Recipe Background
Always Fried Apples offer nostalgic comfort with buttery, spiced sweetness.
The first time I whipped up Always Fried Apples was during the absolute whirlwind of moving back into my childhood home. My parents had decided to take a well-deserved cruise, and they handed me the keys to the kingdom (also known as the family house) for the next week. The familiar surroundings were both comforting and slightly unnerving as I realized I hadn't yet put together a decent meal amidst the unpacked chaos. Browsing through my mom’s cookbook collection, I stumbled upon a recipe for fried apples. It felt like the perfect warm hug I needed from my past. With a stash of Honeycrisp apples from the local farmer's market, I decided to give it a go.
The first step involved tossing those crisp apples with a generous spoonful of cinnamon and sugar—a combination destined to bring cheer. There's a certain satisfaction in knowing that the gentle sweetness will meld perfectly with the tang of lemon juice. I even found a bottle of vanilla extract that seemed to call, adding a lush fragrance to the mix. A slow cooker became my unexpected ally, allowing the apples to simmer in buttery magic while I nostalgically flipped through old photo albums. A practical tip I learned from my mom: always use a touch of lemon juice to balance the sweet with a hint of zing. It’s this tiny secret that makes all the difference.
Sitting by the window while the nostalgic aroma filled the house, I realized that maybe moving back home wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Slicing into those tender, caramelized apples felt like reclaiming a little piece of childhood wonder. Served with a garnish of extra apple slices for a fresh crunch, each bite became a sweet reunion of memories. The saying goes, you can't go home again, but sometimes you can cook up a taste that’s pretty darn close.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds Honeycrisp apples peeled and sliced, plus more, to taste, for garnish
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Directions
- In a slow cooker, add 3 pounds of the sliced Honeycrisp apples, the cornstarch, the brown sugar, the granulated sugar, the cinnamon, the vanilla, the butter, and the lemon juice and mix until the apples are well-coated.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on high until the apples are tender, about 2 hours.
- Garnish with the extra freshly sliced apples and serve.
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