Five Ways to Use Apples

I love fall. It's my absolute favorite, so it's really a shame it doesn't last very long here in Wisconsin. Since having kids, one of the things I love about fall is our annual trip to the apple orchard to pick (and eat) apples until our basket is full to the tippy top. Typically, we visit the Elegant Farmer in Mukwonago. We get apple cider donuts to eat while we wait in line for the hay ride out to the orchard and after we pick to our heart's content, we head over to the store and try not to buy everything we see. We always walk out with an apple pie baked in a paper bag and usually some fresh cheese curds as well. And I usually need to be dragged from the bakery section so I don't end up with 12 loaves of bread, muffins, cookies and everything else that tempts me.

I hope we can still find some time in between soccer, football and volleyball games (not to mention real estate activities) to get out to the orchard, but Cole has been keeping an eye on our lone apple tree for the past few months, anxiously awaiting the crop to be ready. The deer have been feasting on the apples low enough to be in their reach, but we noticed last weekend that we had a bounty of apples higher up. So, we grabbed our ladder and started picking! I wish I had gotten pictures while we were picking, but we were just in that moment so I didn't even think about it. Turns out I'm not much of a blogger.

Within just a few minutes, we had three grocery bags full of apples! I have no idea what kind they are and we do not treat this tree at all, so I was shocked to see how big they were and how many. We still have tons more, but that will take my resident tree climber, Maddie, and she hasn't had time to get up there yet. So....all of these apples and we started thinking, what should we do with them? Which brings me to this week's Friday Five...

Five Ways to Use Apples

1. Apple Fritter Bread

This legit has my mouth watering and I cannot wait to try it! I think I will make it this weekend. How good would this be with a cup of coffee on the deck on a cool fall morning?!? If it turns out as good as it looks, this just may make it into my next closing gift basket!

2. Crockpot Applesauce

This was actually the first thing my kids requested we make. Turns out they made it in school last year and they loved it! So, I think I'll fire up my crockpot today and get this going. My grandma used to make homemade applesauce and like everything else she made, it was the BEST! I mean, it didn't top her homemade cinnamon rolls. Those were legendary, but I can almost taste her applesauce right now and it makes my heart so happy.

3. Apple Fries

 

How yummy do these look?? I think these would be so fun to have as a snack while watching football. Cinnamon, sugar, apples...caramel sauce. YUM!

4. Apple Oatmeal Muffins

Another yummy breakfast treat! Thinking about using some of my homemade applesauce for these guys as a healthy-ish thing for the kids to grab as they are running out the door to school in the morning. 

5. Peanut Butter Apple Roll Ups

These are a crowd favorite at our house. I can't recall where I came across these originally, but I wasn't able to find them online anywhere. We just slather a tortilla with peanut butter and then top with apple slices and a handful of chocolate chips. Roll it all up and cut it in half and it's 3/4 of my kids' favorite meal. Cole cannot get on board with these for some reason. He loves all of the ingredients, but he can't do them all together in roll up form and I think it's hilarious.

If you look on Pinterest, there are tons and tons of great recipes you can make with apples. And if all else fails, you can toss them into a great wooden bowl and call them decor! Are you liking the Friday Five? I hope so! I plan to keep them coming, so if there is a topic you want to hear about, let me know! TGIF, Friends! Cheers!