How Do Ya Like Them Apples?.... Part II.

Remember that post I did a few weeks ago about all those Honeycrisp apples? We're still chipping away at the box and I'm happy to report that we're now onto the bottom layer of apples! Hooray!

This past weekend, I made three more batches of dehydrated apple rings (used up 9 apples) and also started in on a batch of apple brandy (4 apples), and made apple oatmeal cookies (one apple). We've also been eating a lot of them plain, of course, as they're perfectly sweet and delicious all on their own. I'm almost to the point where I can fit all the remaining apples in the crisper drawer in the fridge, but not quite. 

Here's the apple brandy in progress: 

 First, you pour a bunch of not-your-best brandy into a large bowl, jug or other vessel. Then, you chop up a whole bunch of apples and toss them in, along with a few other ingredients.

Then, you just let it sit in a cool, dark place for two weeks, stirring daily. After that, you strain it out and pour it back into the original brandy bottles, or other containers of your choice.

Please note that this is NOT Apple Pie moonshine with Everclear. It may taste very similar in the end, but it's nowhere near as potent! This is different. 

For me, apple brandy is sentimental. When I did my college study abroad in Lyon, France, my host family had apple brandy nearly every evening after dinner as a digestif. Believe me, it burns the hole right down, but tastes good while doing so. Jeff and I made apple brandy for the first time two years ago and it turned out great-- very smooth. The apples themselves sort of suck up the harsh alcohol taste of the brandy while imparting their delicious apply flavor into the liquid. The end result is a smooth, tasty, applicious drink of yumminess. Many people on my Christmas List this year will be receiving a sample. :)

The apple cookies I made were apple-oatmeal, with honey instead of sugar, and I also added flax seed meal for extra fiber. They turned out great. Jeff and his friend Jeremy, who's here for a week or so for hunting, have been eating them right up. Harvey likes them, too. (Yes, I fed my dog a partial cookie...) And, they're healthy enough that I don't mind having cookies for breakfast!

 Before and after shots of the cookies. YUM!

For a savory, dinner-time variation on apple use, we made this dish a few times, too:

 I call it German Apple Dinner. Pretty simple-- we just dice up a few potatoes, one very large apple, some onion, and some German-style bratwurst and simmer with a little butter. Towards the end, add enough of your favorite beer to coat the bottom of the pan. Let that cook off and absorb into the food, add some spices, and then it's done! Meal in about thirty minutes! Yum. :)

So... now's where I make a secret confession.

I started on this post about two weeks ago, and just keep adding to it whenever I do something fun and exciting with apples. But if you've been doing the math, you remember from above that the apple brandy takes about two weeks of flavor-melding and stirring.

So that means....

It's finished!!! 

Jeff and I strained the apple brandy this morning and returned it to the original brandy bottles. We haven't sampled it yet because, well, it's only 8:45 in the morning and we have a long day ahead of us. We're planning on taking a bottle of this down to Bozeman with us for this weekend's Bobcat Football game against Idaho State. With highs for tomorrows game in single digits, I think a little warming from within thanks to apple brandy might be just the ticket!

What are some of your favorite ways to eat and enjoy apples?

Also, please click back to my previous post and check it out! I'm hoping to have a big post full of winter scene photos from readers on Monday, but it might be lame unless people like YOU submit a photo or two!  :)