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Sweet Snacks

Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts with Sea Salt Caramel Glaze

The weather is definitely turning autumnish and we’re even expecting a Nor’easter here in Southern New England today and for the new 36 hours (remember: a nor’easter is not an indicators of snow; merely a strong wind event with the wind coming from an atypical wind directions … but I digress). So I went to the apple orchard one last time for the season yesterday which inspired me to make apple cider donuts today. And I have to say (no offense to the folks at Russell Orchards, mine were better. Here’s recipe:

And before I get a lot of questions again about “what is apple butter”, it has nothing to do with butter. It’s a old fashioned word for jam or a spread. You can buy it in the shops (not all of them, but I got this in a regular store), but if you can’t find it, take 3/4 cup apple sauce over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring all the time to drive off any additional liquid. It will darken in color to almost mahogany, become thicker and after 10 minutes, you should have the 1/2 cup that you need. Stir frequently otherwise it will scorch.

12. October 2025

Desserts, Sweet Snacks

Crab Apple Cranberry Honey Pie

It may not be apple pie season yet for some people, but it has turned to autumn, I did just recently go apple picking and what the heck, I was in the mood. So I came up with this unusual pie with tiny crab apples, cranberries from the freezer and honey. Great, rustic combination. It is a little on the tart side, even though the crab apples were of the sweet variety and the honey but the cranberries tarted it up some. Might be a good Thanksgiving Pie so bookmark for later if you are so inclined.

24. September 2025

Breads, Breakfast/Brunch, Sweet Snacks

Banana Cinnamon Swirls

Like so many others, during the pandemic, I started making banana bread because all of a sudden, my eating and shopping activities were out of whack. I always seemed to have an extra banana or three. So after far too many loaves and variations, five years later, I decided to try something new: Banana Cinnamon Rolls. Sweet, light brioche dough, banana brown sugar and cinnamon filling. Walnuts, though those could be optional if you don’t like them or are allergic to nuts. Huge success. These will definitely be going on the “extra banana rotation”.

21. September 2025

Breakfast/Brunch, Sweet Snacks

Peach Currant Crumble Top Muffins

It’s a rainy Sunday morning here in Greater Boston, and I had fully intended to go on a “Kat-adventure” today (aka a mini-road trip), but it’s too yucky for that. I don’t mind the rain, but it’s really coming down. So instead I looked through the stuff” in my kitchen and realized there was a peach that was overly ripe and needed eating, and some frozen red currant that wouldn’t be enough for most recipes, so I combined the two. This is a pretty standard muffin recipe, so swap out the fruit berries for anything that you like, as long as it totals 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups.

7. September 2025

Desserts, Sweet Snacks

Lemon Dream Streusel Bars

As you all know, I am the queen of “bars” — any variation and combination, I’m up for it. These are a little different than my usual fruit bars though, as I use condensed milk, which gives them almost a cheesecake like quality; very light and creamy and lemony. You can never have too much lemon in my opinion. These wouldn’t have made a good giveaway though as they are too creamy for mailing. Nevertheless, I did give them away to some friends locally who googled them up this week. Would make a great addition to a potluck dessert table.

29. August 2025

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