Fall is the perfect time of year for comfort food. The weather is cool and crisp, but not cold. It’s still warm enough to be outside without a coat, but there’s less sunlight so you get to have dinner before it gets dark out.
The most comforting kind of food during this season is hearty. Hearty foods are those that are filling and satisfying, but they don’t have to be heavy.
Apple pie spice is a great recipe to make when you want some comfy fall warmth in your home without resorting to the oven or the stovetop. You can even make it ahead of time and store it in an airtight container until you’re ready to use it.
Toss a few cinnamon sticks and apple chips into your slow cooker with a few apples (or just about any fruit) that have been peeled and roughly chopped. Add one tablespoon of each: nutmeg, allspice, ginger and cloves. Then fill the pot with apple juice or apple cider so that the ingredients are submerged and cook on low for a few hours. By the end of cooking, the apples will have broken down into their individual components and mixed with the spices. Some people like to strain out the solids but I like to leave them in because they make
As the cooler weather of autumn begins to set in, we find ourselves craving a few new comforting foods. Pumpkin pie, apple pie, and pecan pie are just a few of the delicious recipes that await us for this autumn. These pies can be served with ice cream or whipped cream for a complete meal.
I love making pies in the fall because it is so simple to prepare them. Flaky dough and cinnamon are excellent fall flavors that go well with almost any pie filling. We can make pies from a variety of ingredients, but pumpkin pie is my personal favorite. This recipe calls for a classic pumpkin pie filling made from canned pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, eggs, nutmeg and ground cinnamon.
Other combinations of seasonal ingredients can be used to make other delicious pies. Apple pie is one of my favorites because it is so simple to make. This recipe calls for peeled apples that are sliced thinly and then covered with sugar and cinnamon before being placed into an unbaked pie shell and baked until golden brown.
Pie crusts can be either homemade or store bought depending on what you like best. The most difficult part about making pies is cutting the top crust into attractive wedges once your pie comes out of the oven. When creating a decorative edge for your pie
What’s even better than apple pie in the fall? Apple pie spice. Add it to everything from your coffee, bread and pancakes to your ice cream or homemade applesauce.
Apple pie spice is a warm blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Here’s how to make your own:
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
** 1/8 tsp ground ginger
Mix together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.**
Add 2-3 teaspoons of apple pie spice to your favorite recipes in place of cinnamon. The flavor is a bit milder than regular cinnamon and makes everything taste like fall!**
A typical fall dessert might include apple pie spice. Adding a bit of spice to your recipes is a great way to add some extra flavor and depth to your desserts. Whether you’re baking bread, cookies or cakes, adding the right spices can really make a difference in the final product.
The Apple Pie Spice is a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice. You can buy this easily at most grocery stores in their baking section sold as a ready-made blend typically used in apple pie. The best part about making your own blend is that you can customize it to suit your personal taste.
This recipe for Apple Pie Spice mix makes about 2 tablespoons of mix. It’s enough for one batch of apple pie or anywhere from 4-6 batches of cookies, depending on how much you use per batch.*
*This recipe was developed using McCormick brand spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice.
Apple Pie Spice
If you’re like most cooks, you have a cupboard or drawer somewhere with a collection of spices. And if you have one, you probably use it for two things: to add flavor to your cooking and to get rid of odd smells in the kitchen. These are both jobs for spice, but not spices you buy in the store. The spice that makes your food taste delicious is fresh herbs and spices. And that smelly spice? That’s your coffee grounds .
Using fresh herbs helps avoid the blah flavor that comes when something’s been sitting on a shelf too long. By fresh I mean growing in pots on your deck or a sunny windowsill, or better yet, bought from a farmer at a local market or roadside stand (you might also ask around at work; chances are someone has some homegrown basil they’d love to share).
The best time to use herbs and spices is right before cooking something, because their flavors have the most punch then. So what do you do with those handfuls of sage and rosemary? You can chop them up and sprinkle them on top of almost anything, from scrambled eggs to roasted chicken to pizza . Even better is infusing them into an oil, which is especially good for baked goods . If you can
Apple Pie Spice is a mixture of five spices typically used in American apple pies. It is different from the English spice mixture called apple pie spice, which typically contains cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, and ginger.
The American version is usually sold as a pre-mixed blend of ground cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger and sometimes other spices. This blend is also used in pumpkin pie spice.
In the US, apple pie spice can be found in most grocery stores next to the cinnamon and other spices. In the UK it can be found at Tesco supermarkets next to the cinnamon and other spices. The mix is generally not available in Australia or Canada. In America it is not unusual for people to use a variation of this spice in recipes calling for “cinnamon”, so long as they do not mind altering the flavor somewhat with some of the other ingredients.
Apple pie spice can also be bought ready to use in bulk online.