The HONEYCRISPS are here!!!!

[beachgal]

No worries, Sophie. I moved it to a separate thread in the recipe forum. You can find it here: Baked Apple Recipe

[gothik butterfly]

oh man... i LOVE honeycrisps... i can't wait to get out of phase 1! i think honeycrisps are what i'm going to add in first!

[kaplods]

I love Honeycrisp, and each year, they've gotten cheaper. The first year they were here, I discovered them at a farmer's market for $4 a lb, and didn't buy any because I thought that was an outrageous price for apples - then I saw them in the grocery store for $6 per pound). This year, they've averaged about $2.50 per pound (mostly huge apples).

I lucked out at the Aldi's yesterday, because they had bags of Honey crisp apples for $3.99 a bag (I think a half peck - so about 5 lbs). I wish I'd bought two bags, but our gocery budget is super, super tight this month (we moved yesterday into a new apartment). Luckily I didn't though anyway, because MIL and her new husband surprised us today with a housewarming gift when they visited about 3 weeks worth of groceries including a huge back of apples (jonathon) and also homemade breads and a casserole so we wouldn't have to cook during unpacking today (there's enough casserole for at least 6 meal-sized servings. We had it for lunch and dinner, and probably will have it for lunch again tomorrow).

[Thighs Be Gone]

Originally Posted by beachgal

Thighs, I find making apple pies with G. Smiths to be very yummy! I just follow any old apple pie recipe and substitute a combo of Splenda, Stevia, Erythritol, and other sweeteners (I often put in Spice-flavored SF syrup, too). It works well and is very yummy. I buy pre-made WW unsweetened piecrusts and use that for the bottom, then cover the top in homemade struesel that is heavy on the whole grains and light on fats and sweeteners. It's delish!

You might want to try making them as just baked apples, adding some sweeter fruit (the blueberries mentioned above are a good idea) to sweeten them up. You could mix apple varieties, too.

I went apple picking yesterday and got a ton of varieties that I can't wait to taste and bake with! I found some crockpot recipes for unsweetened applesauce and apple butter, which looks SO fun. I'm most interested in the Northern Spy and Orange Cox apples. Sadly, I'm on P1 right now, so have to wait to taste.

Thank you so much. I made homemade applesauce with pork tenderloin last night. Mmm. I am baking your recipe (pie) tomorrow. Cannot wait!

[Heidi58]

Originally Posted by Sheba's Mom

We don't have honycrisps out here. But my favorite that is local are jonagolds. They are a cross between Johanthan and Golden Delicios. Boy are they great!!!

My favorite thing to do with them is to make a mock stove cobbler with blueberries. Throw the blueberries in a frying pan and let them simmer until they pop and then add the apples sliced up and let them cook in the blueberry juice until tender. I also throw in some cinnamon and nutmeg while they are cooking. When they are just about done I add oatmeal to the mixture and let it cook a little bit until it is still a little crunchy. Sometime I have to add a little bit of apple juice or water to keep it moist. Sometime we add a little whipped topping or ice cream on the top and have a wonderful quick dessert.

This sounds soooo good!
I'm just starting phase 1 so it's a while before I'll be able to try it but I am looking forward to it in a few weeks.

[Windchime]

Originally Posted by Thighs Be Gone

Okay, another apple question. I bought G. Smith this week for .49/lb! They are gorgeous. I got them home and SOUR! SOUR! SOUR!

What to do with them? I could bake them but how would I sweeten without adding too much sugar? What about a pie? How would I use them for that? Any other ideas are welcome.

Granny Smiths are a really tart apple and I don't know anyone here (in the heart of apple growing country) who eats them plain. But they're great to bake with and when I make a pie or applesauce, I use Granny Smith apples. I haven't made either this year since I've been eating healthier so I don't really know how to do it other than with my old standby, sugar. I like the way the Granny Smith's hold up when you cook with them; they don't fall apart into mush like some other apples do.

Golden Delicious, Winter Banana, Pink Lady, Gala, Cameo........I love them all. I don't think I've tried Honey Crisp yet; I'm guessing we grow them here so I'll have to look. Jonathan's aren't grown too much around here anymore; I think our local fruit packing shed gets a bin or two a year. My cousin works there so he saves a box for my mom; she loves making pie and sauce out of Jonathans.

[Lexxiss]

Originally Posted by beachgal

Our local honeycrips are in! I had a huge one yesterday with nat'l PB and it was SOOOO good.

Anyone else have theirs yet?

Honeycrisp! Amazing stuff...Thanks to those of you who got me into these wonderful apples. I'm ready for a bushel and a peck!

I've read these posts with envy the past two weeks, and to my suprise I found Colorado grown Honeycrisps at our farmers market yesterday. Tasty! A fabulous treat! I bought 4 and they'll have them again next week. They are a bit larger than most of our CO apples, but probably not quite the quality of your NY ones. Thanks for the heads up!

[kaplods]

I do like granny smith as an eating apple, but not very often, because they are so sour. I used to buy them more often when there weren't so many varieties of apples available. They make wonderful caramel apples (which isn't very weight-conscious, but there are lower calorie alternatives).

I was craving a caramel apple several weeks ago A small, plain caramel apple (no nuts) has about 350 calories. Large caramel apples or those with added toppings are going to be a lot higher. So I went looking for a no sugar added caramel sauce, and compared labels and prices and bought the Smucker's brand (it comes in a plastic bottle that is meant to sit upside down on it's lid, so the caramel is always ready to pour). It does have 80 calories for 2 tablespoons, so it is not calorie free, but I was able to satisfy my caramel apple craving for 150 to 230 calories (depending on the size of apple) instead of 350 to 500 (less than half the calories of a caramel apple).

I core and slice the apples and dip it into the caramel sauce (I weigh it on my food scale to make sure I'm not overestimating my 2 tablespoons). I've used granny smith, honeycrisp, braeburn, and fuji so far.

[Thighs Be Gone]

I did use the G. Smith to make my homemade applesauce. I used a couple of TBS. of Equal, a drizzle of honey and then organic cinnamon (which is much sweeter than reg. cinnamon). I just peeled them and sliced them. I put it all in a casserole and baked it @375 until the apples became the right consisntency.

It wasn't as sweet as typical applesauce but it made a very nice accompaniment to the pork tenderloin--sort of a topping.

[Thighs Be Gone]

btw, I occasionally eat G. Smith apples too--by themselves....these that I have now though--no possible way to eat them alone.

[CyndiM]

I am now the proud owner of 1/2 bushel honey crisps and 1/2 bushel blue pearmains with a few russets thrown in. Tonight there will be apple drying