Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies

I decided to make some cookies. Healthy cookies?? Maybe so, they have fruit, oats, and Greek yogurt! Yum. If you forget about the cake mix, they really aren't that bad! I love a good shortcut when it comes to baking...and cake mix is the perfect way to go for these cookies.  

They get their apple and cinnamon flavor from the Greek yogurt, who would have guessed! With the combo of cake mix and oats they are thick, chewy, and super soft. I love a good cookie, and trust me, these are GOOD! :)

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies 

Recipe adapted from Little Bitty Bakes

Ingredients: 
1 boxed spice cake mix (dry mix only — do not prepare the mix)

1 cup quick oats
1 large egg
1 6-ounce container Apple Cinnamon Chobani Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon canola oil

Directions:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper. 
• In a large mixing bowl, stir the cake mix and oats to combine. Add the egg, yogurt and oil; stir until mixed well. Drop the cookie dough by rounded tablespoon onto the prepared cookie sheets. 
• Bake 12-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Allow to cool 2-3 minutes before removing from cookie sheets to cool completely.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

The other day I was searching for a dessert to make for our Christmas dinner at my parents house. I wanted something I could put together easily and make ahead of time. I was searching and now I am searching no more because I’ve found all that I was looking for in this delicious treat.

Let me describe each layer of this amazing dessert for you: it all starts with a chewy oatmeal cookie-like crust on the bottom, then a smooth and delicious cream cheese filling with chunks of yummy cinnamon & nutmeg apples scattered all over, then a crumbly and crunchy topping with pecans, and finally a delicious warm and salty caramel sauce drizzled all over!

Sounds pretty good, huh?

It might seem like a lot of steps, but it's actually really easy and tastes amazing!

Check out Sweet As Sugar Cookies blog for a whole list of yummy treats!!

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars 
Recipe adapted from Food Network

Ingredients:

Crust & Streusel:

1 package Oatmeal Cookie mix (I used Betty Crocker)

1/2 cup butter, cold (1 stick)

1/4 cup chopped pecans

Cheesecake Filling:

2 packages cream cheese (8 oz each), softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp flour

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

Apples:

3 Gala apples, peeled, cored, and chopped

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp sugar

Caramel Sauce:

15-20 caramel candies, unwrapped

2 tbsp milk

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with aluminum foil.
• Place cookie mix in large bowl. With a fork, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly and coarse. Reserve 1 1/2 cups crumb mixture Press remaining crumbs in bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, vanilla and egg with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread over crust.  
• In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle evenly with remaining cookie crumb topping. Sprinkle with chopped pecans.
• Bake 40-45 minutes, or until filling is set. Cool about 30 minutes. Refrigerate to chill, about 2 hours. 
• Add unwrapped caramel candies with milk and salt in a microwaveable bowl. Cook on high, 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir occasionally until caramel is melted and smooth. 
• Cut into bars and serve each with drizzled caramel sauce.  

Caramel Apple Pie

What's more fall than apple pie?? We had some close friends over for dinner and I was dying to make this apple pie recipe. I've always been intimidated by homemade pie, particularly by making the crust. I've never really made a pie before, so I was a bit nervous for my first attempt in front of guests! 

For this little dinner party I chose to skip out on the homemade crust and put my faith in Pillsbury. Turns out the pie came out really well and I had everyone surprised that it was my first attempt. Maybe making a pie isn't quite as intimidating as I always thought, or I just got lucky. 

Next time I'm tackling that pie crust! I have to give Southern Living Magazine the credit for this pie recipe. However, I've slightly adapted it to give it my own twist!

Caramel Apple Pie
Ingredients: 
4 pounds Granny Smith apples
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbs flour
1 tbs cinnamon
1 tsp fresh grated nutmeg

Caramel Sauce:
10-15 caramel candies 
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla

Crust:
1 (14.1-oz.) package refrigerated pie crusts
1 egg white
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Vanilla ice cream

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel apples, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges. Toss apples with lemon juice, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar and granulated sugar.

2. In a microwave safe bowl melt the caramel candies in 20 second intervals. Add the milk and vanilla and stir until it reaches a silky smooth consistency.

3. Spray your skillet with non-stick cooking spray and place 1 pie crust in the skillet. Spoon apple mixture over pie crust, and drizzle the caramel sauce over the apples. Top with the remaining pie crust. Whisk egg white until foamy. Brush top of pie crust with egg white; sprinkle with 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar. Cut 4 or 5 slits in top for steam to escape.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly, shielding with aluminum foil during last 10 minutes to prevent excessive browning, if necessary. Allow the pie to rest before serving, the caramel needs time to thicken or your will be serving apple pie soup. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Once I get into fall mode it is not stop baking for me! My first treat was an apple cake with cream cheese icing. I've actually made this cake a few times already, but haven't been able to get a picture of it. So, finally here it is! Evan literally had to make himself stop eating it the first time I made it! It's perfect of a light dessert, and even better for breakfast with a big cup of coffee. The cake is made with apple sauce, and since they are so delicious this time of year, I decided to make my own! It turned out perfect. 

Recipe adapted from Foodista.

Ingredients: 

Cake:

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups apple sauce*

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Frosting:

8 ounces light cream cheese, room temperature

5 cups confectioner sugar, sifted
1 tsp cinnamon

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a medium sized bowl, sift  together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and nutmeg. 

In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer, beat together the oil and both kinds of sugar. Then add the eggs, vanilla and apple sauce. Gradually add in the flour mixture and milk and beat until smooth.
 

Grease the bottom of two 9 inch round cake pans and divide the batter among the two.

Bake for 22-25 minutes.

In a mixer, beat softened cream cheese with confectioner sugar until just incorporated.  Add vanilla and cinnamon and beat until smooth.

Cool and spread cream cheese frosting. Store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

Homemade Apple Sauce

Ingredients:

4 large red apples (peeled, cored, and cut into chunks)

2 cinnamon sticks

A pinch of nutmeg and salt

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

Directions: 

• Combine all ingredients in a pot and add about a half inch of water.
• Cover and bring to a boil.
• Remove cover and reduce to a simmer for about 30 minutes. Apples will become very soft. Mash with a fork until you reach your desired consistency. 

Baked Apple Chips

I love apples. What I love more is the fact that you can find them year round. Since apple season is in full swing now, I've been trying to put them in anything and everything. We went to Whole Foods last Sunday and their produce section was lined with every apple variety you could imagine. So naturally I bought a ton of them. As we were checking out I saw a bag of baked apple chips and I thought these would probably be pretty easy to make...and I figured they would taste even better fresh. Boy was I right. They were DELISH. This is the perfect healthy treat, and plus they make your house (or apartment) smell amazing! :)

Apple Chips

• 2 gala or granny smith apples
• 2 tbsp sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt

• Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
• Don't worry about coring the apples, just slice them super thin and remove the seeds. (A mandolin would definitely be easier to slice the apples, but I didn't have one. Patience and a steady hand are key!)
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the apple slices on the sheet. 

• Sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar, and salt.
• Bake for about an hour until the apple slices are crisp. If they are still soft after an hour, continue baking for another 30 minutes to an hour. Depending on the thickness of each slice it may take a little longer. 

Falling into FUN!

There's nothing better than a season change. The colors, the cool air, and the FOOD! It's officially fall, my absolute favorite season of the year. I just love the smell of apples, cinnamon, pumpkins, and a warm and cozy fire. I spent days trying to find the perfect decorations for our little apartment, but it isn't official until we pick out the perfect pumpkins to carve. This year we went to Southern Belle Farm in McDonough. 

After carving my scary spider and Evan's goofy jack-o-lantern...our next task was pumpkin seeds! 

I'm not a big fan of pumpkin flavored desserts, so I decided to stick to the seeds. Some people like the seeds without the shells, but we kept the shells on. Evan likes them spicy so I found at great recipe at Elana's Pantry.

Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pumpkin seeds
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
•  
• Directions:
• 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
Place pumpkin seeds on foil lined baking sheet.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool and serve.

Makes 1 cup of spicy pumpkin seeds