How Do You Like Them Apples!

I really enjoy the fall season, but its arrival always seems to sneak up and bite me in the behind. One day it's a balmy summer afternoon and the next it's downright chilly and there's frost on the pumpkins....

... not that I've got a pumpkin patch. Or even a pumpkin at this point.

I've been a bit slow to get my fall decorating groove on - just haven't felt the motivation.  But yesterday's visit to the apple orchard was just the thing I needed to get my head around the fact that fall officially begins in just a few days.

We're lucky to have a number of apple orchards within a 15 minute drive, and yesterday was perfect apple picking weather.

McIntosh were on the left, Delicious were on the right.

The trees were full of apples, and we barely had to reach for them.

... a little bit closer...

... got it!

McIntosh apple 'before'

McIntosh apple 'after'

Can you believe that there are 7,500 different apple varieties world-wide.

We came home with dozens and dozens of apples and a few other goodies.

The candy apple got eaten; the pumpkin pie and caramel apple pie are gone now too. The caramel apple pie was so good!

For a little while the apples will have a decorative role in the house.  I knew this bowl would be perfect for apples in the fall!

I guess I'll be making apple muffins, apple crisp, apple pies, apple oatmeal, apple butter, apple pancakes etc. over the next few weeks!

How do you like your apples - straight up, baked in a pie, diced into muffins or covered with red candy coating?

As of yesterday, my new favorite way to eat apples is baked in a pie with caramel filling!

 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I know... it's not January 1st, but that date has always seemed like a false new year to me.

To me, the day after Labor Day - when summer unofficially ends, and people head back to school or ease back into their routines - is the real New Year.

Tomorrow is my kids' first day back at school after nine weeks of summer vacation.  The start of a new school year brings a fresh sense of potential, optimism, and the wonder of what's to come.  The beginning of fall is all about New: new grades, new beginnings, new teachers, new friendships, new clothes, new pencils....

When you're a kid, "back to school" can be the ultimate do-over.

As much as I'm excited for my kids, and looking forward to getting back into a routine, I think many parents will agree that this is a bittersweet time of the year. A new grade is a reminder that our children are a little bit closer to growing up and leaving home.  That's the whole idea of parenting, after all.

Confession: I'm the mom who got all teary when I dropped my little kids off on their first day of kindergarten.

I've never felt like crying on the January 1st New Year's holiday (well, at least, not for the same reasons as the post Labor Day new year), so this must be a special season!
 
Whether you are headed back to school, or back to routine, I wish you health and happiness for this new year!

 

Brownie Pops For Cheaters

I fully expected this post to be titled "Brownie Pop Fail", but I had to come up with a new title when my Brownie Pops actually looked pretty cute, and more importantly, didn't fall off the stick.

I can't believe I made these!

I've been fascinated by these adorable little desserts on a stick for a long time; I mean Martha Stewart makes Cake Pops.

Cake Pops are even available at Starbucks.  Starbucks sells these little guys for almost $2.00 each (including tax), which must mean they're pretty special and difficult to make.  Right?

So I felt that the odds were stacked against me when I decided, on a whim, to make my own - with Purplicious as my trusty sidekick.

I visited Bakerella and Martha Stewart for instructions and tips on making Cake Pops.  

Since I was convinced that my Brownie/Cake Pops were going to be a disaster, I decided to cheat and use store bought brownies and canned Betty Crocker frosting as the basis for my treats... that's just how I roll.

This is how I made easy (but not quick) Brownie Pops:

• I tossed half of a 1.34 kg (3 lbs) container of Two Bite Brownies (the kind you find at Costco) into my food processor and whizzed them until they were crumbled.

• In a separate bowl I added about half a container of Betty Crocker chocolate frosting to the crumbled brownies and mixed them together until the texture resembled truffles.

• Next we rolled the mixture into balls and placed them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

• I dipped a candy stick into melted chocolate and stuck that end into the ball. Everything went into the freezer for a couple of hours while Purplicious went for a swim.

Decorating was messy, but fun in a very frustrating sort of way.

Purplicious helping out.

• I melted some good quality chocolate coating and spooned it over the frozen Brownie Pops. Because the pops were cold I was hoping that the chocolate would set fairly quickly, but it dripped when we were adding the toppings. That was messy!

• Once all the Brownie Pops were chocolate coated and decorated I put them back in the freezer for an hour or so to set.

I didn't have anything prepared to stand them upright, but I guarantee you those little brownie balls didn't move.

I'm very proud of my chocolate and white marbled Brownie Pop.

Our favorite combinations were white chocolate coated with coconut and dark chocolate coated with peanuts.

I made them again last weekend (using the same shortcuts) for my sister-in-law's birthday. I was concerned that maybe I had beginner's luck with my first batch and that her guests would end up with melted chocolate in their laps.  I almost melted with relief once I knew they turned out.

Mr. StyleBurb made a grown-up version of these Brownie Pops by adding some rum into the mix....

... now that was a good treat!