Fall Baking: Apple JAM Dumpling Delights!

Fall Baking Basics: Apple JAM Dumpling Delights

There are so many fall foods that I love that it's tough to choose a fave! From butternut squash, pumpkin pie, hearty chilli to fresh apples--the seasonal change shifts us from outside to inside, and into a cozy kitchen wafting with delicious aromas! On Sunday night, as the rain rolled in, I decided to try my creative hand in the kitchen with a huge bag of red McIntosh apples that we had. I modified a recipe I found on Pinterest originally from Cooking with Chopin Blog.

Here's What You'll Need:

• Apple corer
• Peeler or sharp knife
• 2 baking sheets
• A medium size mixing bowl

Ingredients

• 4 small to medium size red apples chopped
• 1/3 cup of brown sugar
• 1 can of Pillsbury flaky biscuits
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1/2 cup of pecans
• 1/4 chocolate chips (I used mini)
• 1/2 lemon (to squeeze over apples to avoid browning
• Sprinkle of powdered sugar
  
  Yields 16-20 dumplings

Recipe Instructions

1. Pre-heat the over to 350. Crank it up!
2. Add brown sugar and cinnamon to the medium size bowl.
3. Time to get nutty. Chop up pecans to produce 1/2 cup and add to the bowl.
4. Wash the apples, core, and peel. Chop into small chunks. If you're worried about your apples browning, just squeeze a little lemon juice on them. Boom.
5. Add the apple bits to the brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecan mixture. Stir it up until the apples are coated generously.
6. Finish with the vanilla and chocolate chips. You can always add in more to your liking :) Stir again. 
7. Take your can of biscuits, bust it open, and divide (most cans serve 8, peel dough apart into 2 or more). Lay out dough onto baking sheets about a 1/2 inch apart. You don't need to grease the sheet.
8. Spoon your apple JAM mixture into the center of each dough circle. Like so:
   
   



Apple JAM mixture

9. Pinch into a dumping shape by taking the edges of the dough up to the center and close. (Try to press the edges of the dough together since they will expand a bit in the oven.) I made some mini and some regular size dumplings.
   
   
   
10. Pop these bad boys into the oven for 12-14 minutes. And await for the scrumptious smell of fall to bake into the house. When the dumplings expand a bit in the oven, the apple JAM mixture will bubble and caramelize the top edges a bit. To.die.for!
    
11. Pop these bad boys into the oven for 12-14 minutes. And await for the scrumptious smell of fall to bake into the house. When the dumplings expand a bit in the oven, the apple JAM mixture will bubble and caramelize the top edges a bit. To.die.for!
    
    
12. Sprinkle on a bit of powdered sugar on your Apple JAM Dumpling Delights while still warm. Take a big ol' bite, get a taste of fall, and praise the heavens!!!

Easy, fast and fall baking basics! Yum!!! What's your favorite fall dessert or dish? Share your thoughts or recipes!

Quinoa Salad with Lemon Basil Dressing Recipe

Ok, so we know I've been taking baby steps toward becoming a better cook and hopefully someday will achieve kitchen greatness like my sister, Mom, and Gram...someday, someday.

But this quinoa salad with lemon basil dressing recipe is
1) easy and came be made quickly
2) loaded with greenery and healthy goodness
3) another stand-by recipe for summer picnics and parties #FTW

I found and pinned this Quinoa Salad with Lemon Basil Dressing on the beloved Pinterest and made a few tweaks for my liking. (Original recipe from two peas & their pod).

Here's what you'll need to make Quinoa Salad with Lemon Basil Dressing:

Serves 4-6

For the Dressing:
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey or agave nectar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the salad:
2 cups water
1 cup quinoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup of frozen chopped asparagus spears
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (to prevent the avocado from browning)
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup of edamame
1 avocado, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup chopped basil (I love basil and added a wee bit more)

Perfect summer picnic salad: add some greenery to your scenery!

Directions:

1. In a small bowl or medium jar, combine the dressing ingredients. Whisk to combine or shake with the jar lid on tight. Set aside.
2. Add water, quinoa, and salt to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 5 minutes. Turn the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork.
3. While the quinoa is cooking, this is the part you can be ambitious or take the easy route...baby steps, right? Either cook the fresh asparagus and peas, or use the frozen kind (I opted for frozen chopped asparagus spears and peas and popped those bad boys right in the microwave.)
4. In a large bowl, combine quinoa, asparagus, peas, edamame and avocado. Pour the dressing over the salad and stir until well coated. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the fresh basil and serve. Boom. Easy peasy!

If you'd like more colorful, colorful in language too, healthy recipes-- be sure to check out ThugKitchen. Absolutely hysterical, tasty recipes, healthy lifestyle choices and a whole lot of expletives and...they just announced they inked a book deal. For the %$#^@! win. Keep JAMmin fellow bloggers and creative cooks!

JAM Mulberry Apple Cobbler Recipe

As I mentioned in my last weekend recap post, I made my Dad a (bomb) cobbler recipe for Father's Day. There is a giant mulberry tree growing in the backyard and I was curious as to how to craft up a good recipe from it. I picked an entire colander of mulberries, wowzer! I had my work cut out for me!

The best way to describe mulberries, if you have never tried them, is the size and shape of a raspberry, not as fleshy, not as sweet. See?

So I perused Pinterest and found this super easy mulberry cobbler recipe from a fellow Ohio blogger, Columbus Foodie. I tweaked the original recipe to add in a lil more JAM and it turned out fab! Here's what you'll need:

MulberryApple Cobbler
8 in. square metal dish

2 1/2 – 3 c. mulberries
2 apples diced
1/2 c. sugar
6 tbsp. butter
3/4 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. milk
pint of vanilla bean ice cream

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Clean your mulberries and chop apples.  Set aside.
• Next in a separate large bowl mix sugar, flour, baking powder, salt.
• Melt the butter and pour it into an eight inch square metal dish.
• Add the milk to your dry ingredients and mix until a thick batter; remember to keep the berries separate! A very important step in this recipe is to pour the batter into the dish. You do not want to mix the batter when it is in the dish because the butter is there first for a reason.
• Now that the batter is already in the pan you can add your mulberries and apples.
• Sprinkle them all over the top of the batter like so...



All poured and ready for the oven

• Pop that bad boy in the oven for 20-25 minutes, time may vary according to your oven.

  

  Boom!

• Test to see if it's done by inserting a toothpick in the center to see if it comes out clean. If so, allow the cobbler to rest for 5 minutes before cutting.

Yumminess!!!

 

• This is a more "light" cobbler upside down recipe as opposed to the traditional biscuit style cobbler. Honestly, I prefer this recipe more since it's a great post-cookout dessert that doesn't make you feel like you're going to explode.
• Finally, cut and serve in large wine glasses for added effect. Scoop a dollop of fresh vanilla bean ice cream on top of the warm cobbler.
  
  
• Serve and receive many compliments and happy bellies. 

For more recipes, follow my board on Pinterest!  And keep JAMmin!

What's your favorite dessert to top off a cookout? What's your go-to easy summer dessert recipe? Have you ever tried mulberries?