Indulge in this recipe for Apple Crepes with Hot Cranberry Sauce

If you thought our last pancake recipe from By the Side of the Road Inn & Cottages was good, wait until you try these apple crepes with hot cranberry sauce! You’ll never want to go back to cold cereal and milk again.

Ingredients – Crepes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 cup milk
2 eggs
3 Tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt
Ingredients – Apple Filling
6 fresh tart apples — peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 to 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar (depending on variety of apple used)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
2 Tablespoons lemon juice with freshly grated zest
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
Ingredients – Hot Cranberry Syrup
1 cup white sugar
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups cold water
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 or 2 drops red food coloring (optional)

Crepes: Sift together flour and sugar in a small bowl. Combine remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add dry mixture and beat until smooth. Lightly grease a 6-inch non-stick skillet over medium/high heat. Coat the bottom with about 3 Tablespoons of batter, spreading to cover the bottom of the skillet. Cook until crepe is lightly brown; flip and quickly brown the other side. Stack between layers of parchment or waxed paper until all crepes are cooked. Makes a dozen.

Apple Filling: Prepare the apples and place in a large bowl. Combine the sugar and spice with the cornstarch and sprinkle over the apples. Coat the fruit well. Melt the butter over a medium flame/heat and add the apple mixture. Saute several minutes until juices emerge, lower flame/heat, and continue to simmer until apples are “tender crisp” — maybe 5 minutes more (again, depending on the variety used). Turn off flame/heat, cover apples, and hold warm.

Hot Cranberry Syrup: Combine sugar with cornstarch and mix well. Add cold water and stir over medium flame/heat until sugar begins to dissolve. Add cranberries and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to a low boil and continue cooking as cranberries begins to burst and mixture thickens nicely, approximately 5 to 7 minutes more. Add 1 or 2 drops of red food coloring if the cranberries haven’t provided enough color.

To serve: Fill each crepe with 2 to 3 spoonfuls of warm apple filling, fold to center, adorn with beautiful red cranberry syrup, and garnish with a sprig of edible greenery. Eat and enjoy!

crepe

Originally published here.


Stonewall Jackson Inn’s Blueberry Muffins

This recipe is taken from the Virginia Bed & Breakfast Cookbook published by the Bed and Breakfast Association of Virginia.

“This great muffin recipe was created for the Stonewall Jackson Inn by my best friend and next-door neighbor, Mary. Her secret lies in mashing part of the blueberries then blending them in the batter and sprinkling the tops with sugared nutmeg before baking. They are easy to make, and they keep well. There is no more lovely fragrance at the Inn than these heavenly muffins baking in the morning. Be prepared for everyone eating two of these delicious muffin treats.” –Innkeeper

1/2 cup (one stick) butter at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar, less if the berries are sweetly ripe

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups fresh blueberries, divided

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup milk

1 Tbsp sugar mixed with 1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease a 16-cup muffin pan or use foil baking cups. In a medium-sized bowl, beat butter until creamy, then beat in the sugar until pale and fluffy; beat in the eggs (one at a time), then the vanilla, baking powder and salt. Mash 1/2 cup of the berries with a fork and blend them into the batter.

Fold in half of the flour with a spatula, then half the milk, then the other half of the flour, then the rest of the milk, then the 1 1/2 cups of whole berries. Scoop the batter into muffin cups and sprinkle with the sugar/nutmeg mixture. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Cool muffins on wire rack for 30 minutes before removing from pan. Watch the admiration and delight on the faces of your family and friends when they take the first bite!

Recipe by Stonewall Jackson Inn, Harrisonburg, VA

blueberry muffin

Photo by Mary St.Germain-Brown