Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie

Adapted from: http://www.annies-eats.com/

Ok, I'm going to start tagging certain posts as "Laura's Favorites" because lately I've come across some pretty awesome recipes, this being one of them. A perfect fall dessert! Everyone raved about this one. It had a perfect layer of cinnamon apples topped with a cheesecake layer and then finally a whipped topping. (I omitted the pecans as usual since I'm not a fan.) I made this for a family get together at my house for no reason other than my husband made his infamous "puerco pibil", a Mexican pork dish. I had to show off my baking skills as well ! I also made Snickerdoodle Pumpkin Cream Cheese Blondies, another one I'm adding to my Favorites. :)

INGREDIENTS

CRUST

1½ cups graham cracker crumbs

3 tbsp. sugar

½ tsp. cinnamon

5 1/3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

½-¾ cup caramel

1 cup chopped pecans

APPLE FILLING

5 tbsp. unsalted butter

½ cup light brown sugar, tightly packed

¼ tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

5-6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

CHEESECAKE

8 oz. cream cheese

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

TOPPING

¾ cup heavy cream

3-4 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar

¼-½ cup caramel

Chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS

To make the crust, preheat the oven to 375° F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch round springform pan with parchment paper.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and melted butter. Toss with a fork until all the crumbs are moistened and the ingredients are evenly mixed. Transfer the mixture to the prepared springform pan and press the crumbs in an even layer over the pan bottom and about half to two-thirds of the way up the sides of the pan. Bake for 6-8 minutes, until golden in color. Let cool for about 10 minutes.

Pour a layer of caramel into the bottom of the crust and sprinkle evenly with the chopped pecans. Refrigerate the crust while you prepare the filling.
To make the apple filling, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Mix in the brown sugar, salt and cinnamon and cook for 1 minute, until bubbling. Mix in the apple slices and toss well to coat. Cook over medium to medium-high heat until tender and most of the liquid has been reduced, about 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes and pour into the prepared pie shell. Set aside.
Reduce the heat of the oven to 350° F. To make the cheesecake layer, combine the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Mix in the vanilla, egg and lemon juice until fully incorporated and smooth, 1-2 minutes. Spread the cheesecake filling into an even layer over the top of the cooked apples in the crust. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
To serve, carefully remove the sides of the springform pan. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the heavy cream and confectioners’ sugar on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form (being careful not to overbeat.) Spread gently over the top of the chilled cheesecake layer. Top with dollops of caramel sauce and swirl with a knife to create a marbled effect. Sprinkle with a handful of chopped pecans if desired. Slice with a long, thin knife to serve.

Apple Cinnamon Cake with Whole Wheat

Ok, I know this cake looks awful, but it was actually fantastic. This is what I get for waiting to take a picture until the cake was practically demolished. I made this for my dad's birthday. I had looked for a relatively healthy recipe and since this had fruit, whole wheat flour and not a ton of sugar (I substituted about 1/4 cup with Splenda), I decided to go with it. Delicious... there was hardly any to bring home!

Adapted from: www.muchmorethanahomemaker.blogspot.com

INGREDIENTS
Oats-1 cup, powdered (I put old fashioned oats in a blender)
Whole wheat flour- 3\4 cups
Cinnamon powder- 1tsp
Baking powder- 2tsp
Baking soda- 1 tsp
Butter- 5 tbsp
Sugar- 1 cup
Egg whites- 4
Milk-1\4 cups
Vanilla extract- 1\2 tsp
Apples- 2, peeled and chopped

DIRECTIONS
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the baking dish with oil and dust with flour. Mix flour, cinnamon powder, baking powder and baking soda together. Beat butter and sugar in a bowl till soft and creamy. Add egg white and mix well.
Add flour in this mixture spoon by spoon. Add milk. Add oats powder, vanilla extract and apples. Transfer the batter in the baking dish (I divided the batter in to two dishes). Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes (If you have the batter in to two dishes , then bake for 30-35 minutes) Remove from oven and let it be in the pan for 7-8 minutes. Take out from the pan and cool on a cooling rack. I also mixed low-fat cool whip with cinnamon to put in between the cakes. Since there was some left over, I added it to the top as well!

Apple Blondies with Maple Glaze

These taste like fall! They are so good that I'm adding them to my Thanksgiving dessert menu. I'm making a pumpkin pie (for the first time, can you believe that?) and some sort of chocolate cheesecake, but I love to have some type of bar and/or cookie. These are perfect. They were pretty easy to make too, which will be nice since I will be prepping our house for 17 people on Thanksgiving!

Adapted from: http://www.ellysaysopa.com/

INGREDIENTS
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 egg
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 medium apple, peeled and diced
2/3 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
milk or cream

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 and grease an 8×8 pan.
Mix together the brown sugar and butter. Add the egg, vanilla and almond, whisking until just combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cloves. Add that to the butter mixture, folding with a spatula at the end so as not to overmix. Fold in apples and walnuts. Pour the mixture into the baking dish, and smooth the top. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until set in the middle.
To make the glaze, combine the confectioners sugar and maple syrup, and drizzle in milk until you get the consistency you want. Drizzle over slightly cooled blondies.

Caramel Apple Bars

These were yummy apple bars as well, also from Recipe Girl (http://www.recipegirl.com/2008/07/31/caramel-apple-bars/). There is more homemade sauce than the recipe says to add to the bars. You could either cut the ingredients down or use it for something else!

HOMEMADE CARAMEL:

1 cup heavy whipping cream (I used half & half)

2 cups brown sugar

¼ cup light corn syrup

4 Tbs butter

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

¼ tsp salt

CRUST:

1 cup brown sugar

¾ cup butter

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp baking soda

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup ground pecans (again, I omitted)

2 cups rolled oats

FILLING:

3½ cups sliced apples (about 24 ounces)

½ tsp salt

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup homemade caramel

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 9×13-inch pan with foil and lightly spray with cooking spray.
2. Prepare caramel: Mix caramel ingredients in a 2-quart saucepan. Heat over medium, stirring constantly, until it reaches soft-ball stage (230-234 degrees). Remove from heat. (I'm not sure exactly what that means...I just heated it until it thickened up a bit!)
3. In a medium bowl, beat the brown sugar and the next 4 ingredients (through baking soda) until thoroughly combined. Mix in the flour, ground pecans (if desired) and oats until crumbly. scoop out 1 cup and set aside. Place the remaining crumbs into your prepared pan and press down firmly to coat the bottom.
4. Toss apples in a large bowl with the salt and cinnamon. Arrange them over the crust. Drizzle 1 cup of warm caramel over the top and the sprinkle with the remaining crumbs you set aside.
5. Bake 35- 40 minutes until bubbly and the apples are just tender. Remove and let cool until they are just warm to the touch. Cut into squares. Try and let the bars rest until the caramel has set before serving.

Apple Harvest Blondies

Wow, were these bars good! I wasn't expecting much from them, but they were fantastic. This was one of the apple recipes I tried on Thursday night, hoping to find something to add to the Thanksgiving desserts (or Christmas Party desserts...). I think I found it! They are from RecipeGirl.com

**Edit - I orignally made a small batch of these and loved them - they tasted very buttery. I made them a second time in a 13x9 pan and they were much thicker and cakey. Not bad, but I feel in love with them the first time and they didn't turn out quite the same the second! (Maybe my calculations were wrong the first time! I'll have to find out what that was...)

2/3 cup unsalted butter

2¼ cups packed brown sugar (divided)

3 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 medium apples, peeled and chopped

3 ounces cream cheese, frozen for 1 hour (I used more than 3 oz., probably 4)

2 ounces finely chopped pecans or walnuts (I omitted the nuts - not a fan of them in desserts!)

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 13×9-inch baking dish.
2. Melt butter in large microwave-safe bowl (just until melted). Remove from microwave and stir in 2 cups of brown sugar. Mix well, then add eggs, flour, baking powder and vanilla. Mix just until combined. Fold in apples.
3. Spread batter into prepared dish. Chop cream cheese into small bits and mix with nuts, cinnamon and remaining ¼ cup of brown sugar. Sprinkle evenly over batter.
4. Sprinkle over batter and bake 35 to 40 minutes.
Yield: About 24 blondies