This cocktail is the equivalent of an apple picking adventure at a pumpkin patch while riding on a hay ride. It’s all fall. There can’t possibly be flavors that more embody fall than fresh apple cider and bourbon.

This is a version of a Manhattan cocktail, only adding in fresh apple cider. Get it, the Big Apple?!? I know, corny. But so totally no the nose, you can’t help but love it. The bourbon, vermouth and bitters are the so good with the fresh cider.

Fresh cider is critical here. You can find it almost anywhere - even Tree Top juice makes a version of a fresh cider that’s worthy of this cocktail. Just please don’t use apple juice. Gross.

The Big Apple

2 ounces apple cider

1 ounce bourbon (or rye)

1/2 ounce red vermouth

a dash of bitters

STEP 1

Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Fill it with ice and shake!

STEP 2

Strain into a cocktail glass filled with ice and serve with a wedge of apple. Cin cin!

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I love cooking bone in chicken. It doesn’t dry out like a chicken breast so you can forget a little bit and not have to worry. That’s a great thing with this dish because sometimes the potatoes aren’t quite done but if you had boneless chicken - then it would be super tough and gross when the potatoes were finally done.

Make sure you use some sweet apples for this recipe too - I prefer Honeycrisp apples because they have the best flavor of all the apples. Cosmic Crisp are a close second. I don’t recommend Granny Smith’s, they are way too bitter.

I love this for a weeknight dinner. You can get it started and help with homework while it finishes cooking. And you can let it sit too - we’ve done this dinner when we know we have ‘late plates’ for kids at activities. It’s just as delicious several hours later!

Apple Roasted Chicken

with bacon and potatoes

Serves 4

4 lb bone in chicken breasts

1 onion, sliced

4 strips bacon, chopped

2 large honeycrisp apples, sliced

2 cups chopped baby potatoes

4 sprigs fresh thyme

1 cup white wine

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 425

In a large pan, cook onion and bacon together until onions are translucent.

STEP 2

Place chicken, bone side up, in the pan and let sizzle until browned.  Flip over and season with salt & pepper.

STEP 3

Pour in white wine and top with apples, thyme, and potatoes.

STEP 4

Bake 20-25 minutes until a thermometer reads 160 when inserted into the meat.

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I am pretty sure those caramel apple pops came out when I was a kid. I remember them being a hit one year in elementary school - and I think that’s because that’s when they were first invented? I thought they were the best. It was the best of both worlds - gooey caramel and the jolly rancher type green apple candy. I loved them. But I don’t really eat candy anymore - or even really like it. But what I do like is cookies.

I had this idea for a caramel apple cookie and I must have tried a dozen versions of this before I finally figured out those flavors are incredible when turned into a snickerdoodle. It also seems the apples you use are important too. The red apples get smooshy and weird. Even the honeycrisp which - ironically - make the best actual caramel apples. The green ones are the ones you need for these cookies. Ideally, peeled and chopped small.

If you can’t find the caramel bits - I found them at the grocery store and at Target - you can cut up the caramel squares and use those. They will just take a little longer to prepare.

Caramel Apple Snickerdoodles

Makes two dozen

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup room temperature butter

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup greek yogurt

1 cup finely chopped green apple

1/2 cup caramel bits

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

STEP 1

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter and sugar and beat unril smooth. Add the egg and vanilla. Mix until fluffy.

STEP 2

Combine together the dry ingredients - then add half of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture until just combined.

STEP 3

Add the greek yogurt and mix until smooth. Then add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until just combined.

STEP 4

Add the apples and caramel bits and mix until fully incorporated.

STEP 5

Prepare a small bowl with sugar and cinnamon. Scoop the dough into balls (it’s sticky!) and roll it through the sugar mixture. Place on a lined baking sheet and bake 12-15 minutes until golden on the edges.

Let cool on the baking sheet a few minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.

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My dad loves pork chops. I can’t even tell you how often we ate pork chops as a kid - to the point where I never wanted to eat pork chops again. But then I became an adult and gained a new appreciation for pork chops - especially in the fall. For some reason pork just seems like a fall. And when you cook it with apples and herbs it’s the ultimate fall dinner.

Here’s the secret to the best version of this recipe ever - really good apple cider. Don’t skimp and buy the cheesy kind that’s around all year long. The kind that’s only available in the fall from fresh apples, that’s the cider you want.

Apple Cider Pork Chops

Serves 4

4 bone in- pork chops

1 yellow onion, sliced

2 apples, sliced

4 sprigs fresh thyme, divided

2 cloves garlic, smashed

1 cup pure apple cider

1 tbs Dijon mustard

6 tbs butter

2 sprigs fresh sage

8 oz egg noodles

salt & Pepper

STEP 1

Place pork chops in a pan and sear 3 minutes on each side until crispy and browned.  Remove from pan and cover with foil.

STEP 2

Add 2 tbs butter to the pan and toss in onions, apples, garlic and 2 sprigs of thyme.  Cook until onions are soft. 

STEP 3

Pour cider into pan, whisk in mustard and return pork chops to the pan.  Cover and cook until pork is cooked through and cider is reduced. 

STEP 4

Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Add egg noodles and cook to package instructions.  Drain.  In a saucepan, melt remaining butter with sage and thyme.  Add noodles to the pan and toss to coat. 

STEP 5

Serve pork and apples over buttered noodles.

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Fall is my least favorite season. But when we start talking about things like football and apples, then I get excited about those things. Instead of thinking about how rainy and dark it is outside, I’m focusing on making the most of the best parts of fall - like this cocktail! There is no other season when a Spiced Apple Cocktail makes any sense. You cannot serve this in the height of spring. This is reserved for fall - drinking it by the fireplace with a flannel blanket with cozy wool socks on your feet.

Spiced Cider Cocktail

4 ounces fresh apple cider

2 ounces bourbon

1/2 ounce allspice dram

Fill two cocktail glasses with ice. In a pitcher, stir together all ingredients. Pour the cocktail over the ice dividing it equally between both glasses. Cin cin! 

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These pancakes are a fall staple in our house.  My husband and I eat dairy free but my kids are, well, kids.  These pancakes are perfect for all of us.  The actual pancakes are dairy free and low sugar, they’re actually relatively healthy.  But then you top them with decadent whipped cream and an amazing homemade caramel sauce spiked with cider and they are very kid-friendly!  

Spiced Apple Pancakes

with apple cider caramel

1 ½ cups flour

½ tbs sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

1 ¼ cups coconut or almond milk

3 tbs canola oil

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup shredded apple

¼ cup butter

¼ cup apple cider

1 cup brown sugar

STEP 1

Blend together dry ingredients in on bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, egg and vanilla.

STEP 2

Blend the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and add the apple before everything is completely combined.  Stir as little as possible, but still get everything mixed.  Let rest 5 minutes.

STEP 3

While the batter rests, combine butter, cider and brown sugar in a saucepan.  Bring to a low boil and immediately reduce the heat.  Whisk well until the sauce is thick.  

STEP 4

Heat a skillet to medium heat and either spray with oil or grease with butter.  Scoop ½ cup of batter onto the hot skillet.  Cook on one side until bubbles form.  Flip and cook another minute or two.  

STEP 5

Serve pancakes hot with fresh whipped cream drizzled with cider caramel.  

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Last week I got to host the coolest party with Tree Top - an apple party!  We celebrated National Apple Month by pressing fresh apple cider, making apple crafts, and eating apple-tizers.  It was a blast!

Apple Cinnamon Popcorn

There are a zillion more photos and cool things after the jump!

To decorate for the party - and celebrate all things apples - we built a giant plywood screen across the back of the truck bay and I painted giant apple slices on them.  I cut honeycomb balls into apple shapes inspired by these honeycomb fruit over on Studio DIY.  Before the party started we gathered all of the children who are members of "my team" and got a picture of the gang with our favorite brand logo!

One of the crafts we made were apple bird feeders.  These are so simple to make.  It's great for using apples that are a little bit older - and creating a little fun fall craft with your kids.  Also, the birds will eat the seed as well as the apples.

Washington Sliders {made with apple sauce, Beecher's cheese, bacon, and locally grown mustard} 

The most exciting part of the party was pressing fresh apple cider.  I picked up more than 140 pounds of Washington State apples from the local farmers stand to turn into juice.  It's amazing how captivated a group of children can be when there is apple grinding happening.  

The children all took turns throwing apples into the grinder and got to try their hand at turning the grinding wheel.  When it was time to press the apples, the children also got to press the apples but it gets hard after a few minutes so Mr. Hedin took over that job and the children used small milk bottles to collect the juice as it poured out.  

Not everyone cared if they drank the cider fresh off the press.  I mean, why would you when there was a cooler full of juice boxes in the kitchen?

I also discovered recently that if you mix Tree Top Three Apple Blend with ginger ale {equal parts} you get a deliciously spicy and sparkly apple mock-tail.  

The Three Apple Blend is also amazing mulled!  

My children's favorite craft was turning juice boxes into mummies!  We used electrical tape and skinny duct tape from the hardware store to turn juice boxes into fabby little monsters.

SWAG!  No one left the party empty handed!  We filled bags with copies of my book, apple juice bottles, and apple sauce squeezers.  Perfect sizes for lunch or for toting around in your bag to keep the kids happy. 

I am a huge fan of the Tree Top company.  Their juice has always been my first choice because it's based in Washington State.  When they approached me to work with them I was ecstatic.  I love when I get to promote companies that I already support.

Tree Top is a grower owned co-op that supports more than 1,000 growers in the Pacific Northwest.  That means the apples in the juice are locally grown and 100% of the apples are grown in the USA.  Tree Top supports local farmers and local families.  I'm a huge fan.

This party and post were sponsored by Tree Top

Over the weekend we pressed apples with the family to make fresh apple cider.  We had planned this before I knew it was National Apple Month - but it worked out perfectly!  Since so many of you asked about pressing apples on our vintage apple press, I thought I'd share a bunch of our photos here {below the jump}.  

We used a mix of Jonagold apples and Granny Smith apples.  Some times we gather apples from a friend's orchard that they couldn't sell at market - this time my parents picked them up from the local fruit stand.

The apples go into the top of the press where there is a grinder with sort of vicious metal teeth.  Mr. Hedin used an old axe handle to move the apples around so they don't get stuck in the teeth.

The children get to throw the apples in, but we are nervous that their fingers will get in there somehow.  Lars had probably just gotten in trouble for getting too close to the teeth as they were turning.  Thus, the charming expression. 

Once the apples are ground up they drop into a slatted barrel that we line with cheese cloth.  

After the slatted barrel is full the cheese cloth gets folded over the top of the apples and a large piece of wood is placed on top so the press can squeeze down evenly.   

Juice then pours out the spout on the bottom of the press. 

 You can drink it right away.  And we do.  Some people pasteurize it but I've found it takes the "fresh" flavor out of the juice.  So we just drink it fast or freeze it.  We tried to make hard cider one year and it was an epic fail.  Epic.  I'll stick to buying it.  

Just like a Manhattan, only on the rocks and with a splash of this

fabby apple juice

!  The absolute perfect drink for toasting dad this weekend.  Cheers to the weekend!