I know I’m not the only one who comes back from a weekend of apple picking in Wisconsin cursing myself for getting overeager in the orchard and wondering what to do with these pounds and pounds of apples. Right?
Every fall, I collect apples at the farmers’ market, the orchards, and everywhere in between. Whether a squirrel-like impulse to stash them away for winter or a deep-seated need to bake as many apple pies as possible, my proclivity for collecting apples inevitably ends up with me staring down more pounds than I could possibly eat.
I’m a sucker for anything that allows me to celebrate the flavors of summer and fall all winter long, so naturally, I turn towards preservation to help make my way through my bushels of apples. One of my favorite ways to preserve apples is by making apple butter or apple jam, but I’ve also julienned them into apple slaw, milled them into apple sauce, or cooked them into apple chutney. You can’t go wrong! Just make sure to follow proper canning instructions to ensure food safety. (Pst! Not sure how to julienne an apple? Take a Knife Skills class at The Chopping Block to learn how!)
I know that you can’t realistically turn every apple you pick into a pie, but you better believe I give it my best go. Classic apple pies, Dutch apple pies, and apple hand pies are always a good idea. Puff pastry loves apples, and it’s easy to make a quick galette if you’re not keen on messing around with laminating your own pie dough. Not into pie? Just bake them into a loaf cake or dice them up and add them to your favorite muffin recipe to add flavor and moisture.
Everyone’s got butternut squash soup on their mind as the weather gets colder. Try a new spin this year: peel and cut up some apples and cook them down with the squash. They’ll add a lovely sweetness and creamy texture to the soup. You can also slice apples into a crunchy fall salad, dice them into your favorite stuffing recipe, or griddle them with some gooey cheese and sourdough bread for a next-level grilled cheese!
My favorite recipes are the ones that I can batch and then divide up and gift around. It makes me popular with my neighbors for sure, but also helps to reduce food waste while still allowing me to go crazy picking apples and cooking them! Some of my favorite ways to make apples into edible gifts include drying thin slices of them in my oven and dusting with cinnamon sugar to make homemade dried apples, juicing them to create homemade apple cider, and dipping them into caramel or dark chocolate and then rolling them in finely cut nuts.
You can get your fill of all things apple this weekend at Apple Fest in Lincoln Square. We'll have slices of our famous apple pie - with hand whipped cream if you like! We’ll also be offering Right Bee Cider hard cider, Laird’s Apple Brandy Mule (a canned cocktail), and non-alcoholic apple cider. If you’re interested in taking home a whole apple pie – complete with the cast iron skillet it’s been baked in – they will be available by pre-order only on our website: Order Apple Fest Pies. But hurry, the deadline for preorders is tomorrow!