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Like apple pie filling without the crust

Recipe: Maple sautéed apples make a great topping for waffles, pound cake and more

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED OCT 6, 2024

Try these sautéed apples on waffles or pancakes for breakfast -- or pound cake or ice cream for dessert. Debbie Arrington

In the mood for apple pie but don’t want to turn on the oven? Maple sauteed apples taste like apple pie filling, without the crust.

Apples in a colander — These are McIntosh apples, which are good
for baking and cooking.

It’s apple season and, after such a hot summer, my apples are looking kind of small. They may not be large, but they’re still crunchy and flavorful – and just right for a stove-top sauce.

This easy recipe uses apples of any size to make a flavorful topping for waffles, pound cake or ice cream. Or serve it as an apple-packed accompaniment to pork chops, tenderloin or roast.

Use crisp baking or cooking apples such as McIntosh or Granny Smith; they have the most flavor and hold their shape. (Eating apples such as Gala or Red Delicious tend to get mushy when cooked.)

Maple sautéed apples

Makes 3 to 4 servings

Ingredients:

3 cups apples, pared, peeled and sliced

1 lime or lemon

2 tablespoons butter

¼ cup apple juice or cider

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons maple syrup

¼ teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Instructions:

Apple slices cooking — Sauté the apples, then add the juice, sugar and syrup.

Prepare apples. Fill a large bowl with water. Add juice of a lime or lemon. Add apple slices to the citrus-infused water. (This helps prevent apple slices from browning.)

Melt butter in a heavy skillet. Drain apple slices and add to pan. Sauté apples over medium heat until apples begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

Add apple juice or cider. Sprinkle sugar over apples and stir gently so sugar dissolves. Gently bring to a low boil so syrup starts to bubble. Stir in maple syrup and cinnamon, if desired.

Serve warm over waffles, pound cake or ice cream or alongside pork.

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RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

Keywords:

recipe recipes apples cooking fall autumn maple Sacramento gardening farmers markets produce management backyard produce seasonal cooking

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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

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Garden checklist for week of June 7

Afternoon highs are expected to be back in the mid 90s by midweek, then edging towards triple digits. Plan your planting and garden activities accordingly.

* Remember to water early.

* It’s not too late to transplant tomatoes, peppers, eggplant or other summer favorites. Make sure they stay hydrated.

* From seed, plant corn, melons, pumpkins, radishes, squash and sunflowers.

* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.

* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias.

* It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.

* Let the grass grow longer. Set the mower blades high to reduce stress on your lawn during summer heat. To cut down on evaporation, water your lawn deeply during the wee hours of the morning, between 2 and 8 a.m.

* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.

* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.

* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.

* Mulch, mulch, mulch! This “blanket” keeps moisture in the soil longer and helps your plants cope during hot weather.

* Cut back fruit-bearing canes on berries.

* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants. Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce heat stress.

* Cut back Shasta daisies after flowering to encourage a second bloom in the fall.

* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.

* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.

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