Fall Family Fun With Apples

In light of my favorite season, Fall, I figured we could talk a bit about apples! So here are my favorite things to do with some lovely apples.

First and foremost, fresh apples! Yum. Nothing better than picking them fresh off the tree. If you can find a local apple orchard start there. If you don’t have time to do the whole experience of going through all the trees you can usually buy prepackaged ones from their farms. Our favorite apples are the Jonathon’s. They are tangy and sweet and nice and crisp! Often times apple farms will have other fun kid friendly activities for you and your family to enjoy.

Apples are great to bake with. Apple pie is the obvious answer on this one, however, don’t forget about apple cakes and apple crumbles! Apple crumble is generally very easy to make and consists of cut apples tossed in cinnamon and then topped with a crumble mixture and baked. Our favorite topping is a mixture of oatmeal, brown sugar, cinnamon and cold butter. Take those ingredients mix them together in a bowl until they are crumbly and the top on your apples and bake until everything is a nice golden brown! This is great to do for the family and very easy to do in a smaller serving!

Apple slices are an easy and kid friendly! Fancy them up with caramel sauce or peanut butter. These make a great diet healthy snack too! Make sure to take skins off or watch younger children as apple skins can often be harder to chew through.

Homemade apple sauce is another AMAZING (and easy) thing to do with apples. Peel and core your apples (as many or as little as you’d like- adjust cooking time) and then put them into your crock pot. Add cinnamon, either sticks or the already ground spice and a bit of lemon juice. Cook on low for 5-6 hours or until the apples are nice and mushy (this is for about 8 large apples)! This also makes a GREAT baby food (just leave out the cinnamon! No more wondering what’s going into baby’s tummy!). Also a great way to save on buying apple sauce for lunch- simply package the cooked applesauce into reusable containers and send in a lunch box!

Make your own caramel apples! Have your kids help on this one. You can buy kits that have the caramel ready to use on apples or you can be super adventurous and make your own. Let your kids decorate the apples with whatever toppings they like! Sprinkles, nuts and M&M’s are our favorites! Although this one isn’t as healthy of an idea, it’s fun none the less!

What’s you and your kiddos favorite apple time fun?