It’s apple season, and I can’t think of a better way to kick off the baking blog posts than talking about one of my favorite fruits! There are so many wonderful things you can make with apples: apple pie, apple strudel, apple bread, apple sauce (though that’s more cooking than baking). I could go on but I’m turning the spotlight to slightly smaller apple desserts.
Growing up my sister and I would beg our mom to get us these frozen desserts from the the store called “apple blossoms”. They were cored apples wrapped in a flaky pie dough in the shape of flowers with five overlapping petals and topped with sugar. They were so good, like mini apple pies you could eat all by yourself, and if you could get them topped with a scoop of ice cream? Perfection.
I’ve considered making them at home before but never gotten around to trying my hand at them. It’s one thing to get a frozen treat at the store and pop it in the oven. It’s another to make the dough, prep the apples, roll out the dough, shape the dough, and then bake it. I’ve been thinking of apple blossoms more this year, and I think for Thanksgiving I’m going to try my hand at making apple blossoms from scratch.
I have made something that falls into a similar category called “apple dumplings”, which are equally good if very different. I got the recipe from an old recipe card catalogue my grandmother left my parents years ago. You roll a cored apple in cinnamon sugar, place it in a small custard dish, and then top it with a thick batter which drips down the sides and covers the apple. Once baked it comes out looking like a little mountain, and when you cut into it you get a soft, sweet, well cooked apple to go with the crust.
It might not be as decadent as an apple blossom but it’s still a great warm treat on a cool fall evening!
