I love this time of year, Harvest Time . . . when we are finished with all of the summer food and digging into Autumn goodies. Delicious things made using root vegetables and orchard fruits. Delicious things like these Apple Jack Cookies I am sharing with you today!
Apple Jack is a type of cider that was popular during the American Colonial age. The only thing these cookies have in common with them is the name and apples. There is no cider in these cookies!
Think of your favorite chocolate chip cookie . . . crisp edged . . . buttery and chewy almost caramel like in the centres . . .
Now take away the chocolate chips and replace them with bits of sweet eating apple . . .
My Cookie Jar approves of these! Don't you just love this cookie jar. Its an old McCoy cookie jar from the 1940's. I bought it at a yard sale many moons ago. I also had a Cowboy pig one, but he broke when I moved him over here to the UK. She's not worth anything to anyone but me. She holds a bazillion cookie recipes from whoever had her in the beginning on up to myself . . . and all the many dozens of cookies I stored in her when I had a large family to bake for. She is the epitome of a mother's love for her children, so I guess that makes her pretty priceless to me!
Anyways, back to the cookies. They are a simple brown sugar butter cookie . . . the brown sugar makes them chewy, almost brownie-like . . . the butter gives them lovely crisp edges.
The brown sugar also gives them an almost caramel-flavour which goes really well with the apple chunks. I was sorely tempted to add some raisins and chopped walnuts to these, but I thought would be a purist this time and just have apples in them.
But you could certainly add the other things if you wanted to. They could be a kind of a jumble cookie with those additions. You could call them Apple Jumbles.
There is a hint of spice in these . . . nutmeg. I always freshly grate my nutmeg. I use my fine micro plane grater to do that. Works a charm.
I adore nutmeg, don't you? It has a flavor that goes very well with anything autumn . . .
With apples and sweet potatoes and pumpkins . . . and carrots. I always add a touch of freshly grated nutmeg to my steamed carrots along with a knob of butter, a pinch of sugar and a bit of salt and pepper. Everyone always loves my carrots when I serve them. Nutmeg is my secret.
Or should I say was my secret, now that I have shared it with all of you . . . and I really hope you try it.
Just like I hope you will bake these lovely pig approved cookies . . . they are truly delicious!
So delicious in fact that you might actually make a pig of yourself eating them! Bet you can't eat just one!!!
Yield: Approximately 2 dozenAuthor: Marie Rayner
Apple Jack Cookies
prep time: 10 minscook time: 10 minstotal time: 20 minsThink of your favorite chocolate chip cookie, chewy and slightly caramel like, but stuffed with chunks of apple instead of chocolate chips. Moreish!ingredients:
200g soft light brown sugar (1 cup)110g white vegetable shortening (1/2 cup)1 large free range egg210g plain flour (1 1/2 cup)1 tsp ground nutmeg1/2 tsp salt1/2 tsp baking soda1 medium eating apple, choppedinstructions:
Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Line several baking sheets with non stick baking paper. Set aside.
Cream
together the brown sugar and shortening until light and fluffy. Beat
in the egg. Stir in the nutmeg, salt and soda, until well combined.
Stir in the flour until well combined. Stir in the apple pieces. Roll
into 1 inch balls and then place onto the baking sheets, leaving 2
inches in between each.
Bake for 8 to 10
minutes until light brown. Leave on baking sheet for several minutes
before scooping off onto a wire rack to cool completely. Store in a
loosely covered container.Created using The Recipes Generator
I got the recipe for these cookies from the same supermarket booklet that I got the cake from yesterday. They seemed very Autumnal and Thanksgiving-ee to me. I hope they will appeal to you as well! Bon Appetite and Happy Autumn!
Note - for the crispness these are best eaten on the day, however a day later they settle into a very moreish fudginess, probably due to the apple bits.
