23 in 2023: Try at least one new recipe -- Cherry Crisp

 Every August, the hubby and some of his officiating buddies get together for a fish fry. It is potluck style and one of the guys brought homemade cherry crisp made with Door County cherries. It was so amazing the pan was licked clean. I ended up getting some cherries when I went to see the fall colors back in October and wanted to make the cherry crisp. 

The hubby texted his buddy and we got the recipe via screenshot. Guys. I don't even know where they got the recipe to give credit where credit is due.

Since my cherries were already pitted, I drained the juice and added them to the sauce pan with the water and sugar. 

I used just the amount of sugar it called for. Because my cherries were already soft, I didn't have to cook them much once they started to boil. I just added the cornstarch and water and let cook until thickened.

To make the crust, I used my Ninja. Best thing ever to mix in butter. It makes it all crumbly. I'm glad the oatmeal was added after butter so I didn't pulverize the oatmeal too bad.

I added about a 2/3 of the mix to the bottom of my pan, added the cherries (which were not completely cooled), and added the rest of the mix to the top. I could have used a tad less on the bottom to have a little bit more on top. Live and learn.

I baked about 48 minutes. It could have gone the 50 minutes but I didn't want to get it too crisp.

It was a bit of mess to get out of the pan. Maybe it needed to cool more. Not really sure. Hopefully it will be better once it is cooled completely.

It was just as good as I remember. We definitely need to make a fall trip to Door County to get more cherries. Definitely a recipe worth saving and sharing. 

20 in 20 -- Make a new dessert

At work we were having a cultural dessert day and I decided I'd bring something German. Many German recipes are apple or plum based. I had an apple cake recipe that I could use but it required 2 cups of apples. I wasn't in the mood to peel and chop that many apples.

I searched Google and Pinterest for a week or so. I enlisted Stacy's help. She actually gave me a few good suggestions. One that I was contemplating making. Then I found the perfect recipe for Apfelkunchen. It was a basic butter cake recipe topped with apples.. 5 or 6 ingredients in all and the best part it called for 1 apple.

The only problem is that it's not apple season in Wisconsin. I picked up a couple galas because they were on sale. I usually bake with Macintosh.

This was probably one of the easiest cake recipes I made. Cream butter and sugar. Add a couple eggs. Add the flour and baking powder. Spread in springform pan. Peel and slice the apple then press into cake. Bake. Sprinkle with powder sugar. Eat.

Everyone at work said it was really good. It was the perfect texture. I would bake it just a tad bit less because the crust got crispy but it was it was very tasty. I thought it needed more apple flavor and maybe that's what I get for using Galas. Only 2 tiny pieces remained after I took home two pieces.

The hubby on the other hand wasn't overly impressed. He did say it was clearly a German dessert as it was blander than most apple cakes. He would try it again if I make it with Macintosh.

I'm hoping the Macintosh apples make a difference since it's such a simple cake. I was told it looked fancy all sprinkled with powder sugar. It would be perfect for a brunch or tea party.