Back from my travels / vacation and somehow it has dramatically become autumn here in New England. Not complaining as fall is my favorite season. And with that, it’s time for autumn flavors. And it’s Canadian Thanksgiving on Monday, so even more of an excuse to have these flavors. Maple. Cranberry. Pecan. These cookies *might* actually be healthy for you, though lots of sugar and butter. Not too sweet, very soft. Quite lovely. And perfect for fall.
So here we are on the day before I leave on vacation and I have half a dozen bananas that need eating. Or using. Or something. I suppose that I could just stick ’em in a ziplock bag and make banana bread later, but even though it is a wildly busy day, making banana bread was a bit of a creative outlet, so I stopped everything that I was doing and made this. Threw in some frozen cranberries too. Somewhat ironic that I am making something very autumn-ish on the last official day of summer, but whatever.
What makes you think of Middle Eastern food? For some reason (maybe not even close to being based in reality), plums, cardamom and pistachios all make me think of Middle Eastern cuisine. And I’ve been doing so much reading on Syria and Turkey and such that apparently I have those flavors on the mind. Clearly shortbread isn’t Middle Eastern though! These came out well though; a great combination.
Apple picking starts this weekend in my neck of the woods. I didn’t go, but that means that local apples are available, so when I found some local Honey Crisps, I decided to make this lovely apple cake. It’s not a *pie*, but a *cake*. Perfect for either breakfast coffee cake, or for afternoon tea. The spices are cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and just a touch of cardamom. PS: You don’t have to put the apple rings on the top… I just thought it would look nifty. Now I think it looks a little like octopus tentacles.
