exclusively Skirt in the Kitchen
[This is made for ice cream!]
My little boy named this, a cross between popcorn and apple, since I didn’t know what to call it. Of all three of my kids, he’s my popcorn kid– he prefers popcorn and pepperoni pizza, his favorites– and he happens to adore apples. He wants to own an orchard full of apple trees, and he wants to run it and manage it himself! “Mom, I want to climb up in the tallest apple tree so I can look out at my orchard. I want to pick an apple at the very top of the tree, and I want them all to be bright red.” No yellow or green apples? Lol. We have popcorn every evening– his request; now, we count on it!
I like to pop it in a Dutch oven on the stove top in olive oil or coconut oil. I don’t like the taste of it popped in vegetable oil, not even in corn or canola oil. I’m just funny that way. I’ve been using only these two kinds of oils for our popcorn for such a long time that, now, everyone can detect the taste being off if I’ve run out of our chosen oil/oils for our popcorn, having to resort to any basic oil that I previously mentioned. And as far as popcorn brands go, we like the Jolly Time brand, the white kernels. We believe it to be the best brand that we have found.
This recipe was a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of thing. It wasn’t meant to turn out this good, although I had the best of intentions; it just didn’t look appetizing before it was baked! I guessed at what I’d put together, how much, and the popcorn was a total joke– a silliness since it was left over from the night before so I thought, “Why not be ridiculous, it looks pretty gross anyhow; it’s a flop, and I’ve just dirtied a lot of dishes– too many.” I actually thought it was a waste when I saw the end result before sliding it into the oven to run its course. I thought, “Oh, well, what the heck. If it comes out okay, it’s fine; if not, the garbage can will love it.” To our surprise, it was pretty good! The bottom part of the puffy popcorn baked into the dessert and it stayed crispy. It had the effect of a nut texture but like I said, it was crispy, too. The saltiness from the popcorn with the sweetness of the apples and spiced cake, teamed up with vanilla ice cream, giving it a “wow” crowd-pleasing applause.
I used King Arthur brand all-purpose flour– 4 cups.
For the sugar, I wanted a molasses-flavor edge to it, so I chose raw sugar cane (Demerara sugar). Not only was I going for a flavor that would suit up well with apples, but I was also shooting for a soft texture that would accompany the flour. I didn’t want it to be overpoweringly sweet.
Grind Demerara sugar to equal 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups. Into the flour, whisk in the sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, and 2 teaspoons apple pie spice.
Cut in 1/2 cup cold white shortening and 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter (1 stick), then add fresh thyme.
In a separate bowl, combine 2 cups whole buttermilk, 2 well beaten eggs, and 1 tablespoon unfiltered apple cider vinegar. I like the Bragg brand for organic apple cider vinegar; I believe it to be the best. Pour liquid into dry ingredients. Be careful not to over-mix. Batter will seem too stiff, too solid, but it’s “normal” so don’t worry about how gawd-awful it looks at this point! Pour it into a well greased large casserole dish. (When baking, be sure to set it on a lined baking sheet to catch any overflowing spills.)
Melt 1 stick unsalted butter. Spoon in and stir 2 teaspoons apple pie spice and a little bit of raw cane sugar that is not ground (very little). When thoroughly blended, pour 2/3’s of the melted spiced butter over the top of the unbaked batter, then a can of apple pie filling. Spread evenly; add more fresh thyme leaves. Add the popcorn, gently pressing down with finger tips. Drizzle remaining third of the melted spiced butter over the popcorn.
Bake in a preheated 350° oven for approximately 45 to 60 minutes or until set firm with a slight softness in the center. Check it halfway through baking covering edges with foil to prevent over-browning. Serve warm with vanilla, butter-pecan or caramel ice cream.
For SKIRT IN THE KITCHEN MUSIC THEME, here are the attached videos for you to guess the 3 new key words–
Do you know what they are and in which order they are to be? Remember that they are to flow together and fit accordingly with the previous key words from previous Skirt in the Kitchen music themes (“crazy dance-garden leather-fire woman”). There is only 1 word I will add to chain the previous key words to the 3 new key words to use them all in a sentence. Good luck– I’m rascally, you know, so I’ll be tricking you up when you think you’ve got it figured out!
*See previous post for game.
— Susan Nuyt, Skirt in the Kitchen
apple a day
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