Easy, Scrumptious Apple Dumpling Cobbler
Posted: February 23, 2015 Filed under: Desserts, Fruit Dishes, Uncategorized | Tags: apple, apple dumplings, apples, butter, cinnamon, cobbler, dumplins, ice cream, lemon, pastry, pie crust, sugar Leave a comment
(Becky, the Mama.)
What is it about being snowed in that turns even makes even the most anti-cooking folks fire up the oven and don an apron? Here’s a recipe that is not only easy to make, and scrumptious, but will make your house smell like Pure Love.
I know, I know… the last recipe I posted was an apple dessert, too. But as you read in that post, I had somehow purchased THREE huge bags of apples and so, forgive me, but since I am still up to my ears in apples…. here’s another fabulous apple recipe I created that used up the last of my surplus. You’ll take one bite and think, “Oh. My. Goodness. This tastes like my grandmother’s home-made apple dumplings.” (And if you didn’t have an Apple Dumpling-Baking-Granny, the Apple Dumplings at Cracker Barrel are a pretty close second.)
A few decades ago, my mother went through a spell of baking Apple Dumplings from a recipe in the red and white checked Better & Homes and Gardens Cookbook. They were delicious! People raved about them and begged for more. But they were also a LOT of trouble. For my taste they were also a little too sweet and there was too much pastry-to-apples ratio.
This recipe is ridiculously fast and easy and creates a just-right-sweet “cobbler” of apples that make their own “dumplin’ syrup” and is topped with just one flaky pastry crust (thank you Pillsbury for making this part simple, too). Serve warm with a dollop of vanilla ice cream and you’ll be in Apple Dumplin’ Gang Heaven.
One hint: the only time-consuming part of this dish is peeling and chopping apples. To make this effort go faster, conscript every able-bodied adult and child over 8 years-old to come in the kitchen and peel at least 2 apples each, while you do the chopping. Promise them they will be sweetly rewarded for their labor.
Finally, a little bit of fun news from “First Magazine for Women” (you will often see this at grocery check-out counters). Last week the editor of the magazine gave a lovely review for our book, Nourished. Here’s a picture of the article:
As long as you are huddled up inside eating dumplings this week you might as well buy a copy of our funny, uplifting, practical book to cozy up and read as well. 🙂 And our heart-felt thanks to those of you who have already read the book and perhaps posted a review on your blog or on Amazon or sent us a note or email. We are soooo thankful for your encouragement! Be sure to join us on our Facebook Fan Page, too, at We Laugh, We Cry, We Cook.
Apple Dumpling Cobbler
6 to 8 peeled, chopped apples (about teaspoon size pieces) to make about 6 cups total
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 small to medium fresh lemon
1/2 t. salt
1 T. flour
2 T. butter
1 Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust
Sugar and Cinnamon to sprinkle on top (about 1 T. sugar and 1 t. cinnamon, but just eyeball it to your liking)
Directions
Turn oven to 350 degrees
In a large mixing bowl put apples, brown and white sugars, flour, spices and salt. Mix thoroughly. Butter a 9 by 11 casserole pan and pour the apple mixture into it. Squeeze a fresh lemon over the top of the apples and then dot with butter. Place one Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust on top of the apples, tearing it and patching it (pinch pieces together) to create a rustic, “quilted-together” pastry crust as shown below. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Note that you just kind of loosely fold the edges and tuck them around the apples. I also cut a heart shape in the middle, though as you can see, I am not a pastry artist. No worries about it looking messy, it will come out delicious and beautiful.
Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden and flaky and apples pierce easily with a fork and the juices are golden brown and syrupy. Serve warm, using a big spoon to place in bowls, and top with ice cream.
Easy Rustic Cherry Blueberry Pastry-Style Cobbler
Posted: January 19, 2014 Filed under: Desserts, Fruit Dishes | Tags: blueberries, cobbler, dark sweet cherries, lemon, pastry, pie crust, sugar 3 Comments
(Becky, the Mama.) I just returned from bringing this simple cobbler to my pastor Hugh Halter’s new ranch house for a pot luck lunch on the back porch. It is mid-January but I do believe God decided to borrow a perfect Spring Day from April, and drop it on us today as an early treat. Hugh is also a passionate author and storyteller (his latest book, Flesh,just released this week), and we share a mutual love of cooking and experimenting in the kitchen. Today he made a yummy creamy lentil soup and a delicious quinoa salad with cranberries, diced sweet potatoes and pears with a light vinaigrette. What can I say? The man knows his way around the Bible, a horse barn and the kitchen.
So it was no small compliment when he strode out to the back porch and hollered out, “Becky Johnson! Did you make that cobbler?”
“I did,” I said.
“Well, it just changed my life. That might be the best dessert I’ve ever tasted.”
I thought about calling this “Change Your Life Cobbler,” but decided that might be over-promising a wee bit. But I will tell you that there are few desserts you can make that will garner as many kudos, for as little trouble to make, as this recipe. It is one of my standard throw-together-in-a-hurry desserts for a crowd.
Using frozen fruit and Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts, you can assemble this dish in about five minutes. It does take about 45 minutes to an hour to cook, however. It’s nice to pop in the oven if you are having company for dinner, while you prepare the rest of the meal. Or if you are having folks over for dessert only, pop it in the oven then you can go take a nice bath and get yourself ready for their arrival. A little Blue Bell vanilla ice cream on top never hurt anybody. Some of the crust may sink a little into the berries as it cooks. No worries as I think this makes the cobbler tastes even better, with the pastry having different textures. You want it look rustic and free-formed, like a farmer’s wife just made it.
Try this cobbler with other combinations of fruit, fresh or frozen. Peaches, Apples, Rhubarb, and Raspberries would also be delicious. If you like you can add a little cinnamon or nutmeg, vanilla or almond flavoring for variety.
Easy Rustic Cherry Blueberry Pastry-Style Cobbler
4 cups frozen blueberries (you may also use fresh if in season and on sale)
2 1/2 cups frozen dark sweet pitted cherries
1 1/2 cups sugar (plus 2 more T. for sprinkling on top later)
1/2 c. flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Juice of one fresh lemon
2 T. butter
2 Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts, unrolled
Directions:
Preheat Oven to 375 degrees.
Put the fruit in the biggest bowl you have (can be frozen or thawed at this point). Toss with sugar, flour, salt and lemon juice. Pour into a lightly greased, large, oblong Pyrex pan.
Take small pinches of the butter and dot it all over the top of the fruit.
Place one pie crust at the end of the pan, and lightly tuck it in to place. Tear the other pie crust in pieces to fit the oblong plan as best you can, and pinch any seams together, free form, like a patchwork quilt. I like to make an edge and flute it a little bit, but do not worry about making it perfect. Using a sharp paring knife, cut a few designs in the pastry to allow the juice to steam through. Sprinkle the top top of the pastry with 2 T. sugar.
Bake for 1 hour if the fruit is frozen, for about 45 minutes if thawed. You want the pastry to be very golden and juice to be thickened. Let it sit at least 15 to 30 minutes before serving. Is wonderful plain or with a bit of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Cinnamon Crisps (Easy to Make with Kids)
Posted: December 17, 2012 Filed under: Cooking with Love, Desserts, Kids Cooking, Snacks, Vegan, Vegetarian | Tags: after school snacks, baking, Christmas cookie alternatives, cinnamon, coconut oil, cookie cutters, cookies, crisps, healthy snacks, healthy snacks for kids, sugar, tortillas 1 Comment
(Becky, the Mama. It is the small things you do with small people that you and they will look back on and cherish. I hope and pray you get a little bonding time in the kitchen with young ones this week. Here’s a recipe that will make it easy during a time when many feel perpetually overwhelmed. Love and Merry Christmas to all our Blog Readers and thank you so much for sharing our love of cooking and passing it along to others.)
There is, of course, the Martha Stewart way to make Christmas cookies with your kids when they are home from school this coming week for Christmas break. It looks homey and fun, easy and bonding. Especially when using child actors on a TV set.
What it is, in reality, is a long process involving antsy children, along with lots of sugar, clouds of flour, rolling pins and sticky dough (that will take a jack hammer to remove after it is dry), food coloring stains, and sometimes tears of frustration (from either children or parent). The experience almost always ends with the kids giving up the thrill of “making Christmas cookie memories together,” after half-heartedly decorating one, maybe two, cookies. Then they start begging to go play outside, watch cartoons or play a video game. So Mom ends up finishing up the decorating, cleaning up the mess, and downing about six cookies she doesn’t really need or want that taste like thick sweet cardboard with green and red sugar paste on top.
I’m here to give you Becky Johnson’s (alias “Nonny”) Easier Way Out. (Merry Christmas!) It takes about five to ten minutes to make these “Christmas Cinnamon Crisps” with your children, start to finish. If you use whole wheat tortillas and dust them with organic coconut or date sugar, you can even claim them to be almost downright healthy. A cold glass of diary or almond milk will help balance the sugar with a bit of protein and keep your children off the ceiling from a pure sugar high. Also, these crisps are so light and crunchy, they will not end up feeling like a sugar dough ball in their stomachs. (Or yours.)
We made these for Christmas, but you can use any holiday or seasonal cookie cutters to make this an easy-to-make treat year round.
Cinnamon Crisps
Ingredients:
2 large flour tortillas, whole wheat or white (I prefer to use the raw tortillas, such as Tortilla Land or Guerrero Brands because they puff up like little sopapillas, but pre-cooked ones will also work)
1 to 2 T. coconut oil or other healthy oil
Cinnamon & Sugar Mix (1/4 c. sugar to 1 T. cinnamon)
Directions:
Using good sharp edged cookies cutters, let the kids cut out cookies from the tortilla.
In the meantime, melt 1 T. coconut oil in a medium skillet on medium high heat. Drop tortilla “cookies” into hot oil (obviously an adult will need to do this part).
Then gently roll them in a bowl of the cinnamon and sugar, coating both sides.
Let them cool a bit, but best eaten while warm and fresh! (You made need to add more coconut oil as you cook the crisps.) Cut up left over “scraps” of tortillas into “crazy shape” pieces to cook, coat and eat last!
Variations:
There are so many ways you can jazz up this basic idea. You can coat them with coconut or date sugar, and use whole wheat tortillas (or even flat bread). You can make a quick vanilla or chocolate glaze and dip one side in (like a donut) and then dip again in crushed nuts or seeds or sprinkles or coconut, like thin tiny donuts. You can skip the cinnamon and sugar and dip in a honey-butter or peanut-butter and honey mixture. Have fun with this!
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Honey & Lime Tortilla-Sopapillas
Posted: November 1, 2012 Filed under: Desserts, Fruit Dishes, Mexican Dishes, Snacks, Uncategorized, Vegan, Vegetarian | Tags: bananas, brown sugar, dessert burrito, dessert tortillas, honey, lemon, lime, raw sugar, sopapillas, sugar, tortillas Leave a comment
(Becky, the Mama.)
Sometimes the simplest things really are the best. I call this recipe Vacation Sopapillas because I usually have the ingredients lying around the condo or timeshare. If I were a person of the camping persuasion (which I am not), I would definitely be cooking these babies up around the campfire, using an iron skillet. Hopefully, however, I’ll never be forced to do that. My husband bought me this greeting card, and truer words have never been spoken.
I also call these my Vacation Sopapillas because they are so ridiculously addicting that I don’t allow myself this treat on a regular basis. So I try to only make them on vacation. Seriously, if you cook these… try to eat just one and let me know if it is humanly possible.
This is a recipe you can throw together with minimum mess in a couple of minutes, just for little ol’ marvelous you. Since they are best eaten fast and warm, I don’t even try to serve these to a crowd. This a gift you give to yourself, and maybe, just maybe, one other person who you love very, very much.
The trick is to use uncooked tortillas. If you’ve never tried them, boy, are you in for a treat. You’ll never go back the pre-cooked varieties again. The brand I like best is called Tortilla Land (click link for $1.00 off coupon) and typically you find them in the refrigerator section of Costco and sometimes Sam’s or Wal-mart. If I can’t find this brand of tortillas, however, it seems I can almost always find Guerrero brand (click on link for $1.00 coupon) which are soft semi-cooked tortillas, and they are not refrigerated. They just hang out on the shelves with the other regular tortillas in almost any major grocery store. Be sure to look for the yellow packaging (as pictured below); they should look very thin, not quite cooked all the way.
The beautiful thing that happens when these uncooked or semi-cooked tortillas hit a very hot skillet with a little olive oil/butter is that they puff up, very much like a big sopapilla. Only without all the work and the frying. My favorite version of these tortilla sopapillas is simple. After cooking I quickly slather it with a little butter, honey, a squeeze of lemon or lime, and light sprinkle of raw sugar. To eat it – you can tear it up in little pieces; roll it up enchilada style; or cut it in fourths, bending it in half, and eating it the way Italians eat flexible pizza.
For variety, I also like filling the puffy tortillas with sliced bananas that have been gently cooked in a skillet with a little butter and brown sugar. Then I roll it up like a burrito and drizzle with a bit of honey. Cooked apples with cinnamon and sugar make a fabulous filling as well. The only limits to this simple recipe is your imagination.
Lime & Honey Tortilla-Sopapillas
Ingredients:
1 raw or semi-cooked tortilla (Tortilla Land brand or Guererra preferred)
1 t. olive oil
2 t. soft butter (vegan butter for Vegans)
2 t. honey
small squeeze fresh lemon or lime
1 t. raw sugar
Instructions:
Put 1 t. olive oil and 1 t. soft butter in a hot skillet, and stir until blended. Put one uncooked tortilla in the pan. When it puffs up and browns on one side, flip it and brown the other side.
Immediately put tortilla-sopapilla on a plate, spread with butter, then honey, a quick squeeze of fresh lime and a sprinkle of raw sugar.
For banana sopapillas: slice one small banana and put in a skillet with a teaspoon of butter and a teaspoon of brown sugar. Stir just until bananas are warm and absorb butter and sugar. Proceed as above, only fill the tortilla with warm banana slices, roll like a burrito and serve with a little more honey. Eat with knife and fork. A dollop of ice cream and sprinkle of cinnamon couldn’t hurt either.
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Becky Johnson
Rachel Randolph
We Laugh, We Cry, We Cook 