Amazing Fall Desserts and a Drink!
By Jonathan SooHoo
Fall is here! At least that’s what the calendar says despite Chicago not caring about preconceived notions of things like “weather”, “seasons”, “happiness”… You get the idea. Although brief, there are some traditions people like to keep during the fall season, and my (relatively new) one is going apple picking with my house (subsection of a dorm). It’s a bit of a trek into Indiana, but we always have a good time. The reason I go isn’t for the apples though, it’s for the apple doughnuts (and my friends are decent too). For more apple goodness in your life, check out the recipe below. I’ve also included a recipe for apple bread, which is a bit less involved, and something seasonal to wash it all down with. Enjoy!
Apple Cinnamon Doughnuts
Makes: 18 doughnuts
Ingredients for doughnuts:
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
4 tbsp butter - melted and cooled
2 large eggs
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ tsp nutmeg
½ cups buttermilk
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 ½ cups peeled and grated apple
A ziplock bag
A doughnut pan
*For a deeper apple flavor, try substituting 1 cup of apple butter for 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce and ⅓ cup sugar
Ingredients for topping:
Extra melted butter
1 cup sugar
1.5 tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and ground cinnamon and set aside. In another, larger bowl, whisk together the butter, eggs, granulated sugar, buttermilk, nutmeg, and applesauce. Mix dry ingredients into the wet until just combined. Stir in the grated apples and transfer batter to a large ziplock bag; squeeze out the air and snip one corner off. Coat donut hole pan with a layer of non-stick cooking spray. Squeeze batter into the donut hole pan and bake for 12-14 minutes. This dough can also be used for fried doughnuts. Preheat oil to 375 degrees and fry each side for about 1 ½ minutes. Getting the temperature right is hard so invest (about $10) in a candy thermometer.
Now, combine the sugar with the ground cinnamon and melt about half a stick of butter in a small dish. Once the donuts have finished baking, let them sit for 5 minutes then brush with melted butter and coat in cinnamon sugar.
Recipe adapted from The Cake Blog/The Forked Spoon
https://thecakeblog.com/2012/10/recipe-fresh-apple-donuts.html
https://theforkedspoon.com/apple-donuts/.
If doughnuts seem a little too ambitious, this deliciously moist apple bread will satisfy your fall apple craving.
Apple Bread
Serves: 8
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups flour
¾ cup + 2 tsps granulated sugar
¾ tsps baking soda
½ tsps iodized salt
½ tsps + ½ tsps cinnamon
¼ tsps nutmeg
⅔ cups canola or vegetable oil
2 eggs
½ tsp. vanilla
2 cups peeled and chopped apple (~2 apples)
9x5” loaf pan
Instruction: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease the loaf pan and set aside. Whisk together (make sure the bowl is big enough for the wet and dry ingredients) flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the oil, eggs and vanilla and mix until everything is just mixed together. Mix in the apples, then pour into the loaf pan. Mix together sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over bread. Bake until it passes the toothpick test (toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean/no batter), about 60 minutes. Let it sit for ten minutes then move the bread from the pan to a wire rack. Cut and serve when it’s just warm.
Recipe based on A Side of Sweet https://asideofsweet.com/quick-apple-bread-recipe-cinnamon/.
And to wash it all down...
Maple Bourbon Old-Fashioned
Ingredients:
2 oz bourbon
2 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp water
1 dash bitters
1 orange peel
1 maraschino cherry
Instructions: In a glass, stir together the maple syrup, water and bitters. Add a couple ice cubes and the orange peel. Pour bourbon on top. Garnish with a cherry and serve.