Celebrate National Apple Month with these sweet recipes.
By Donna Zitter Bordelon
A doctor and an architect both loved the same lady. Each day, the doctor gave the lady a rose and the architect gave her an apple. The lady knew the significance of a lover’s rose, but wondered why the architect gave her an apple each day. She asked, and the architect said: “Because an apple a day keeps the doctor away.”
October is National Apple Month. Lots of local apples are ready for the picking in many produce aisles right now, and without a doubt, local apples are “the best” tasting. In the 1720s, botanist and horticulturalist John Bartram facilitated the cultivation of different apple varieties in Philadelphia along the Schuylkill River, at what is now called Bartram’s Garden. Now, apples are grown in all 67 counties in Pennsylvania, which ranks fourth in apple production in the country. Pick up a few local apples to try the following apple torte.
APPLE TORTE
Crust:
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup flour
Cheese Filling:
2 packages cream cheese (8 oz. each), softened
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Apple Topping:
3 cups baking apples, peeled, sliced thin (3–4 apples)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Crust: Combine butter, sugar, vanilla and flour, cutting butter with two knives or with fingers, working into a dough. Press the dough onto the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.
Filling: In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well. Pour the cheese filling over the crust.
Topping: Combine the sugar and cinnamon and toss with the sliced apples.
Arrange the apple slices over the cheese filling in a concentric circle, overlapping the slices.
Bake for 55–65 minutes until the center is set. (Best to place a sheet of foil under springform pan or put pan on baking sheet.)
Cool torte and run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan before removing sides of springform pan. Store in the refrigerator.
Eat well, live long, enjoy!
(Questions or tips can be sent to Donna Zitter Bordelon at WhatscookinNEPhilly@gmail.com or in care of the Times, 2 Executive Campus, Suite 400, Cherry Hill, NJ 08002)
Recipe winner:
Congratulations to Bettina Dunn, who submitted this recipe, and was chosen in a random drawing. Bettina is the September winner of a $100 ShopRite gift card.
Bettina wrote, “Every guest and family member I have served this to has raved about it for days…It is also a great way to get the kids to eat fruit and keeping the peels on adds nutrients to the mix.”
BETTINA’S OUTRAGEOUS FRUIT COBBLER
½ cup margarine
2 cups white flour
1 cup almond or soy milk
1 cup honey
2 Tbsp. baking powder
Sprinkle of salt
4 large or 6 small peaches
4 plums
½ cup raisins
1 cup light brown sugar
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
Cinnamon, divided
Ground walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
9×13-inch pan
Melt margarine in microwave until liquid. Pour liquid into pan.
In a large bowl, mix flour, milk, honey, baking powder and salt until texture is creamy. Pour batter into pan. Do not stir into melted margarine.
Cut peaches and plums into bite-sized pieces. Leave peels on the fruit.
In a large pot, mix peaches, plums, raisins, brown sugar, lemon juice and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Heat mixture on top of stove at high heat, stirring constantly. The fruit will caramelize and soften and the mixture will bubble. No need to add water. The water naturally contained in the fruit will come oozing out. When fruit is soft but not mushy and mixture is bubbling well, remove from stove and pour into pan on top of batter. Do not stir into batter.
Sprinkle ground walnuts and cinnamon generously on top of pan while fruit is still hot.
Put pan in oven for 1 hour. Cobbler is done when the batter edges appear crispy. Remove and enjoy hot or cold.
The recipe submissions have been wonderful. Please remember to include exact measurements in your recipes. You could be October’s lucky winner. Send your recipe to:
Readers’ Recipes
c/o Northeast Times
2 Executive Campus
Suite 400
Cherry Hill, NJ 08002
Or email your recipe to WhatscookinNEPhilly@gmail.com.
Please include your name, home address, and telephone number. ••
