It seems like fall came in from nowhere. It’s a nice welcome change to be able to wear a hoodie and pants yet not freeze or sweat my ass off. The crispness of the air matches the apples before they’re baked. Speaking of apples my birthday was recently. The Witch surprised me with a trip to pick some apples. Then the surprise turned into our friends and their little ones, one of them being my godson, showing up. It was a great spooky day of apple picking. The orchard was high up on a hill that was covered in a fog. After a few apple cider donuts it started to rain. The timing was pretty good since we had just wrapped up. Instead of heading home we drove and had food with our friends. It was a great surprise that just kept giving.

What do you do with more apples than you know what to do with? What if it’s fall? Well I guess that just means a lot of apple inspired recipes. Good thing I don’t really know a lot of them. I scoped out the spices we had on hand and sniffed around. I did some baked apple testing for a different recipe and use that to nail the spices too. Oddly it’s roughly the same ratio as the shortbread. Cinnamon, All Spice, and Ground Cloves all worked so well together. I knew that maple would be a good flavor to add for a slight sweetness. Swapping brown sugar for granulated sugar has been something I’m always working on in recipes. I know it can add more depth of flavor due to the molasses. That also adds some additional moisture leading to a chewer texture.

The brown sugar, apples, and maple syrup add a decent amount of moisture. For that reason we’re going to bake these longer than normal shortbread. Pre-baking the apples does help to remove a decent amount of the moisture while maintaining the flavor. Don’t forget the brown sugar. My first batch didn’t bake long enough. They were spot on for the flavor, but a bit too underdone. It was like an apple pie that had a soggy bottom. They didn’t keep very well either because of that. Shortbread can be very hard to figure out whether it’s done. It browns pretty easily and quickly. The brown sugar makes it a bit darker color also adding to the difficulty. I ended up tenting the shortbread after about 35-40 minutes while continuing to bake. Thankfully I had learned this somewhere else. After about 55 minutes they were the perfect texture and not burned. The brown sugar also gives it a nice sugary sweet crust on top. The baked apples are still just moist enough to maintain some chew, but not moist enough to ruin the texture of the shortbread. The Witch things they taste like a McDonald’s apple pie. I’m biased and think they’re better than that. I should really take it as a compliment though since a McDonald’s apple pie was a sweet treat for her when she was young.

Today is the Fall Equinox. The Witch has always loved the fall season. It’s pretty special to me too. It’s the season that started to provide comfort with the feelings we felt. Part of our idea and collaboration was to mix Baking and Tarot. The Baker and The Witch. Shuffle and pull a card. This time it’s the two of cups. This is a very significant card for us. We each found someone to share with. We fill each other’s cup.

Ingredients

1 medium apple (gala used)
1/2 Cup dark brown sugar
1 Cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter - room temp *important
1 1/2 Cups AP flour
1 teaspoon of vanilla
2 Tablespoons of maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of all spice
1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 Degrees
Cut the apple into 1/4 - 1/2 inch cubes
Bake for 20 minutes on a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil
Remove the aluminum foil and apples to a cooling rack
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Add the room temp butter and brown sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer, with a paddle attachment, and whip for 1-2 minutes
Add the vanilla and maple syrup and mix to combine
Meanwhile in another bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon, all spice, ground cloves and salt
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture until combined
Add the baked apple chunks to the dough. Mix gently until incorporated
Spray a 9 inch cake pan with cooking spray
Move the dough to the pan and use an offset spatula to spread out the dough evenly
Bake at 350 for 50 - 55 minutes until slightly browned
Remove from the oven and immediately slice before they cool
Let cool in the pan on a wire rack
Remove the slices and enjoy with coffee, tea, or milk