These recipes are nostalgic for me as I had first made them back in my high school Foods and Nutrition class. Not only did Mr. Krembenios, our teacher, show us how to make delicious food, but he also taught us discipline and organization skills, which apply beyond the kitchen. There is more to cooking than just flavours—the secret ingredients are the memories we make with food. For me, these recipes call back to a time of learning and growth, reminding me to reflect on the past. I hope you get to enjoy these fall treats and create memories with them in your own special way.
Apple Crumble
INGREDIENTS:
125 ml butter/margarine (for greasing the pan in step 2)
125 ml all-purpose flour
250 ml brown sugar
300 ml oats
10 ml cinnamon
125 ml butter/margarine (for melting in step 4)
5 apples
30 ml water
10 ml cornstarch
10 ml white sugar
50 ml butter (cold, in pea-sized pieces for step 7)
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Grease a square 9 x 9 pan lightly with butter or margarine.
In a small mixing bowl combine the flour, brown sugar, oats, and only half (5 ml) of the cinnamon.
Melt margarine and drizzle over the combined ingredients from step 3 and mix with a fork until crumbly to form the apple crumble. - Peel, core, and slice apples. Aim to cut them into even, roughly half-inch pieces. If the apple pieces are too big, they may not bake all the way through.
- Toss the sliced apples into another small bowl and add water, the remainder of the cinnamon, cornstarch, and white sugar. Spread evenly over the bottom of the baking pan.
- Layer the cold butter pieces on top of the apples.
- Sprinkle the apple crumble (made in steps 4) on top of the butter and apples.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the crumble is golden brown. Test for doneness with a toothpick.
Pumpkin Spiced Scones
INGREDIENTS:
Dough:
60 ml pumpkin purée
25 ml half & half cream
½ egg
250 ml all-purpose flour
50 ml white sugar
7 ml baking powder
1 ml salt
1 ml cinnamon
1 ml nutmeg
a pinch of ground cloves
a pinch of ground ginger (optional)
45 ml cold butter
Spiced Glaze:
150 ml icing sugar
15 ml milk
a pinch of ground cloves
1 ml cinnamon
1 ml nutmeg
a pinch of ground ginger (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin purée, cream, and the egg half.
- In a large bowl, sift together flour, white sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and, if you’d like, ginger.
- Mush the cold butter into the dry mixture using a pastry blender or fork until it reaches the consistency of small pebbles, no bigger than an inch cubed.
- Gradually fold the liquid pumpkin mixture from step 2 into the dry mixture from step 4. Make sure all the dry ingredients are mixed in and covered.
- Knead lightly and roll out the dough into a 1-inch-thick circle.
- Slice the dough into 6 pieces (pizza-style) and place them on an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown.
- For the spiced glaze, mix the icing sugar, milk, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger (to taste) until smooth.
- Spread the glaze over the scones once they have cooled.
