Fall is absolutely our favorite season and we look forward to it all year. We love the weather, the food, the football, but mostly, we love our Fall traditions. Apple picking has been a tradition of ours since 2014 (see previous posts from 2015, 2016, and 2017!) Every year we go to an orchard to pick apples and then spend the next few weeks drinking apple cider, baking an apple recipe (or two!), and cuddling up by the fire.
On Saturday we went out to Deardorff Orchards in Waconia for our annual apple picking trip. We had never been to Deardorff Orchards before, but are always open to trying out new places. Turns out, this is our favorite orchard we have ever been to! There were a lot of activities for both kids and adults, it’s dog-friendly, they serve wine (!) and they don’t charge admission (warning for if you go out to Minnetonka Orchards!)
As I mentioned, one of the best parts about Deardorff was the wine! Not only do they have delicious wine , but they actually encourage you to take it with you to go pick. Most of the apple pickers would get a glass of wine, hop on the tractor, and then sip wine while riding out to the orchards. We had Ella with us (of course), so we did not attempt the tractor ride. But this meant that we had to walk out to the orchard. The walk was actually very delightful and it was made even better by the glass of wine (as you can imagine!)
I don’t really know if you’re supposed to eat the apples while picking, but they said the Sweet Sixteen apples are best right off the vine. You don’t have to tell me twice!
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Tony loves apples and will eat them constantly after we pick a bunch at the orchard. Me? I love to bake the apples and use them in a bunch of different recipes! My favorite apple recipe is this healthy (or healthier I should say) apple crisp. You get all the same fall flavors as an apple crisp, but not quite as much guilt! Recipe is below!
A (Slightly) Healthier Apple Crisp
I got the original recipe from Skinny Points but have modified it slightly. You can really modify this recipe as much as you want, making it even lighter (or not!) Skinny Points has the nutritional information if that interests you.
Ingredients:
- 3 medium (or 5 small) apples, cored and sliced thin (note: if you’re picking apples in Minnesota, they are pretty small. I used 5 when I did this recipe).
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp flour
Topping:
- 1 cup quick oats
- 1 tsp vanilla (optional)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp coconut oil or butter
- Coconut oil spray
Directions:
- Mix first four ingredients and place into 9-inch (square or round) baking dish.
- In small bowl, mix topping ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle topping over the apples.
- Spray top of apple crisp with the coconut oil spray to make it extra crispy on top.
- Bake at 325 degrees until apples are soft and topping is golden brown (about 30 minutes).
Too fun!! Love this post!!!
Well , all of them