Megablog

Ready for Fall!

Although fall was nowhere near this orchard...we tried to get there early but even still - 105 is hot! We thought it would be fun to start an apple picking tradition at the Date Creek Ranch...did I mention that it was a little hot? Anyway...it was fun, and we picked our fill of apples and some pears too! And everyone who has eaten "Ade's Apple Almondies" agrees that we should continue our tradition!

ADE's APPLE ALMONDIES
So in a total Marthat Stewart Moment...my attempt to use the above mentioned apples and incorporate them into "mom school" (my other Martha Stewart endeavor) Laina and I made our friend Adrienne's apple almond bars...ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! (recipe follows)

ADE's APPLE ALMONDIES

2 C flour, plus 1/4 C

1/2 C sugar, plus 3/4 C

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt1 C butter

1/2 C sliced almonds

2 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

4 med. cooking apples (hand-picked in 105 degree heat from an orchard in the middle of the desert), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

Almond icing:

3/4 C powdered sugar

1 Tb. milk

1/4 tsp. almond extract (I went a little "light" on this)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together 2 C flour, 1/2 C sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until it resembles pea size pieces. Stir in the almonds and egg yolks with a fork. Press a little more than half of the mixture in the bottom of an un-greased 9x13 pan. Set aside. In another bowl stir together the 3/4 C sugar, 1/4 C flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Toss in the apples and stir to coat. Arrange evenly over the crumb crust. Sprinkle remaining mixture over the top. Bake for 35 minutes. Cool and drizzle with almond icing.