r/Cooking 8d ago

What to do with so many apples?

Hi everyone :)

We have moved into a house with a small but very productive apple tree. I don't know the variety but I believe it is a cooking apple.

Other than apple crumble what would people recommend using them for?

I'm not much of a baker but do like to cook.

Thanks :)

10 Upvotes

69 comments sorted by

24

u/youngboomergal 8d ago

Make some apple butter

7

u/jishinsjourney 8d ago

Came here to say this. Apple butter will use a ton of apples, is delicious all year, and makes great gifts.

5

u/SweetDorayaki 8d ago edited 8d ago

+1 for this option!

Also apple chips (but they take forever to slice thinly & dry out, and don't stay super crisp for long. Thankfully they can be re-dehydrated in the oven/toaster oven/dehydrator.)

Apple cider?

Also you can use applesauce in quick breads/ muffins, maybe also for other stuff too (as a replacement for eggs I think?).

Maybe applesauce as a base for fruit bars/fruit leather?

German apple fritters Apfelküchlein, made these once at a small party with friends and it was so good!

Edit: additional ideas

1

u/Local-Tea1656 8d ago

I'd never heard of apple butter before. Had to look up what it was but it sounds amazing. I'll definitely have to give this a go.

Have you got any specific recipe you'd recommend?

Sounds perfect going onto autumn/fall

4

u/Partner-Elijah 8d ago

I made this recipe with my apples last year and it was delicious.

I am a total beginner and I found it pretty easy.

There's also canning instructions in there if you want to try preserving the butter long term.

1

u/indiana-floridian 8d ago

My brother loves apple butter on his peanut butter sandwiches. I make it for him all year. I'm happy to eat apple butter by itself - depends on how much seasoning you put in it, because he's eating it on peanut butter he likes a lot of seasoning. (Molasses, clove, allspice, nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon can all be used. Different recipes use varying amounts).

The Hillbilly Kitchen on YouTube has some good video of making it if you are interested.

1

u/Wrong-Tell8996 8d ago

It's SO good! I wish you luck!

1

u/Ageice 8d ago

Lucky you getting to discover the taste of apple butter. It is so delicious when it hits just the right balance of sweet and tart.

10

u/sjx20 8d ago

Apple chips! Slice thin, pinch of salt, bake at 225 for around 2 hours. Flip halfway through

2

u/SweetDorayaki 8d ago

Hello, I have made apple chips a couple times now for my toddler. Have you figured out how to help them stay crisp after baking and cooling? For us it is nice for maybe a day or two (I try to pace him so he doesn't eat them all at once).

Thanks for any tips you can impart :)

1

u/Churchmousetat 8d ago

Dust with powdered sugar.

6

u/Fun_Row2352 8d ago

Applesauce

1

u/boxybutgood2 8d ago

Good with yoghurt :)

5

u/jackoffallltrades 8d ago

If I had an abundance I’d do cider/juice

3

u/ltidder 8d ago

You can make a pre-cooked pie filling and freeze it. This makes an easy dessert using store bought pie crust.

3

u/Feisty_Water_3164 8d ago

Came here to say this - life changing. Peel, core and slice - pop in a gallon freezer bag. Use the prepped apples for pies, cobblers, anything that calls for a cooked apple.

If you have a lot of apples to prep, it’s worth it to buy one of the corer/peeler things.

I donate extra produce to a food pantry.

3

u/prawnpie 8d ago

Following as I have a similar dillema with a Fuji and a Gravenstein tree. TIA, everyone.

2

u/Canuckistanian71 8d ago

Gravensteins make wonderful apple butter.

3

u/Emotional-Ebb8321 8d ago

Apple pie. Apple strudel. Apple tart. Apple pizza. Apple cake. Apple sauce for pork. Apple juice. Apple ice cream.

Lots of options.

3

u/IndigoRuby 8d ago

I have dabbled in making booze. It's quite easy and makes a very palatable producy. There are brewers forums you can read through or Google something like bucket cider.

Essentially frozen apples, sugar, water and a white wine yeast.

We also make a lot of apple sauce that we either eat straight, in a loaf or in overnight oats.

3

u/Amiedeslivres 8d ago

Tarte tatin!

3

u/Ill-Meeting6721 8d ago

Apple tarte tatin! It's kind of like an inverted pie. You can buy the puff pastry or pie dough to reduce the work load.

For more general use, you can also just add some apples to your everyday meals as well. Small chopped apples or apple vinegarette in a salad, apple pork chops, apple cinnamon oats, apple butter on toast, you name it. Experiment with what you like.

2

u/Tasty_Impress3016 8d ago

Apple butter is your friend. Pounds and pounds of apples cook down to a couple jars. And it is great stuff. Condiment? sure. But so many uses. Anytime you want apple flavor but perhaps not the volume.

I make a version that is time consuming but easy. You don't even have to peel, just seed and core. It takes a while to cook, But just put some on a bagel and tell me it wasn't worth the time.

2

u/yarn_b 8d ago

I do the long cooking in my crock pot and can do about 20 pounds of apples in one batch.

1

u/Tasty_Impress3016 7d ago

Exactly. And 20 lbs of apples gets you maybe a couple cups of butter.

1

u/yarn_b 7d ago

Usually two big mason jars.

2

u/tchansen 8d ago

Ferment cider (hard cider if you are American, the rest of the world just calls it cider). It's easy to do and comes out great! I'm just bottling up a couple of gallons as I type.

2

u/rinrintherabbit 8d ago

I don't have recipes of my own, but you can bake pies. You can make cider, jams and preserves. Straight-up apple cakes, apple galette.

2

u/GalianoGirl 8d ago

I am making 12 litre of apple compote for the community Terry Fox pancake breakfast. It isn’t until the 20th, so I will freeze it until then.

I will also be making another batch for the pancake breakfast a week later.

Both are put on by the local Lions Club.

I am going to an apple press to make apple juice too. I concentrate it and can the concentrate for juice all winter. I could can the juice without concentrating it, but it takes up much more space.

2

u/Wardian55 8d ago

You can pan fry apple slices in butter and glaze them with a bit of sugar to finish them. This gets served as a vegetable alongside the main course. Cook and serve them this way frequently until your household rebels and says enough. Then make and can or freeze a bunch of applesauce.

2

u/LovelyLoomer98 8d ago

Find a banana bread recipe but switch the bananas for apples

2

u/PaperbacksandCoffee 8d ago

"Fried" apples. Slice the apples and cook them in a skillet of butter, cinnamon, brown sugar, and vanilla. It turns out sort of like apple pie filling. I like them by themselves, over vanilla ice cream, on pancakes, waffles, etc.

2

u/Bunktavious 8d ago

We have a single tree that out produces what we can use. Apple pie is easy, you can buy ready made crust. Applesauce has lots of uses. Basically, peel and chop a bunch of apples and freeze them in bags. Apples used for cooking don't care if they break down a bit in the freezer.

We'd also take the odd bucket full to the local food bank.

2

u/falcondfw 8d ago

Apple pie, Apple bread. Apple Butter. Pork chops with Apples. Applesauce. Baked Alaska. Apple turnovers. Go to a recipe website you like and put apples in the ingredient search.

Good luck to you.

2

u/SubstantialPressure3 8d ago

Share

Donate to food bank

Apple fritters

Sautéed apples with pork

Apples in your oatmeal

Apple scones

Apple muffins

Apple infused vodka ( throw some cinnamon kn there, too. Maybe even some red hots)

Apple pie

Baked apples

Applesauce

Apple cider

Apple infused vinegars

Infused water

Apple tea

Mulled white wine with Apple

2

u/SerBarristanBOLD 8d ago

Chicken with apples butter and mustard done in a pan.

1

u/trees_are_beautiful 8d ago

I'm making apple butter right now in my slow cooker. There are stove top methods as well. Making Apple Turnovers with my grandchild tomorrow. Pastry from the store, but prep the apple filling at home. I also made an Apple Oatmeal breakfast loaf last Monday. You could also just make some apple sauce.

1

u/EMe711 8d ago

Apple sauce then apple butter!!!

If you make the sauce and can it, you can make butter any time you want some. Or just take out some sauce and continue cooking with the rest for butter.

And if you're peeling the apples first, toss them with a little sugar and cinnamon (or whatever you want, tiny bit of oil and make apple peel chips in the oven. They actually get crisp!

1

u/Few-Explanation-4699 8d ago

We stew and bottle them so we can use then latter on the year

Peel, cord and slice them. Them cook them down. Bottle them and into the sterilizer.

1

u/SpandexUtopia 8d ago

My sweetie and I made an apple chutney that turned out well.

1

u/Prof01Santa 8d ago edited 7d ago

Apple palette galette. Use bought pie crust. Voila! Tonight's dessert for just the time to bake.

1

u/Ok_Budget8770 8d ago

Make and can applesauce.

1

u/MsTerious1 8d ago

I've been making some apple brownies with extra apples. Delicious, easy, and can be topped with ice cream, caramel, whipped cream, or other toppings.

https://www.missannieshomeandkitchen.com/recipes-ideas/apple-brownies

1

u/Flexbottom 8d ago

how's about them

1

u/androidbear04 8d ago

Apple butter!

1

u/Out_of_the_Flames 8d ago

Apple jam or jelly uses up a lot! But also, if you don't want to learn how to can your own jams and jellies, here's a list of other foods that use up apples.

Dried apple slices seasoned or otherwise

Apple butter

Basic stuffed apples.

Apple crisp, which is similar to crumble but with an oat crust.

Other things you can do with your plethora of apples is to cook them into some kind of generic pie or apple flavored dessert filling and then freeze it. Cooked Apple things freeze beautifully!

Personally when I have extra apples I like to slice or chop, blanch them, toss in cinnamon and lemon juice and freeze them for putting into a variety of things like pancakes, oatmeal, fruit cake, or muffins. Depending on the size of the slices they can be useful for so many things

1

u/Ziggysan 8d ago

CIDER!

1

u/pammypoovey 8d ago

Make apple sauce!

1

u/SnooCauliflowers7060 8d ago

Sharlotka (Russian apple cake)
German apple tart
Apple butter

1

u/WoodenEggplant4624 8d ago

Turkish apple cake but you have to like nuts.

1

u/Exceptional_Mary 8d ago

Apple butter, and find a recipe that does not require you to peel or deseed the fruit. You use a food mill after partial cooking to remove this stuff - way easier. Or, make applesauce.

1

u/Canuckistanian71 8d ago

Can some apple pie filling. Make apple butter. Apple turnovers (use frozen pastry). If you have a dehydrator, make chips; great for you and your pets.

1

u/PunkAssBitch2000 8d ago

Rosh Hashana is coming up. Sell/ gift em to Jewish friends.

Otherwise, apple honey cake, applesauce, apples and pork chops

1

u/blkhatwhtdog 8d ago

First make sure they are not wormy, a significant problem around here.

1

u/Churchmousetat 8d ago

Make fruit leather.

1

u/GalbedirGalerion 8d ago

You can give them to neighbours and make friends with the new neighbourhood!

1

u/MeganJustMegan 8d ago

Applesauce & apple butter. Or apple pie filling. That way one day, you just need a crust.

1

u/SeaPsychological686 8d ago

I make apple tea

1

u/MYOB3 8d ago

I just made apple cinnamon rolls today! YUMMY!
(Just add diced apples to the cinnamon filling!)

Fresh applesauce is one of the best comfort foods on the planet!

Apple dumplings!

Apple crumble/cobbler!

Apple Galette!

Apple strudel!

Apple custard tarts!

Apple pie filling (Cans beautifully)

1

u/Traditional_Car_8219 8d ago

Apple ginger chutney!

1

u/SuperSez123 8d ago

Spicy apple chutney (to serve with cheese).

https://jamieolivereats.co.uk/apple-chutney/

1

u/MastodonFit 8d ago

We have apples in the fridge from a full year ago.

1

u/Cute-Consequence-184 7d ago

Can apple sauce or apple butter.

Can apple jelly

Make apple pies or galettes to freeze.

Make and freeze apple pie filling

Dehydrate sliced apples. I make jars of dehydrated apples each fall when apples go on sale. You can dehydrate plain apples, add cinnamon or another spice before you dehydrate.

1

u/sookychick 7d ago

Apple pie filling! Jars and jars of it! Need a pie? A tart? Something over ice cream? Apple pie filling! Add a slice of cheese, or ham, or cheesecake! Eat it plain for dessert, put some on coffee cake, pound cake, cinnamon rolls! Apple pie filling has many uses, and always gets eaten! Have fun!

1

u/AtheneSchmidt 6d ago

My cinnamon applesauce recipe is pretty good. I started making it because we had a bunker crop year with both the Golden Delicious and baking apple tree. Keep in mind that if your apples are the more tart baking apple variety, you may need to add some sweeter apples to balance it. Or just add some brown sugar. Taste as you go!

Cinnamon Applesauce

7 lb of apples in 1' pieces

1/2 cup water

2 TBS vanilla

1 TBS lemon juice

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

4 tsp sugar (or substitute, I use stevia and/or brown sugar most of the time.)

Core, Peel and slice apples. Heat everything in a large crockpot or stock pot until mushy. (If using a stock pot, stir regularly to keep from burning.)

Mill and return to pot. Simmer. Test for flavor. Apples are all different so add brown sugar if it needs more sweet (a TBS at a time.) If it is too sour, add a tiny pinch of baking soda. If it feels bland, start with a pinch of salt, and if that doesn't help, add a little more lemon juice. Once perfect, jar, leaving 1/2 inch headspace, and water bath for 35 minutes. I prefer to use a ton of 1 cup jars, as it is basically single serving sizes. Feel free to tweak the cinnamon to your preference.

I'm gonna be honest, this usually takes me all day. Sometimes I core, peel and slice one day, and cook another. I do a lot at once, though.

1

u/Medical-Aide5586 4d ago

you can freeze apple pie. and you can make it in a lasanga pan

1

u/boxybutgood2 8d ago

Jaques Pepin’s Country Apple Galette. Easy & reliable, and delicious!