Jenn McKinlay: What Autumn Means to Me!
I grew up in New England and autumn has been my favorite season all my life. There is just nothing like the feeling of crisp mornings after a long humid summer, or watching the leaves change into their gorgeous array of colors and then drop to the ground like nature's confetti. I just love love love it.
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Of course, this is also the season of apple picking, pumpkin patches, and trick o' treating. I mean, seriously, as a professional candy freak, what's not to love?
She (i.e. me) makes salted caramel sauce! Caramel is synonymous with autumn for me - probably because of my deep and abiding love for caramel apples - way more than pumpkin spice ever could be.
RECIPE:
1 cup granulated sugar
6 Tablespoons of unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Heat granulated sugar in a medium stainless steel saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Sugar will form clumps and eventually melt into a amber-brown liquid as you continue to stir. Be careful not to burn it.
Once sugar is completely melted, stir in the butter until melted and combined. If you notice the butter separating or if the sugar clumps, remove from heat and whisk to combine it again. Return to heat once it’s smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Then slowly add the heavy cream, stirring constantly.
Once the heavy cream has been fully incorporated, stop stirring and allow to boil for 1 minute. It will rise in the pan as it boils.
Remove from heat and stir in the salt. The caramel will be a thin liquid at this point. Allow to cool, so it will thicken, before using.
Leftover sauce can be stored for up to 1 month in the refrigerator. The sauce will solidify in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove to desired consistency.
Reds and Readers, what recipe means autumn to you?
For me, it's apple cider that signals fall has arrived . . . and that means it's time for an apple cider doughnut cake . . . .
ReplyDeleteDo you have a recipe for Apple cider doughnuts?
DeleteDoughnut cake?
DeleteJoan, we want the recipe for cider doughnut cake!
DeleteHere's the apple cider donut cake I made last year! https://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com/2023/12/apple-cider-donut-cake-christmas.html
DeleteI thought I remembered reading a recipe for it. Thanks, Roberta!
DeleteI was about to add the recipe this morning when our internet crashed. Sorry . . . .
DeleteLucy, your recipe sounds delicious . . . I'll definitely have to try it. The recipe below is the result of a lot of experimenting; this one is the closest as I’ve come to an apple cider doughnut:
APPLE CIDER DOUGHNUT CAKE
Cake
1-1/2 cups apple cider, reduced to 3/4 cup
1 box yellow cake mix
1 box (4-serving size) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix
1 tablespoon powdered milk crystals
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 eggs
1/2 cup apple butter
1/2 cup chunky applesauce
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon apple pie spice
Topping
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon apple pie spice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Steps
Reduce cider in heavy pan, boiling about ten minutes until reduced by half. Cool before adding to cake ingredients.
Heat oven to 350° F. Generously spray 12-cup fluted tube cake pan with baking spray with flour.
In large bowl, beat cake mix, pudding mix, powdered milk crystals, reduced apple cider, melted butter, eggs, applesauce, apple butter, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, and 1 teaspoon apple pie spice with electric mixer on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven. Let stand 20 minutes; if necessary, run metal spatula around outer and inside edges of pan to loosen cake. Remove from pan to cooling rack; place cooling rack over waxed paper.
Brush top and sides of cake with 3 tablespoons melted butter. In small bowl, mix sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon apple pie spice until blended. Press 2 tablespoons cinnamon mixture up side and over top of cake with hand. Let stand 20 minutes. Repeat with remaining cinnamon mixture. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
Store loosely covered at room temperature.
Ohhhhhh can someone bring me a piece? Xxx
DeleteOh, yum, I had apple cider donuts while I was visiting last fall - sooo good!
DeleteYes, and your own apple butter, too, if you make it. Also, if you want, you can leave the apple butter out and use one cup of applesauce, but you'll lose some of that apple cider flavor . . . .
DeleteApple cider and apple cider donuts
ReplyDeleteYum.
DeleteApple cider and pumpkin pie. Apple cider doughnuts if I can find a non dairy gluten free recipe. Some fall soups when the weather gets chilly.
ReplyDeleteI made pumpkin pie cheesecake this weekend. Just because.
DeleteI love caramel. In Brazil they would boil a can of sweetened condensed milk (in the can) for an hour or something and it magically turns into caramel! Sorry about your Phoenix fall, Jenn.
ReplyDeleteFall is lovely around here, and foodwise it means (my world famous) apple pie and a cider donut from Cider Hill Farm a mile away. Since the pandemic they only sell cider donuts pre-bagged, so the minimum you can buy is six. Tough work, but somebody's gotta do it!
Do they take mail orders for cider hill farms?
DeleteThey might! https://www.ciderhill.com/
DeleteApple pie and cherry pie are my faves! Oh, and peach. LOL.
DeleteFall means soup and it means stew. It means apple crisp instead of berries. It is my favorite season. But it is still pretty warm here and the leaves are just beginning to change color. Some things can't be rushed.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recipe for salted caramel. I love it.
My favorite season too, though I love the fruits of summer more! peaches, cantalope, blueberries
DeleteHow could I forget about soup! And homemade bread!
DeleteLucy, I love fresh fruit all year round and don't depend upon the season anymore, especially if I am baking with it.
DeleteKaren, I bake bread all the time, uear round. If you read the labels on any bread from any bakery or store, it will have many more chemicals than I put in mine. Even the challah for Rosh Hashana had 20 ingredients. My homemade challah has about 6.
Soup is still a few months out for me, I fear. *sigh*
DeleteSeckel pears and prune plums and macoun apples — love the NYTimes classic recipe for plum torte… easy elegance yumptiousness
ReplyDeleteI love Macouns! And if you ever get a chance to eat a Spartan apple, do. Late season and SO full of flavor.
DeleteOur recent favorite apple is Cosmic Crisp.
DeleteMine, too, Karen! — Pat S
DeleteI'm a honey crisp girl!
DeleteAs an October kid, fall has always been my favorite season: turning leaves, crisp mornings, Halloween, apples and caramel (YUM! to the recipe), hot spiced cider, warm sweaters and slippers, planting the garlic, and putting the garden to bed. Settling in for cozy evenings. Looking forward to the first time we light a fire in the fireplace.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Karen! Have a fun day! XXOO
DeleteAw, thanks, Judy! My 55th high school reunion is tonight. Looking forward to hanging out with a lot of other old people! LOL
DeleteYes, happy birthday, Karen!
DeleteHappy Birthday Month, Karen :)
DeleteTo me fall begins with the first bite of an early mac, sweet and tart, crisp and juicy!! Then on to cider and doughnuts!!
ReplyDeleteLove it!
DeleteFall is my favorite season. For food, I mostly think of soups and stews. The salted caramel sauce sounds so yummy!!
ReplyDeleteI'm ready for some stew!
DeleteYes to all the caramel and apple things in the fall. Pumpkin not so much for me. Fall also signals chili and cornbread in my mind.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many people choose when their birthday falls as their favorite time of year. July baby here and summer is my favorite. Good thing since I just moved from 40 years in Minnesota to Florida! When I become nostalgic for fall, I shall travel north.
Interesting. I'm a spring baby but love fall, then spring, winter and summer are tied since they're both extreme. LOL.
DeleteAutumn reminds me of Fall. Fall reminds me that I'm getting old and am not too steady on my feet. Falling reminds me of Mrs. Fletcher, who fell and couldn't get up. Mrs. Fletcher reminds me that I'm better off spending the entire season in bed with some good books and the electric blanket turned up to 9.
ReplyDeleteAre you happy now, Jenn? Thanks to your post I'll probably spend the next three months in bed, isolated from the rest of humanity.
Jerry, just make sure you have plenty of that carmel sauce and ice cream before you crawl in bed!
DeleteLOL, poor Jerry, that sounds truly awful...not!
DeleteYum yum yum! This reminds me of the caramel fudge my mom liked to make, Penuche. She never passed on her recipe, so I've tried out published versions over the years. It never tastes the same, although admittedly, that might be because I'm not nine years old anymore.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I just checked, Jenn, and I see you're under a heat alert for high temps reaching 106F/41C!!! I'm sorry i can't send some of Maine's beautiful, crisp air, brilliant blue sky, and gold and scarlet leaves your way...
We are under a heat advisory here too. It will be cooler today, only 105+. We have fall in December. The Carmel sauce looks really good!
DeleteI'm sorry, too, Julia! This is the summer without end, apparently.
DeleteFall is pumpkin soup and apple crisp!
ReplyDeletePat D
Excellent.
DeleteOh, that looks yummy, Jen. Definitely going to try it - on brownies - too cold for me for ice cream.
ReplyDeleteFall to me? Beef stew with cranberries. I'm waiting for the first frost to make it.
Beef stew with cranberries? You put cranberries in the stew? Does this require a recipe or do you just add cranberries (dried? Canned? So many questions!) to your regular beef stew recipe? — Pat S
DeleteI love the idea of fruit in beef stew. It sounds delicious. I may try it. Do you use spices like ginger or cinnamon when you put fruit in stew? My father loved it when I made brisket with prunes.
DeleteYes, I too would love the recipe for beef stew with cranberries. I've often wondered (maybe someone knows who has tried it) can you substitute chicken for the beef for those who don't eat beef.
DeleteOh, that sounds delicious!
DeleteAutumn is so NOT my season! For one thing, I start getting cold, and cannot warm up, no matter how many layers of clothing I’m wearing. The days are shorter, so I can’t go anywhere after dinner because I can’t see to drive. (Cataract surgeries helped me with a lot of things, but nighttime driving is not one of them.)
ReplyDeleteI drink hot drinks all year round, and I make soup all year round, so nothing changes there.
This year I decided that I would try to make a note of all the good things that are happening in my life right now, that do not pertain to the season. Later on, if/when I remember them, it’ll be happy memories of Fall Happenings! The first thing on my list is the fact that I met the new baby that lives a couple of doors away from me! She’s beautiful, and I hope I get to see lots more of her!
My relatives in North Carolina did not experience damage from Helene, even though parts of their town were affected.
This week I received the results of a medical test I had last week, and nothing was abnormal. We were able to rule out some disorders!
Last Saturday there was a “moving” music festival in my town, with groups playing at different homes around town. A whole bunch of them were right near me, so I didn’t even need to leave the house in order to hear the music!
I plan to continue recording “happy” events from Autumn in my journal!
DebRo
Deb, I think it's a great idea to make a journal around the good stuff. Right now my journals are about books I've read or listened to to remind me of the plots.
DeleteI know nighttime driving is not for you. I also find it more challenging than I ever did before. Both Irwin and I will eventually have to give it up.
What a great idea, Deb! Way to reframe it!
DeleteJenn, your recipe sounds delicious. Can you take the finished sauce and add it to other recipes to get say, salted caramel brownies? Certainly it will be a great topping. Thanks for sharing! — Pat S
ReplyDeleteI don't know - I guess I'll have to experiment. Not a hardship.
DeleteSo yummy! Apples—and here’s an easy “recipe”: core an apple—any kind works. Put it in a microwave safe container and then add sugar and cinnamon and raisins to the hollow core. Zap it, covered, for a minute—depends on the apple, just experiment —and YUM! You can put whipped cream or granola or use a different sweetener. It’s all the deliciousness of apple pie but ten thousand times easier!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love it. That is super easy and delish!
DeleteI love fall, too. The colors, the change in the light, and even the air feels different, as if settling down before winter. For me, food wise, hot spiced tea, a variety of soups, hot chestnuts.
ReplyDeleteThe caramel recipe does sound delicious -- I like caramel flavor -- but we don't eat a lot of sweets these days. An exception is black pudding cake (with molasses, not blood!), and hard sauce. But we save that for Christmas.
Oh, I love molasses. That sounds yummy!
DeleteI start making minestrone soup which incorporates my homegrown fresh garlic, rosemary, parsley, basil, and oregano and tastes so yummy! I just made a pot today!
ReplyDeleteI have a recipe for stuffed pumpkin that can be made for a group. It can be made with pork sausage or vegan. Lots of steps so I need a good reason to make it. It is impressive when you put a roasted pumpkin on the table and start spooning our dinner.
ReplyDeleteLove those recipes. I feel your pain as I lived in the northeast before moving to Florida. Every fall I make pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and mini loaves. It’s a tradition my daughters, now adults, look forward to. I bake periodically until Christmas when I switch to holiday cookies. I’m grateful for pumpkin spice and apple anything this time of year. 🎃
ReplyDeleteMy comments disappeared. Boo!
ReplyDeleteI love Fall and I love caramel. The sauce sounds fantastic, Jenn! For me, the recipe that signals the start of Fall is pumpkin bread. I made my first batch last week. 1 loaf for us and 8 mini loaves for my sister to take to her coworkers for their staff work day. It’s one of my family’s very favorite things.
ReplyDeleteOf course I have some Fall cakes as well. Pumpkin with Cream Cheese Frosting, Maple with a Maple Buttercream, Apple with Brown Sugar Buttercream.
Yummy recipes here! Thank you to all.
ReplyDelete