Granny Smith/ Crockpot apples

It seems that Macintosh is the apple scent du jour lately as it has shown up in all types of blends and crazy combos in the wax melt world. From mac apple and lavender, to mac apple with anything from bacon, to lollipops to chlorine! In my experience, mac apple tends to dominate nearly anything else no matter what it’s blended with, so I prefer a classic Granny Smith apple fragrance instead. This is opposed to the actual fruit, in which case I’ll take a red gala or honey crisp over a green apple any day.

Green apple melts from Moonbeams Wax, Sonoma (Kohl’s), Southern Sisters Wax & Yankee Candle

I have a surprising amount of green apple scents in my collection right now from one of my timeless faves, Granny Smith, to the trendy blend of Green Apple and Kale from Sonoma brand, which I found on clearance at Kohl’s. So I guess green apple isn’t immune to off-the-wall blends, either.

You know I’m ready for some football with this illumilid by Yankee

I’ve been hoarding this retired Granny Smith candle since last November, and now our Fall Fun theme provides a perfect excuse to light it and finally discover the answer to the question: how bout them apples?

Fragrance: All the characteristics of a real granny smith apple. Notes of tart green apple with a lesser note of sweetness from juicy pear. A light touch of apple blossom softens the scent so it isn’t overly tart. It’s fruity of course, but contains a refreshing clean aroma, too.

Performance: My first use of this candle, I’ve previously only found the scent in tarts, didn’t get off to a stellar start.

Thanks for lending me your wreath, Mom! I took it right off the back door.

3 hour initial burn resulted in an incomplete liquid wax pool and not much throw to speak of. The wick looked slightly off-center causing the forming wax pool to be deeper at one end and shallower in the other. I didn’t notice this unevenness until I snuffed it out. However, I did notice that I could only smell it when the central air kicked on, so I thought it was going to be an extremely temperamental candle.

Second day, second burn*, better result. Moved Granny Smith into the kitchen and let it go for several hours. A beautifully fragrant apple aroma filled the room. Tangy but never too tart, I actually experienced a mouthwatering sensation with this scent that I have to say might be a first!

Recommendation: If you can pick this retired gem up, most likely from a Yankee outlet, I certainly recommend doing so. It may not make it back into the stores/website soon since it was a treasure released last year, in wax tarts too! Forbidden Apple is the new limited Halloween version, but it has mahogany cologne notes added.

*I have a theory about the reason Yankee’s seem to perform better on the second burn. It might be that the oils are mixed in most of the way up the jar, but the wax is topped off without fragrance to get the jars to a level above the neck. Just a theory, but it would explain why I routinely get better performance from the small tumblers on first burn, but the jars on second and third burns. Hmm…

Crock-pot Baked Apples

The weather has finally broken to the upper 70s round these parts, football season has started, I’ve busted out both of my crock-pots, and I’m just now getting into a fall mood. Why is this great news? Because the fourth post in this fall blog series calls for an apple recipe, there’s no turning back the seasons now.

*Disclaimer* I love to cook, but I am no baker by any stretch of the definition. If you’ve come looking for a homemade apple pie or cake recipe, I’m sorry, you won’t find it here, but I’m sure one of the other Fall Fun bloggers will come through with a legit dessert. Meanwhile, I’ve always wanted to try this baked apple recipe and when I found a crock-pot version I knew it was the way to go.

Recipe adapted from The Frugal Girls

The recipe that I used lists almost all of these ingredients plus a 1/2 stick of butter which I forgot to include in the photo until after I peeled the apples. I’m such a blog recipe noob! I added the walnuts, dried cranberries and nutmeg because I like them and use them in my granola, so I know they add excellent flavor.

The coring process

 

The recipe called for gala apples, but the galas my grocery store carried were too tiny to stuff. The biggest and best were these pink lady apples.

An apple corer would have been helpful here, but all I had was a peeler. I scooped out more apple flesh and widened the tunnel after coring because, room for more filling, of course. By the third apple I had perfected my technique. You can use a sharp knife instead, just watch those fingers everybody.

Then, mix up the sugar/spices mixture with a generous pinch of nutmeg. Pour water into the crock-pot, add the apples and fill em up. These held more filling than I thought they would, at first. The water around the bottom keeps them from burning and results in apples baked in a fruity juice marinade.

 

There’s the butter, see I remembered.

Apples are in, filled with the sugar/spice/oats and given extra goodies with a tablespoon of dried cranberries and walnuts on top. Don’t forget to pat with butter.

Almost 4 hours later and my house smells divine. A yummy mix of tart, sweet, baked, fresh, red and green apples. Much thanks to Julie at The Redolent Mermaid for this blog series prompt, I enjoyed it so much!

Ingredients:

• 5 – 7 Gala Apples {depending on the size of your Crockpot}
• ½ cup Quaker Old Fashioned Oats
• ½ cup Brown Sugar
• 3 tsp. Cinnamon
• 1 tsp. Allspice
• ½ stick Butter

Recipe Instructions:

1. Gather ingredients.
2. Carefully core apples using a sharp knife or apple corer.
3. Then using the edge of knife, peel off approx. ½ inch of peel around the top.
4. Mix together Oats, Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, and Allspice.
5. Pour ¼ cup water in bottom of Crockpot.
6. Arrange cored apples in Crockpot.
7. Fill each apple with Oats/Sugar/Spice mixture. Pushing extra filling down inside using a spoon.
8. Top each apple with optional toppings and a pat of butter.
9. Cook on HIGH 3 – 4 hours, or until done. ENJOY!

Who wouldn’t drizzle salted caramel sauce on top?

Alternate versions: Dress these up with caramel sauce, toasted pecans, or vanilla ice cream if you’re so inclined. I recently saw an oven-baked apple recipe on The Today Show (link below) that was topped with little rounds of pie dough, resulting in adorable individual apple pies. Maybe I’ll try that version next time, because I WILL be making these again.

Fall food hacks from The Today Show

Next up for the Fall Fun series bloggers will be a fall music highlight, what could that be about? Join us next weekend, *Sunday for the Candle Enthusiast* to find out!

-jaybird