Martha's Tuile Leaves

Ever since I saw Martha Stewart's tuile leaves in her cookie book I wanted to make them for Thanksgiving. Last year, I did just that! Unfortunately, I did not have a leaf stencil so I used a cookie cutter which worked out fine though the process probably would've went quicker and more smoothly with a stencil!

I added them to a plate of chocolate spritz cookies that I made trying out my cookie press for the first time. Here's how it looked:

Check out the recipe: here.

Chocolate Covered Caramel Apples

Probably about 10 years ago, I was a big fan of the Rosie O'Donnell Show and would watch it everyday after school. For a time, Rosie was obsessed with these Williams Sonoma Apples which were caramel covered apples covered in chocolate and then sprinkled with chopped almonds. Yum! On one of the shows, she showed the views how to make them, and soon after my family and I tried out the recipe ourselves. For some reason, I was moved to try it again.

They are fairly simple to make since you only need a few ingredients: apples (large ones preferably),  caramels (like Milk Maid), chocolate chips or melts, and chopped almonds.

Notes: - I suggest opting to melt the caramels and chocolate in the microwave so you can have more control. - If the apples are cold, the caramel hardens up fast (which is both good and bad; you just have to work faster). -Wait until the caramel is hardened to cover it with chocolate. - When you're finished, I recommend not putting these in the refrigerator because the caramel gets too hard and it's difficult to cut and chew it.

Here's how they came out:

Apple Picking 2011

This year, like last year, we attended the Shaker Hill Apple Festival in Alfred, ME. It's a lovely little event with a craft fair, yard sale, bake sale, and other activities. We also went apple picking at the near by Notre Dame Orchards (Giles Family Farm). We've been going to this orchard for years!

Here are some scenic photos of the orchard:

And, here's what we came home with:

I'm not a big pie fan, but I had lots of fun plans for the apples. It's been a personal dream of mine to make my own apple sauce and I did it quite easily with my beloved Crock-Pot. It turned out delicious. Around here, our favorite breakfast (and sometimes dinner!) is a baked apple pancake, so we definitely made a few of those! I also made chocolate covered caramel apples which I'll be blogging about soon - stay tuned!