them in a toaster oven or regular oven at 350°F for 10 to 15 minutes. Be sure to dust the bars with more powdered sugar right before serving, as the powdered sugar tends to absorb into the bar as it sits.
    MORE DELICIOUS FALL BAR RECIPES

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  • in Recipes

    12 Recipes to Prep this Weekend and Freeze

    Now that the pantry is stocked with all the essentials, let’s move to another indispensable part of the kitchen: the freezer.
    It’s a rare occasion that weeknight cooking turns out classics such as Chicken Pot Pie or Indian Butter Chicken, but with a little extra planning the freezer can be used to store ready-to-eat meals: fried rice, meatballs or lasagna.
    When preparing freezer meals don’t forget about breakfast! For something savory try breakfast burritos. If you need something on the sweet side look to smoothie packs. They are a lifesaver for quick breakfasts or hydrating after school snacks.
    The easiest way to stock a freezer is to make a little extra on the weekend or double the recipe you’re making anyway — eat half, freeze half. I like to think of it as life skills 101 and get the kids involved. For weekend prep, set aside an afternoon and make an extra main dish, a breakfast option, pizza dough or cookies to pull out for a rainy day. Bake, cool, label and freeze. You won’t regret it!

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  • in Recipes

    Peanut Butter Balls (Buckeyes)

    Chocolate-dipped peanut butter balls or Buckeye balls are so easy to make at home with this easy Buckeye recipe. An essential for any cookie tray!

    Photography Credit: Irvin Lin

    The combination of chocolate and peanut butter is an obvious winner for anyone who has ever tasted a peanut butter cup, and peanut butter balls, or buckeye balls, are no exception.
    Named for their resemblance to the nut of the buckeye tree, these chocolate-dipped peanut butter balls are easy to make at home with very little work using the buckeye recipe that follows.
    Video! How to Make Peanut Butter Balls (Buckeyes)

    Discovering Buckeye Balls
    Even though I grew up in the Midwest, where Peanut Butter Buckeye balls are popular, I was strangely oblivious to them until I moved to California. One day, a co-worker at my day job brought a tray of Buckeyes into the office, and I quickly devoured a few too many, rendering myself relatively useless from the sugar aftershock for the rest of the afternoon.
    I remember going home and proclaiming my love for this new confection to my partner. He gave me the side eye. “How have you never heard of Buckeyes before?” was his response. Apparently, I have been missing out all my life.

    Why are they Called Buckeye Balls?
    These chocolate-coated rounds of sweetened peanut butter look nearly identical to the nut from a buckeye tree, a tree native to the midwestern United States and the state tree of Ohio. This explains why the peanut butter balls are so popular in Ohio and the surrounding states like Indiana, where my partner is from.
    The candy looks so much like the nut that, when he was a kid, my partner’s parents would always instruct him, “Now, remember, you can eat these peanut butter ball candies, but don’t eat the actual buckeye nuts on the ground!” To this day, he still remembers that warning and repeats it every time he eats one.
    Thie Buckeye recipe makes quite a few balls, so my own warning is to limit yourself to eating just a few of these Buckeye balls at a time. Otherwise, you may find yourself falling into the same sugar aftershock that I did when I initially discovered my love for these delicious little peanut butter balls!
    Tips for Making Peanut Butter Balls
    It may sound fussy, but make sure to sift the powdered sugar into the peanut butter using a strainer or you’ll wind up with clumps in your buckeyes balls.
    Also, keep in mind that you need to chill the peanut butter balls after forming them, and again after you dip them in the chocolate, so plan accordingly.

    From the editors of Simply Recipes

    The Best Peanut Butter for Buckeyes
    The best peanut butter to use here is one of the standard, mainstream brands like Jif, Skippy, or Peter Pan. These brands have the added oils you need to keep the peanut butter from separating. Go for smooth and creamy over crunchy, though using crunchy peanut butter can add some interesting texture to your peanut butter balls.
    Avoid natural peanut butters. Peanut butter balls made with natural peanut butter will end up drier and more crumbly.
    How to Store & Freeze Peanut Butter Balls
    Store buckeyes in an airtight container or ziplock back in the refrigerator. They should keep for several weeks.
    They can also be frozen for up to three months.
    More Peanut Butter Treats!

    Peanut Butter Balls (Buckeyes) Recipe

    Buckeye balls can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for several weeks, or (wrapped tightly) in the freezer for several months.

    Ingredients
    1 1/2 cups (390 g) smooth peanut butter (not “natural”)
    1/2 cup (115 g / 1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
    3 1/2 cups (400 g) powdered sugar
    3 cups (525 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips

    Method

    1 Make the peanut butter filling: Place the peanut butter, melted butter, vanilla and salt in a large bowl and stir until well blended. Sift 2 cups of powdered sugar into the bowl using a fine-mesh strainer and stir until the sugar is absorbed. Sift the remaining powdered sugar and mix in and a smooth stiff paste forms.

    2 Shape the filling into balls: Scoop up a small portion of dough (a small cookie scoop is great for this!). Form 1-inch balls by rolling them between your palms.
    Place on a rimmed baking pan lined with a piece of parchment paper. Repeat until all the peanut butter filling is gone.
    Skewer each ball with a toothpick; you’ll use this to dip the balls in chocolate later. It’s best to do this now because the balls might be too hard later.

    3 Chill for at least 1 hour or overnight in the refrigerator so the balls become firm enough to dip.
    4 Melt the chocolate for the coating: Once the peanut butter balls have chilled, place the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second increments on high power, stirring between each cook cycle, until the chocolate has melted and is smooth.

    5 Dip the peanut butter balls in the melted chocolate: Holding the peanut butter balls by the toothpick, dip it in the melted chocolate until 3/4 of the ball is covered in chocolate. Leave the top of the ball uncovered so you can see a little of the peanut butter. Place back on the baking sheet and repeat with the remaining balls.

    6 Chill the buckeye balls: Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight for the chocolate to solidify. Once the chocolate is solid, wet your finger and smooth over the hole the toothpick has formed with your finger.
    7 Store buckeyes in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to eat. Buckeyes can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for several weeks, or (wrapped tightly) in the freezer for several months.

    Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. Thank you!

    This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Simply Recipes. Read more about our affiliate linking policy. LEGGI TUTTO

  • in Recipes

    Bacalao Guisado (Salt Cod Stew)

    Serve this traditional Puerto Rican stew over a bed of white rice with a few slices of avocado. This favorite Lenten dinner dish of salt cod in a rich tomato broth shines with bright, vibrant herbs, potatoes, onions, peppers, and garlic.

    Bacalao Guisado, or salted cod stew, is a rich, tomato-based stew flavored with onions, peppers, and garlic, then bulked up with potatoes. The only salt in this dish comes from rehydrated, flaked codfish. The whole lot is spooned over rice and served on its own, or with a side of sliced avocado.
    Salted Cod Stew is one of Puerto Rico’s most popular foods and often served during Lent. It’s also the dish that made me realize that I was different from most of my schoolmates.
    My mother was very traditional when it came to the meals she cooked at home, so she never sent me to school with sandwiches for lunch. Whatever was for dinner the previous night became tomorrow’s lunch for us kids. The day I broke the seal on my Tupperware container, and the aromatic smell of cod fish and onions and tomatoes wafted through the air, I became the talk of the lunchroom. Not good talk, either.
    They labeled me a “jibara” (a hick or country girl). The fact that I’d never even visited Puerto Rico at that point was irrelevant to my classmates. I was mortified. I swore I’d only bring PB&Js to lunch in the future. But as an adult, this dish has become important to me, because it serves as the link to my Puerto Rican culture.

    WHAT IS SALTED COD?
    Cod is a round fish with firm, white flesh that flakes easily. To make salted cod the fillets are coated in salt and left to dry, thus preserving the meat for storage and later use.
    Salted cod was most likely brought to the Puerto Rico by European sailors who docked at the island’s port during the early 15th or 16th century.
    Though this island nation is dependent on the sea’s bounty, Cod is a cold water fish, which means all of it is imported. The mix of cultures who traded and intermingled with the native Tainos brought their own flavors to the island and this dish is one of the delicious representations of that marriage.
    WHERE CAN YOU FIND SALTED COD?
    Salted cod seems to be common in most of the larger grocers these days. Look for it in the refrigerated section of your supermarket’s fish section. Because it’s not a fresh fish, it’s usually found in bags or boxes near the canned crab meat.
    If you live in a city with a high immigrant population, you may be able to find sides of heavily salted, darn near desiccated cod laying on shelves or hanging in the marketplace. This type of cod will require a longer amount of soaking to remove that high amount of salt from it to prepare it for cooking.

    HOW TO PREPARE SALTED COD?
    Salted cod must be soaked and rehydrated to remove most of the salt it’s been preserved in prior to using in your recipes. When cooked as is, its sodium content will make your dishes inedible.
    Traditional Soak Method: Soak cod in cold water for at least 8 hours and change the water after 4 hours.
    Fast Soak Method: Rinse the exterior layer of salt off before soaking the salted cod in cold water for 45 minutes. Once it’s softened a bit, feel through the meat and remove any remaining bones. Place the cod in a pan, cover with more cold water, and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Drain the saltwater and rinse the fillets a final time. Now the cod can be flaked and used in recipes.
    I prefer the fast soak method—one hour versus eight hours.
    If you’re on a low-sodium diet, the flaked fish can be simmered once again and drained a second time to remove virtually all of the salt.
    CAN YOU MAKE BACALAO GUISADO WITH FRESH OR UNSALTED COD?
    Bacalao Guisado is traditionally made with salted cod, but fresh cod can be used. It’s the salted cod itself that seasons the stew. To replicate that salinity, you only need to add a teaspoon of kosher salt to the recipe along with the oregano and black pepper.

    WHAT IS RECAO?
    One of the most popular ways to season Puerto Rican dishes is with a sofrito that begins with an herb paste called recao. Recao, sometimes called Mexican coriander, is both the name of the herb and the paste. The paste is made by blending recao leaves, which taste verdant and almost garlicky, with onions, garlic, and sweet peppers. You can make it yourself or buy it at the store.
    If you can’t find recao paste your local grocery store, and you can’t find the actual herb to make the paste yourself, it’s best just to make a basic sofrito by combining the onions, garlic, and sweet peppers and skipping the racao.
    WAYS TO ADAPT THIS RECIPE
    Most white fish can be used in this recipe. Haddock, pollack, hake, mahi mahi, catfish, and (my personal favorite) orange roughy are good substitutes for the cod used in this recipe. If using any of these other types of fish, you’ll add a teaspoon of salt to the dish to compensate for the salted cod.
    You can also switch up the ingredients. If you’re looking for another version of Salt Cod Stew you might want to check out this Portuguese version made with eggs, olives and loads of olive oil.
    WHAT TO SERVE WITH BACALAO GUISADO
    Rice is the most common accompaniment to this dish. In some rural parts of Puerto Rico, and among my older family members, a cornmeal mush called funche often accompanies Bacalao Guisado. Funche is just really thick cornmeal polenta. A few slices of avocado or a green salad would also go well with this dish.

    CAN YOU MAKE BACALAO AHEAD OF TIME?
    The beauty of this dish is that it grows more flavorful as it sits. You can prepare the Bacalao Guisado the evening before you plan to serve it. Reheat it in a covered dish on the stovetop over medium heat until it’s warmed through. This comes in handy if you’re planning to use the old school, longer soaking time.
    CAN YOU FREEZE BACALAO?
    If you’re a freezer meal lover like I am, you’ll be happy to know that Bacalao Guisado is freezer-friendly. Add the stew to freezer-safe containers and cover the fish in the liquid to protect it from freezer burn.
    MORE INCREDIBLE PUERTO RICAN RECIPES LEGGI TUTTO

  • in Recipes

    Classic Chocolate Mousse

    Classic chocolate mousse makes any dinner feel a little more fancy. It’s great for a dinner party because it looks so pretty, everyone gets their own serving, and you can make it ahead.

    Photography Credit: Sally Vargas

    This Chocolate Mousse is thick, rich, creamy, and a perfect dessert for entertaining! Not only is it pretty, everyone gets their own serving, and you can make it a day ahead of time.
    I found this recipe years ago in the Bouchon cookbook by famed chef Thomas Keller. It is somewhat of a “chef-y” recipe with melting chocolate over a double boiler, whipping egg whites, and whipped cream.
    But if you follow the tips I outline below, you should have success with the recipe and a beautiful, luscious chocolate mousse dessert!

    Best Chocolate for Chocolate Mousse
    If you want a truly chocolate-y chocolate mousse, use a bittersweet dark chocolate, anywhere from 62% to 70% cocoa.
    For this chocolate mousse I’m using the darkest chocolate I could find (Trader Joe’s has some Belgian 70% cocoa 1 pound bricks).
    If you are going to serve the mousse straight–with no added cream or fruit–and you love the taste of barely sweet dark chocolate, your mousse will be perfect with the 70%.
    If you layer in fruit (raspberries complement the chocolate quite well) and or more whipped cream, you’ll want either to add sugar or use 62% bittersweet chocolate.

    Tips for chocolate mousse success
    Chocolate mousse can be a little bit tricky! Here are some tips to help you be successful with this recipe:
    Gently melt chocolate: Melt chocolate over barely simmering water in a double boiler. You can set up a double boiler by placing a metal bowl over a saucepan with barely simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water.) If you don’t use a double boiler, the chocolate can break or separate.
    Cool chocolate until barely warm: Once you’ve melted the chocolate with the butter and espresso, you’ll want to cool it until it is barely warm when you dab some on your lower lip. That will be the right temperature for adding the egg yolks. Too warm and the eggs will cook. Too cool and the chocolate will seize up when you add the other ingredients.
    Separate eggs when cold, but whip at room temp: Eggs separate easiest when they are right out of the fridge. But egg whites will whip more easily when they are room temp. So separate the eggs first, and then let them sit at room temp for several minutes.
    Clean equipment for whipping egg whites: Egg whites will refuse to whip properly if there is any residual fat in the bowl or bowl beaters you are using, or if there are any bits of egg yolk that made their way into the whites. So make sure you are using very clean equipment, and you have picked out any bits of egg yolk that may be in the whites.
    Fold, don’t stir, egg whites and whipped cream: Gently fold egg whites and whipped cream into your chocolate mousse and your mousse will be fluffy.
    A Note About Raw Egg Whites
    This classic chocolate mousse recipe uses raw egg whites and raw egg yolks. For most people this is not an issue, but people with compromised immune systems, pregnant women, very young or old people, should avoid raw eggs due to the risk of salmonella. You can buy pasteurized eggs at the store if you feel uncomfortable using raw eggs in this recipe.
    You might also try this recipe for Vegan Chocolate Pudding.

    From the editors of Simply Recipes

    The Best Dishes for Chocolate Mousse
    Mousse can be chilled and served in any individual-sized cup, tumbler, or ramekin. Even small canning jars or tea cups work!
    A Make-Ahead Dessert
    Chocolate mousse is best if chilled at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours before serving. This makes it the perfect make-ahead dessert!
    How to Serve Chocolate Mousse
    While chocolate mousse is just fine all on its own, you can fancy it up by adding a dollop of whipped cream to each dish before serving. You can also layer the mousse with raspberries and whipped cream; if you do this, serve it in glasses so you can see the pretty layers when you serve.
    More Decadent Chocolate Desserts

    Classic Chocolate Mousse Recipe

    This recipe uses raw eggs. If you are concerned about salmonella risks, you can use pasteurized eggs. 
    Recipe adapted from Bouchon

    Ingredients
    1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
    4 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
    2 tablespoon (1 ounce) unsalted butter, cubed
    2 tablespoons brewed espresso or very strong coffee (I used decaf espresso from a local Starbucks)
    3 large eggs, separated
    1 tablespoon sugar
    Raspberries and extra whipped cream, optional to serve

    Method

    1 Whip the cream: Whip the heavy whipping cream to soft peaks, then chill.

    2 Melt the chocolate: Put the chocolate, cubed butter, and espresso in the top of a double boiler over hot, steamy water (not simmering), stirring frequently until smooth.
    Remove the chocolate mixture from the heat and let it cool until the chocolate is just warm to the touch. Don’t let the chocolate get tool cool or the mixture will seize when the other ingredients are added.

    3 Whip the egg whites: Once you’ve taken the chocolate mixture off the heat and it has started to cool, whip the egg whites until they are foamy and beginning to hold a shape. Sprinkle in the sugar and whip until the egg whites form stiff peaks.

    4 Add egg yolks to chocolate: When the chocolate has cooled until it is just warm to the touch, stir in the egg yolks.
    5 Add whipped cream and egg whites: Gently stir in about one-third of the whipped cream to thin and loosen the chocolate mixture. Then fold in half the egg whites. Fold in the remaining egg whites. Fold in the remaining whipped cream.

    6 Spoon into serving dishes, chill: Spoon or pipe the mousse into a serving dishes. If you wish, layer in fresh raspberries and whipped cream. Chill in the refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours.

    Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. Thank you!

    This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Simply Recipes. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.

    Elise Bauer
    Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family’s recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.
    More from Elise LEGGI TUTTO

  • in Recipes

    Applesauce Spice Cake

    Welcome fall with this easy applesauce cake! It’s rich, moist, and fragrant with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. Top with cream cheese frosting or leave plain.

    Photography Credit: Sally Vargas

    When apple season starts, we spend weeks making homemade applesauce and apple butter with apples from our trees. We freeze the applesauce to use all year long so are always looking for ways to use it!
    As our freezer is now packed with applesauce, and there’s more to come, I thought I would experiment with an applesauce cake recipe in the Mitchell Davis’ cookbook Kitchen Sense.
    It’s less of a “cake” and more like a quick bread, similar to our banana, zucchini, and pumpkin breads. The batter comes together quickly, and you pour it into a square baking pan to bake. You could also easily use the same batter to make applesauce muffins instead.

    How to Serve Applesauce Cake
    Applesauce cake can be served straight from the pan, or lift it using the parchment paper to serve on a tray. It’s also great topped with cream cheese frosting, or left plain.
    Serve applesauce cake as an afternoon snack or evening dessert. Either way, a cup of coffee or tea alongside makes a cozy fall treat.
    How to Store and Freeze Applesauce Cake
    Frosted or unfrosted applesauce cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 5 days. (However, if your kitchen is warmer than 70°F, store frosted cakes in the fridge.)
    To freeze: Do not frost the cake. Let it cool completely, then wrap in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months; thaw overnight on the counter before serving or frosting.
    Check out our other apple cake recipes!
    Updated September 26, 2020 : We spiffed up this post with some new photos and new information to help you make the best cake ever. Some minor changes to the recipe for clarity. Enjoy!

    Applesauce Spice Cake Recipe

    Recipe adapted from Kitchen Sense by Mitchell Davis.

    Ingredients
    2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1 teaspoon cinnamon
    1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
    1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
    1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1/2 cup (112g, stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
    1 cup (200g) sugar
    3 large eggs
    1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
    1 cup applesauce
    1/4 cup plain yogurt diluted a bit with milk, or 1/4 cup of buttermilk
    1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
    1/2 cup raisins
    1 batch Cream Cheese Frosting, optional
    Extra walnuts to decorate, optional

    Method

    1 Preheat oven, prepare pan: Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking pan, and then line with parchment to create a sling.
    2 Combine dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, vigorously whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
    3 Make the batter: In a separate bowl using an electric mixer or in a stand mixer, beat butter until light. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition. Add the vanilla and the applesauce and beat until smooth.
    Mix in half of the dry ingredients. Just before they are blended, add the thinned yogurt (or buttermilk). Then mix in the rest of the dry ingredients and the nuts and raisins, until completely incorporated. Do not over-mix.

    5 Bake: Pour out the batter into your prepared cake pan. Place in the middle rack of the 375°F oven and bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. The cake should spring back when touched.

    6 Cool: Remove the cake from the oven. Let cool for 15 minutes. Lift the cake from the pan using the parchment and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Frost with cream cheese frosting and sprinkle with some walnuts, if you like, or serve it plain.
    The cake can be stored back inside the pan, or in an airtight container.

    Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. Thank you!

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    This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Simply Recipes. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.

    Elise Bauer
    Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family’s recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.
    More from Elise LEGGI TUTTO

  • in Recipes

    5 Weeknight Dinners Perfect for Cool Fall Evenings

    This month welcome Sara Bir. Sara Bir is the author of two cookbooks, Tasting Ohio and the IACP award-winning The Fruit Forager’s Companion. She also moderates and replies to your comments here on Simply Recipes. Follow her @sausagetarian.
    September 22 is the first official day of fall. But when does it start to feel like fall? It could be when the days shorten noticeably. Or when the nights get cool. Or when school starts up again.
    After such a jumbled summer, a change in seasons is welcome. But this year, whatever shape it may be taking, school is breaking new territory. Where I live in the Ohio River Valley, it’s been a hot, hot summer—so my favorite fall fruits may be too dry and shriveled to make an abundant harvest. The festivals I spend months looking forward to are taking a gap year (see you in 2021, Ohio Pawpaw Festival).
    But there’s still the always-anticipated wardrobe switch to boots and sweaters. The cavalcade of pumpkin spice products. The promise of smaller electric bills once we shut off the AC.
    What does fall look like to you? These recipes embrace the coziness we start craving around now, either with seasonal ingredients (apples! winter squash!) or seasonal vibes (braised pork! saucy meatballs!). May they bring you into fall with warmth and good health.
    One last thing: Looking for dinner ideas? You’re in the right spot! We have delicious meal plans to suit every taste and lifestyle—Healthy Eating, Family Favorites, and Vegetarian just to name a few. These one-month plans are $6.95 and, with them, you get a dessert and weekend prep recipe and a shopping list. They’re beautifully designed and perfect to print and save or simply load and cook right from your computer! LEGGI TUTTO

  • in Recipes

    The 8 Instant Pot Accessories Worth Getting

    There are so many Instant Pot accessories out there, it can be hard to know which ones to buy. That’s why we did some testing of our own, and we think these are some of the best Instant Pot accessories you can get!

    When I first started cooking with my Instant Pot, there were no accessories; you just had to wing it! I raided thrift stores for old pans and rigged up all kinds of contraptions from wads of foil that worked okay if you didn’t breathe on them the wrong way.
    That wasn’t even ten years ago, but since then a multitude of accessories designed just for Instant Pots have popped up. Which ones are worth bothering with? I tried out a dozen, and here’s what I liked best.
    (And, before you go on an ordering spree, always check to see if the accessory is compatible with your model. There things are not always universal.)
    Hadrigo Steamer Basket
    Accommodating everything from broccoli to tamales to beets, here’s the One Steamer to Rule them All. For years, I’ve used a totally old-school collapsible metal steamer just like my mom had, only I got mine at the Goodwill. It’s worked fine but was hard to fish out of the pot.
    But now I’m a convert to this Hadrigo steamer.

    It’s huge, maximizing the area of the cooker so you can steam around ten eggs without having to pile them on top of each other. It’s got a handle for easy lifting and it’s way easier to store than some floppy silicone thing.
    In fact, when you’re not using your Instant Pot, you could keep it nestled in there. Just be sure it’ll fit in your pot. It fit in my Ultra but not in my circa 2015 Duo.
    Instant Pot Mini Mitts
    Reaching into the Instant Pot puts your hands right in the way of scalding-hot steam, putting potholders in danger of getting wet. And while a pair of tongs can get jars, pans, steamers, or even halved acorn squash out of the pot, it’s all too easy for them to lose their grip.
    Enter these mini mitts!

    They’re substantial enough to protect your hands from the ample steam a pressure cooker produces, but not so thick they’re ungainly (a complaint I’ve had with many other silicone mitts). I often lift hot inserts or steamer baskets out of my cooker, and these made it by far less nerve wracking.

    7″ Springform Pan
    For years, I steamed cakes and custards in an 8” aluminum cake pan that barely fit inside my Instant Pot. No longer!
    I love the 7” springform pan because it’s much more user-friendly. It’s petite but not mini and gives you cute cakes a smaller household can polish off before they go all stale.

    Desserts in the IP are a revelation! Try a recipe from our site, or, if you’re really bonkers over sweets, check out Laurel Randolph’s Instant Pot Desserts (the flourless chocolate cake is divine) for plenty of chances to get the most out of this pan.

    Instant Pot Silicone Egg Bites Pan
    This is a single-use item, true, but it does the best job of making egg bites.
    This mold holds seven egg bites and comes with a lid so you don’t have to grapple with foil to keep condensation from dripping on the cooking bites.

    But I’d say only get this is if you adore egg bites. If you really, really love them, get two so you can steam a double recipe. (Psst, we’ve got an egg bite recipe here!) I tried to brainstorm another use these—sweet little custards? tiny Boston brown bread?—but didn’t come up with anything. If you have one of these and use it for other recipes, we’d love to know.

    Instant Pot Glass Lid
    Oh man, of all the fun new toys, this one was my favorite. A lid?! What’s so great about a glass lid?
    This lid will only be handy if you often use your Instant Pot without pressure cooking (you can’t pressure cook without the bulky lid the unit comes with).

    The two main pressure-less instances are making yogurt and using the slow cooker function. The glass lid gives you much quicker access (no locking and unlocking), plus there’s way less condensation dripping down off the glass lid.
    I was using the lid from one of my other pots as a faux glass lid, but it didn’t fit nearly as well, so this specialized one is worth it.
    Silicone Lid
    Sometimes I refrigerate food right in the Instant Pot insert. This happens most with yogurt (it’s best to chill it overnight before straining) and giant batches of soup or stew I don’t want to deal with.
    Having a lid that’s just the right size to snap on sure does save a lot of plastic wrap.

    And hey, if you’re refrigerating soup or stew, make sure to let it cool down all the way first so it does not go sour. You can set the hot insert in a large pot or sink full of ice water to speed up the process.
    Sealing Rings, Red and Blue
    Extra gaskets—or, as they call them here, sealing rigs—are a huge plus. I recommend them to anyone who uses an Instant Pot once a week or more. Have you ever made chili and then had that chili smell lurk in the gasket for ages? And you want to make cheesecake and not have it tinged with chili? There are hacks that supposedly get rid of the lingering odor, but I’ve tried them, and none of them work.
    Having two gaskets on hand (one for chili/curry/etc., one for delicate foods like custards and cakes) is the best solution. They’re color-coded so you can remember: use red for chili/curry/etc., blue for delicates.

    Plus, if you store your IP correctly (with the gasket removed to encourage airflow and discourage mildew) and use it a lot, the gaskets can stretch out and the pot won’t come to pressure. This way, you always have an extra on deck.

    Extra Insert
    If, like me, you bang out yogurt and the aforementioned giant batches of soup or stew, you’re often ready to fire up your IP … only to find your insert is already occupied. Gah!
    The solution? An extra insert. Be sure to order one that’s compatible with your model; the 6-quart insert I ordered for my older Duo did not fit in it, thought it did fit in my 6-quart Ultra.

    Did we miss any of your favorite Instant Pot accessories? We’d love to hear. Please tell us all about it in the comments! LEGGI TUTTO