Apple Nut Pull-Apart Loaf

Kristin here. That's right. I'm taking over. Now take a seat, say good-bye to your extra calories, and get ready for one of the tastiest (and easiest) breakfasts in existence.

When I was very little, I wanted to help out in the kitchen. Unfortunately I was terrified of the oven, the stove, and knives. This was one of the first meals that my mom ever taught me that I was able to help with. Eventually I grew out of my fear and realized that this breakfast is so easy that I could sneak downstairs and make it for holidays like Mother's Day and Father's Day. This morning, I made it for the holiday commonly known as Saturday. Note: This is not the exact recipe my mom sent me. There was a pan that we had that was specifically for this recipe that Alex and I don't own. That, and I have a really hard time baking without brown sugar, so I just had to throw that in.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees, and grease your bundt pan.

Here are your ingredients.

You see those apples? You see that I have three- count them - three apples? You do NOT need three apples. Even if they're kind of on the smallish side. You might be in the produce section, looking at the apples, thinking to yourself, "I could totally fit three apples into this." You can't. You won't. You will end up eating at least one, perhaps one and a half of the apples. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but you definitely don't need three for this recipe.

What you do need is a can of biscuits, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter or margarine, apples, raisins, and nuts. And probably a cup of coffee. It's early, and you deserve it. 

Take the biscuits out of their package (this recipe becomes very difficult if you skip this step) and tear them in half. Don't worry about cutting them perfectly, just use your hands and eyeball it. 

Then roll the biscuit halves into balls. 

I started with eight biscuits, so now I have sixteen dough balls. 

Melt two tablespoons on butter or margarine. I used margarine today, but they both work well.  Then mix the sugars and cinnamon. 

The original recipe calls for six tablespoons of white sugar, but I have a really hard time baking something without brown sugar. I only used three tablespoons of white sugar and then I threw in three tablespoons of brown sugar. Because I'm a rebel like that. Also, a teaspoon and a half of cinnamon gets mixed in there.

Roll the dough balls in the melted butter or margarine. 

Then roll them in the sugars and cinnamon. Previously when I made this, I would get a lot of cinnamon and sugar into the butter because it gets all over your hands. Today I realized that if I only buttered with my right hand, and only sugared with my left hand, the butter didn't get sugared. I'm pretty sure it doesn't make a difference, but I felt better about myself. That's what's important, right?  Important note: Save the leftover sugar and cinnamon!!

Put the lovely little dough ball into your greased bundt pan. Oh, but he's lonely. Let's get him some friends.  

What a lovely ring of dough balls! Now they are all friends, nice and cozy in your pan.

Glamor shot. They look like you could just eat them now, but don't. Raw biscuit dough is gross. 

After peeling and coring my apples, I pulled out my faux-mandoline. Apparently it isn't a real mandoline because it doesn't juilienne, but I still love it. 

My knife skills are very weak, so it's really nice to have a gadget that helps me get such nice, consistent slices. The slices should be a little on the thin side so that they can get nice and tender while they bake, but not so thin that they just disintegrate. 

In the original recipe, it calls for apples between each biscuit and along the outside of the pan. What you see here is a result of me having too many apples. Honestly though, if you have a space where an apple slice can go, put an apple slice there. You won't regret it later.

 Remember that cinnamon and sugar that you saved earlier? Now you get to mix it up with the two tablespoons of raisins and three tablespoons of chopped nuts. I used to be able to find mixed chopped nuts and that was delicious, but we couldn't find that at the store. I went with chopped walnuts and it worked well. Pick your favorite, be adventurous, it will probably work out. Attempt to resist just sitting down and eating this with a spoon. Please believe me when I say that it will be worth it.

Sprinkle the nuts and raisin mixture over the dough and apples. 

 It's just. So. Beautiful. Now pop that beauty in the oven for about 25-30 minutes.

Remember that cup of coffee? If you have a chance to photograph it artfully in front of the gently falling snow, it will really add a richness to the flavor. If you can't, well, you'll just have to make do. 

After only fifteen minutes your kitchen will smell amazing, but it won't even be close to done! Now close your oven and let it get back to baking.

The final result! I called it done after about 28 minutes. The apples on the outside looked a little overdone, but they were beautifully caramelized and very tasty. The most important thing was that the dough was cooked through.

I will admit it, it's not the prettiest looking thing. 

It's probably not going to win any beauty awards. 

But I still maintain that it's one of the tastiest breakfasts that you could make. And besides, if it's easy enough for a ten year old with, essentially, a fear of kitchen, then it's easy enough for anyone. 

Fun fact: When you don't blog in almost a year, the light box gets very wrinkly. Also, kitties think that it's a box for them to play in.

Posey was pretty sure the wrinkles were there to attack. 

Kitties be crazy. 

So anyway. back to breakfast. This is what Alex's plate looked like about thirty seconds after I asked him to taste test it for me.

Easy to make, wonderful to eat, I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

Recipe: Apple Nut Pull-Apart Loaf
Prep Time: 45-60 Minutes | Cook Time: 25-30 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 can Refrigerated Buttermilk Biscuits
• 3 tbsp Sugar
• 3 tbsp Brown Sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 2 tbsp Butter or Margarine, melted
• 2 small Apples or 1 medium Apple, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp Chopped Nuts
• 2 tbsp Raisins

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Separate biscuits in half and roll into balls.
2. Mix sugars and cinnamon.
3. Dip dough balls into butter, then roll in sugar and cinnamon mixture.
4. Arrange sugared biscuit balls into bundt pan.
5. Place an apple slice between each biscuit ball, and around the outer and inner edges of the pan.
6. Mix nuts, raisins, and leftover sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the biscuits and apples.
7. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown.

Blueberry-Apple Cream Cheese Braid

My fiancee is a genius.  It's (part of) the reason I'm marrying her.  I'd known this all along, of course, but she proved it again this past week.  We were thinking about interesting things to cook, and she suggested we combine two previous creations: Simple Cinnamon Apples and our Strawberry Cream-Cheese Danish.  The result was a super-pastry unlike my belly has ever experienced, which only confirmed that I'm marrying the right girl.

Like we did with the Danish a while back, we'll make this recipe in stages to keep everything simple and straightforward.  It's easiest to start by making the cinnamon apples.  This is the same process I used here -- so feel free to check out that whole post for more details.

For the apples, you'll need some apples, some brown sugar, a bit of butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a pinch of salt.  The six apples shown in the picture are about twice what you need - you can easily get away with 3 or 4 small-medium apples.  Who doesn't like leftover cinnamon apples, though?

Peel and chop the apples down into small slices, then season them well with the cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt.  Give them a good stir and make sure they're thoroughly coated.

Melt about a tablespoon of butter in a skillet, then add the apples and slowly saute over medium heat for 10-12 minutes until they're tender, but not yet mushy.  Err a little on the firm side with these for use in the Braid, as you want the apples to have some texture after they're baked into the pastry.

Set the apples aside while we make the rest of the components.

It's time to make the dough for the pastry itself.  For the dough, you'll need all-purpose flour, some milk, baking powder, butter, and a bit of almond extract for flavor.

The dough is super simple to make - just combine all of the above ingredients in a large bowl and mix well, then press it together by hand into a large ball.

Next, roll the dough out between two sheets of wax paper until it's about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick and about a foot wide by 16-18 inches long.  We'll come back to the dough once we make something to fill it with.

Here's everything that goes into the center of the braid.  You'll need blueberry preserves, cream cheese, more vanilla, an egg, and some white sugar.

You'll see that we ended up with "spreadable soft" cream cheese - this was a mistake on my part, and the texture of the filling suffered a little bit as a result.  Whatever process makes the cream cheese "spreadable soft" made the filling a little runnier than usual, so stick to a plain old brick of Philadelphia if possible.

Add the cream cheese, vanilla, sugar, and egg to a large bowl and mix well with an electric hand-mixer until smooth-ish.  You'll never quite get all the lumps out, but don't worry about it.

Mark the dough out into thirds, and spread a thin layer of the cream-cheese mixture across the middle third. Top the cream cheese with a generous portion of blueberry preserves right in the middle.

Next, add a layer of the cinnamon apples right over the top of the blueberry preserves.  If you're feeling saucy, you can add more blueberry and/or more cream-cheese over the top of the apples. We added a little more cream-cheese and it was fantastic.

Slice the outer thirds of the dough into roughly inch-wide strips, and fold them over one-another across the center, alternating sides to form a "braid" structure.

Bake for 12-15 minutes at 425 degrees until the crust is just starting to brown.  If it gets much darker the bottom might burn, so err on the light side.

While the braid bakes, we'll put together a little topping.  We'll make a "frosting" out of powdered sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract, and milk, and top everything off with some toasted almonds. This bit is totally optional, but adds a nice extra nutty note to everything.

Toast the almonds with a pinch of salt in a skillet, and whisk together the sugar, vanilla, almond extract, and milk in a small bowl.

While the braid is still warm, drizzle lightly with the frosting, then sprinkle with plenty of toasted almonds.

At last, it's ready to eat!  Serve up inch-wide slices (it's rich!) and enjoy either warm from the oven or cold the next day - it's very tasty either way.

Recipe: Blueberry-Apple Cream Cheese Braid
Prep Time: 25-30 Minutes | Cook Time: 20-25 Minutes | Difficulty: Medium | Servings: 10-12 Slices

Ingredients

Pastry

• 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Almond Extract
• 1/2 tsp Salt

Apples

• 4 medium Apples
• 1/3 cup (packed) Brown Sugar
• 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 tbsp Butter

Filling

• 1/2 cup Blueberry Preserves
• 4 ounces Cream Cheese
• 1/4 cup White Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Frosting

• 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
• 1 tbsp Milk
• 1/8 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/8 tsp Almond Extract
• 1/4 cup Sliced Almonds

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Peel apples and cut down into thin slices.  Toss with brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla to coat.  Saute with butter 10-12 minutes over medium heat until tender.  Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  Add softened butter, milk, and almond extract, and mix well.  Press together by hand until a loose dough is formed.  The texture will be rough.
4. In another mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth.  Add sugar, egg, and vanilla and beat until combined and creamy.
5. Press dough between two sheets of wax paper and roll into a large rectangle, roughly 12 by 18 inches. Discard wax paper and place dough on a greased baking sheet.
6. Mark the dough out by thirds lengthwise.  Add cream cheese mixture to the middle third, then cover cream cheese mixture with preserves.  Arrange a layer of apples atop preserves.  If desired, add additional preserves or cream-cheese on top of apples.
7. Cut the outer thirds of the dough into strips roughly 1-inch wide.  Alternate folding strips from opposite sides over one-another across the center to form a "braid."
8. Bake at 425° 12-15 minutes until pastry is golden-brown.  Toast almonds while braid bakes.
9. In a small mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tbsp milk, 1/8 tsp vanilla and almond extracts and whisk together with a fork to create frosting.
10. Drizzle frosting over braid while still warm and cover with toasted almonds.  Serve warm or cold.

Simple Cinnamon Apples

 

This is one of those recipes - you start with things that are good all by themselves, and they come together into something more than the sum of its parts.  Better yet, it's a recipe that many enjoyed as a kid - childhood comfort food.  Cinnamon apples are just wonderful - sweet, spicy, and nostalgic.  And did I mention they're easy?  Make them today!

Here's all you need: apples, a bit of butter, some brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and nutmeg.  That's it!  You probably have all of these things in your pantry right now, so there's no excuse not to get started on this recipe.

Apple-wise, I used Golden Delicious to great results.  These can also be really nice with something more tart like a Granny Smith.  Really, any apple will work, so try a range and see which you like best.  Do it for science!

First, peel and slice your apples.  I like slices about 1/2 inch thick so that the finished product doesn't go all to mush.

With the apples slices in a large mixing bowl, toss with cinnamon, brown sugar, nutmeg, and vanilla until all of the slices are coated.

In a large skillet, melt a tablespoon or two of butter over medium heat.  Add the coated apples and 2-3 tablespoons of water and cook, stirring every minute or two.  You'll need somewhere between 8 and 12 minutes of cooking, all told, depending on the thickness of the apples and how soft you like them.

That's it!  Wasn't that easy?

Serve warm alongside just about anything, or just as a snack by themselves.  Be ready to eat more than you thought you would and dejectedly realize that they're all gone.  You'll want to make another batch soon!

Recipe: Simple Cinnamon Apples
Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: 15 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

• 6 medium Apples
• 1/3 cup Brown Sugar
• 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 tbsp Butter
• 3 tbsp Water

Instructions

1. Peel and slice apples and place in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla to bowl of sliced apples and toss to coat.
3. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
4. Add coated apple slices to skillet, add water, and cook 8-12 minutes until tender, stirring often.
5. Serve warm.