I’ve got creative ideas for cooking with apples in autumn:

1.  Apple and Walnut Cake

I’m enchanted by the idea of Nigella Lawson’s Apple and Walnut Cake from How to be a Domestic Goddess. The combination of bitter walnut and sweet apple seems perfect for autumn. Nigella suggests the cake is even better the next day, as the flavor of walnut oil and rum raisins marinate. Thank you, Nigella. Another comforting recipe from the queen of pleasure.

2.  Grown-up Applesauce

In his book, How to Pick a Peach, Russ Parsons shares a recipe for Applesauce with Bourbon, Sour Cherries and Hazelnuts that is the perfect companion to pork, either grilled or slow-roasted. Soak dried sour cherries in bourbon while you cook diced apples in boiling water. Mash the apples and stir in butter, bourbon soaked cherries, and chopped hazelnuts. Being a grown-up is awesome, no?

3.  Baked Apples

In River Cottage Every Day, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall writes, “A perfect baked apple is one of the truly great desserts.” He uses apples like Golden Delicious and Winesap because baking apples like Granny Smith don’t hold up well to this type of cooking. Dried fruit is soaked in apple brandy, then mixed with butter, lemon zest, cinnamon, and dark brown sugar and stuffed inside the hollowed out apple. After an hour in the oven you’ve got a soft, deliciously-spiced apple begging to be served with vanilla ice cream.

4.  Apple Rabbit Compote

Laura Calder’s Apple Rabbit Compote is a rustic terrine packed into little pots that pairs perfectly with country bread and a green salad. The recipe in her book, French Food at Home, calls for rabbit to be broken down and seared in a hot pan, then coated with honey and cider. Onions, garlic, celery, Granny Smith apples, ginger, and herbs are added to the rabbit meat and the whole thing is baked until the meat falls from the bone. Once cooked the meat is shredded and packed with the rest of the ingredients into little pots. Lovely!

5.  Apples in Salad

I have a bit of an obsession with English cookbooks…from Nigel Slater to Nigella Lawson, London River Cafe to River Cottage. My most recent discovery is Moro East by the Clarks, a husband and wife who own and run Moro restaurant in London. Their cooking is inspired by the flavors and techniques of the Mediterranean, especially influenced by Spain and the Middle East. I was instantly drawn to their recipe for Smoked Duck Breast with Apples, Walnuts, and Chicory, which seems a fitting fall salad and a satisfying meal. Bitter endive and curly frisée pair nicely with crisp, juicy apples and rich, gamey duck.

6.  Savory Apple Soup

The recipe for Curried Apple Soup in Martha Stewart’s New Classics immediately caught my eye. It sounds like a great way to wake up your palate at the start of the meal. The soup is made with shallots, ginger, curry powder, Granny Smith apples, potato, and chicken stock. In the end it’s puréed and served with a dollop of sour cream. Serve this at your next gathering and see what happens! Chef Eric Skokan of the Black Cat Restaurant used to do  Apple and Lovage Soup as a starter that was also delicious. Lovage is a leafy herb with a flavor similar to celery that pairs well with apples and a hint of cream.

7.  Apple Butter

Smooth and velvety, spiced apple butter is a true luxury. Thomas Keller includes a recipe for Slow-Cooker Apple Butter in Ad Hoc at Home that is delicious served over pancakes or on toast. He uses Gravenstein and Pink Lady apples, flavoring the butter with champagne vinegar, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. This is the perfect recipe to make on a lazy Saturday, just give it a stir every hour and then puree in a food mill once it’s cooked. The butter is a great way to preserve an excess of apples as it keeps for about a month in the fridge.

8.  Pork Shoulder Braised in Cider

Pork and apples is a beautiful combination. I think it’s a case of what grows together goes together. The happiest pigs are raised on open land where they can forage for all sorts of things, like fallen apples. Cooking in the Moment, a book about cooking with ingredients from the farmers markets, shares an autumnal recipe for Hard Cider-Braised Pork Shoulder. Andrea Reusing studs a boneless pork shoulder with garlic and then caramelizes it all over in a hot pan. Then she adds onion, carrot, and tart apple, sautéeing the ingredients to develop the flavors. The mixture is simmered in hard apple cider and non-alcoholic cider for several hours until the pork is tender.

9.  Caramel Apples

An apple on a stick coated in shiny, sticky caramel could be the mascot for fall. Caramel apples are festive and remind us of the joy of being a kid. Look to Elisabeth M. Prueitt’s version in the Tartine cookbook for a classic take on this dessert. I think she’s a genius for suggesting extra candied apples be cut up, sautéed, and served over bread pudding, French toast, or a simple scoop of ice cream. Ashley Rodriguez, the woman behind the blog Not Without Salt, recently shared a sophisticated version called Honey Cardamom Caramel for apples or pears on her site.

10.  Roasted Lamb with Apple Aioli

My latest cookbook discovery is Plenty, by Diana Henry. It’s a gem I picked up at the public library, full of simple recipes based on stellar seasonal ingredients and the photos (by Jonathan Lovekin) are quite inspiring as well. Diana Henry’s recipe for Roast Lamb Shoulder with Lima Beans, Spinach, and Apple Aioli is comfort food with a Catalan twist. The apple aioli contains no egg yolks. It is made but cooking apples until tender and crushing them into a purée with garlic and olive oil. I think her recipe holds the element of surprise, which so many of us are missing in the kitchen. Why not give it a try?

What is your favorite way to cook with apples? Let me know in the comments section. Click Here.