Tasty Tuesday- 11/08/16: Apple Cider

While pumpkin spice is wonderful and conjures thoughts of Fall, for me Apple Cider does the trick. Living in Florida, it is certainly easy to forget that Fall is in fact here.  I grew up in Illinois where Autumn was ushered in with colorful autumn leaves and cool air to signify that Fall had arrived.

As a kid, Apple Cider was for drinking.  As an adult, I still drink it (and I enjoy the adult versions of it too!) but I have come to appreciate its many uses in cooking and baking all through out the year!

While I do not miss the cold weather of Illinois, I do miss apple cider donuts!  I have trolled recipes but I have yet to try to make any….yet.  This is a recipe I have been itching to try!

Photo & Recipe Source: King Arthur Flour

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two standard doughnut pans. If you don’t have doughnut pans, you can bake these in a standard muffin tin; they just won’t be doughnuts.
2. Beat together the oil, eggs, sugar, applesauce, orange juice, boiled cider, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder until smooth. 
3. Add the flour, stirring just until smooth. 
4. Fill the wells of the doughnut pans nearly to the rim; use about 1/4 cup of batter in each well. If you’re making muffins, fill each well about 3/4 full; the recipe makes about 15, so you’ll need to bake in two batches (unless you have two muffin pans). 
5. Bake the doughnuts for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean. If you’re making muffins, they’ll need to bake for 23 to 25 minutes. 
6. Remove the doughnuts from the oven, and loosen their edges. After about 5 minutes, transfer them to a rack. 
7. While the doughnuts are still warm (but no longer fragile), gently shake them, 1 or 2 at a time, in a bag with the cinnamon-sugar. If you’ve made muffins, sprinkle their tops with sugar. Allow the doughnuts or muffins to cool completely before glazing.
8. To make the glaze: Mix together all of the glaze ingredients, stirring until smooth. 
9. Spread the doughnuts with glaze (or dip tops in glaze); return to the rack until the glaze is set.

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Now that I distracted you with donuts, I suppose you may be wondering : What is the difference between Apple Cider and Apple Juice?  I am glad that you asked!

While both apple cider and apple juice are fruit beverages made from apples,  

there is a difference between the two.

Apple cider is raw apple juice that has not undergone a filtration process to remove coarse particles of pulp or sediment. It takes about one third of a bushel to make a gallon of cider.

Apple juice is juice that has been filtered to remove solids and pasteurized so that it will stay fresh longer. Vacuum sealing and additional filtering extend the shelf life of the juice. 

What about Apple cider as opposed to apple cider vinegar and plain vinegar?

So, as you now know apple cider is the drinkable juice from pressed apples and while plain vinegar is made from a sugar water, often grape juice, and yeast,  apple cider vinegar uses apple cider as a base.

Curious about the benefits and uses of Apple Vinegar? 

Excellent! We will get to work on another blog post for you on that!

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When it comes to using Apple Cider in cooking, I am particularly fond of using Pork though Chicken and Turkey is wonderful as well.  The aroma from the cider and the meat, especially when using a slow cooker is divine!

While I enjoy a nicely chilled glass of apple cider, another way to enjoy the aroma of cider is to enjoy a hot cup of spiced cider.  Adding the cider to your slow cooker along with some cinnamon sticks and if you wish, some fresh sliced apples and oranges will envelop you in a warm spicy hug!  Just for fun: add some spiced rum and or some caramel sauce!

Yours In Wellness,

Dawn