Delicious Apple Turnovers

Disclosure- I received the mentioned product courtesy of the sponsor for the the purpose of this review. All opinions are genuine, based on my experience with the product, and have not been influenced by promotional items.

Fall is definitely upon us with the drizzling rain and chilly days. This is the time of year that I get the most use out of my oven. There's just something comforting about baking when the skies are gray and the oven is putting off a little extra heat into the home. I wasn't going to share another apple recipe this season, but this Apple Turnover recipe from Golden Blossom Honey kept calling out to me this week and I simply couldn't resist baking up a batch to share with you all.

 

 

I don't normally make these kinds of recipes on weekdays since it does take longer than I'm willing to invest Monday through Friday, but after several days of rain, I was craving something warm and sweet while curled up in a blanket with my book. This is a great weekend breakfast idea, but I've been returning to my stash time and time again all week when I need a little pick-me-up. What's the good of fall if you can't enjoy its flavors as much as possible throughout the season?

Ingredients

Dough:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cake flour
2 teaspoons sugar
12 Tablespoons cold butter, cut into chunks
4 ounces cold cream cheese, cut into small pieces
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
3-4 Tablespoons ice water
Filling:
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
3 large Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1/2 cup apple juice
2 Tablespoons GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 cup applesauce
2 Tablespoons golden raisins
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

 

CLICK HERE FOR FULL RECIPE

 

You can find this recipe, as well as many more delicious recipes right on the Golden Blossom Honey recipe page! Be sure to follow Golden Blossom Honey on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on new products and promotions.

If you like this recipe, be sure to come back every Friday, where I feature a new recipe from Golden Blossom Honey!

 

 

Different kind of question today, but what are you reading this fall? I need some good book suggestions to get me through the season!

Strolling Through Salem, MA

One thing I have had on my travel buck list for quite some time is visiting Salem, MA during the Halloween season. But, since we've always had to travel around the girl's school schedule, I had to make concessions and put it on my summer travel itinerary last July. Which was fine. It was still quite the experience wandering through a city with so much history attached, but I still think it would be cool to go in October some day. Anyhow, our hotel was located in Boston, so we decided instead of Ubering in, we'd take the train since it would have been less than an hour to get us there that way and a lot cheaper. We weren't sure how much time we'd need to walk the city, but we only allotted 1/2 a day to cram in what we could. We decided to hit up the town square area first since there is quite a bit to see in such a small area. If you're into witchy types of things, the amount of stores to browse will tie up most of your day. And there are quite a few photo props to keep the kids annoyed at mom who will most definitely usher her kids over for a pic.

Walking through the square I spied a huge Bewitched statue and couldn't resist striking a pose with Samantha.

My friend Robin over at massholemommy.com told me that I absolutely needed to visit the old cemetery located in the town center. It was definitely interesting to walk through and quite sad at the same time. We noticed fresh flowers left behind on many of the old graves and markers. 

It didn't take us very long to see all we wanted to see in the town square area, so we decided to take the streets by foot and check out all of the old houses and buildings.

We waffled on going in, but eventually decided to pass on visiting the Salem Witch Museum. But, the building was still pretty cool to look at.

 

It was another super hot day, so before heading back to board our train, we stopped at Melt for some refreshing treats.

We talked about maybe driving back up for a weekend in October, but once Covid hit we decided that it wouldn't be worth it this year. Fingers crossed we can stomp this virus nonsense into the ground because I really want to participate in the Salem Halloween festivities once in my lifetime! All in all though, it was still a fun little spot to visit. There are quite a few informational tours you can go on, but we were mainly interested in just scoping out the scenery that day. If you're into history, Salem is definitely full of cool spots to learn about some of the dark times people suffered though in US history. 

Have you been to Salem, MA? If so, what was your favorite part of your visit? If not, what would you be most interested in seeing there?

Crushed Toffee Pumpkin Roll

Disclosure- I received the mentioned product courtesy of the sponsor for the the purpose of this review. All opinions are genuine, based on my experience with the product, and have not been influenced by promotional items.

 

 

Here we are, halfway through October and my best friend and I were just talking about how we haven't even made any pumpkin desserts yet this season. In all fairness, I've been on more of an apple kick anyway. But, I grabbed 6 cans of pumpkin last week while at the grocers because I haven't been able to find it since the pandemic started, with the intention of whipping up at least one pumpkin roll and a few batches of muffins before snow hits the ground. Browsing through Golden Blossom Honey, I found this unique recipe that called for crushed toffee candies to be added into the filling mix, and since I am a sucker for Heath bars, I found the winning recipe I wanted to bake this autumn. This Crushed Toffee Pumpkin Roll will be great for Halloween and Thanksgiving alike, but you're probably going to want to make a few to enjoy all season long! 

 

 

My best friend insisted she was done making any kind of roll because they always split. And, I'm going to admit, I split this one too. With a little strategic candy placement on top and a few Photoshop touch-ups, because let's admit it food bloggers, PS is sometimes our friend LOL, you can hardly tell. But my family doesn't care if it's pretty as long as it tastes good. I think to prevent splitting after rolling the cake, GENEROUSLY sprinkle the wax paper with powdered sugar before rolling. I'm pretty sure mine only split because I lightly dusted the paper and the warm, moist cake absorbed it all as it was cooling and made the paper stick to the roll, resulting in the tear. This is delicious at room temperature, but I like to pop a slice into the microwave for a few seconds for a warm fall treat. Paired with tea or coffee, it's a great little pick-me-up snack when the cold weather has you feeling some kind of way.

 

Ingredients

Cake:
3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon allspice
6 large eggs, separated
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY
2/3 cup fresh or canned pumpkin
1/8 teaspoon salt

Filling:
2 Tablespoons rum
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1 cup whipping cream, chilled
3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
3/4 cup toffee candy pieces, crushed

 

CLICK HERE FOR FULL RECIPE

 

You can find this recipe, as well as many more delicious recipes right on the Golden Blossom Honey recipe page! Be sure to follow Golden Blossom Honey on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on new products and promotions.

If you like this recipe, be sure to come back every Friday, where I feature a new recipe from Golden Blossom Honey!

 

Pumpkin desserts: yay or nay?

 

 

 

 

Apple Topping For All Of Your Fall Favorites

Disclosure- I received the mentioned product courtesy of the sponsor for the the purpose of this review. All opinions are genuine, based on my experience with the product, and have not been influenced by promotional items.

 

I've been in an apple everything phase lately. It really is my favorite flavor of fall, so why not indulge as much as possible while the fruit is in season? There are so many ways to use apples in your recipes, but lately my favorite way is to whip up a scrumptious Apple Topping, a Golden Blossom Honey recipe, to use on everything from waffles to cheesecake to ice cream.

 

 

One batch is enough to cover about 4-5 medium sized waffles, but I like to double the recipe so I have leftovers for my after dinner dessert. If your mixture is looking a little thin, as in you eyeballed the apple cider measurement (guilty!), mix a teaspoon of cornstarch in a teaspoon of water until dissolved, then stir into the simmering mixture.  Also, if you really want to sweeten it up, drizzle a little caramel into the pot for an extra hit of fall flavor. So, so good!

You can find this recipe, as well as many more delicious recipes right on the Golden Blossom Honey recipe page! Be sure to follow Golden Blossom Honey on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on new products and promotions.

If you like this recipe, be sure to come back every Friday, where I feature a new recipe from Golden Blossom Honey!

What's your favorite dessert fruit topping?

Cranberry Applesauce

Disclosure- I received the mentioned product courtesy of the sponsor for the the purpose of this review. All opinions are genuine, based on my experience with the product, and have not been influenced by promotional items.

 

 

The kids are headed back to their first in-person learning since March next week in my area. Except for Allison. She'll still be doing remote learning from home because of my autoimmune disorder that puts me in the at risk category and we don't want to chance her bringing anything home. But for the kids that are going back, I wanted to share a delicious fall inspired lunchbox treat that is a great combination of sweet and tart and marries two of the best autumn flavors into one amazing recipe. Cranberry Applesauce, a Golden Blossom Honey recipe, is super easy to make and one I'm sure you'll return to time and time again this season.

 

 

While I did make this recipe for an inspired lunchbox filler this week, after scarfing down a few bites myself, I thought that this would be perfect for the upcoming Thanksgiving meal this year. I love me some canned cranberry sauce and can't imagine a Thanksgiving without it, but if you're looking to serve nothing but fresh, this is the recipe you're going to want at your fingertips. I used my fruit and veggie chopper (affiliate link) to make quick work of the dicing, which made this a 30 minute dish from start to finish. Since it doesn't require more than a few stirs of the pot here and there, you'll have plenty of time to focus on prepping the rest of the meal. For school or holidays, you definitely need to consider making this a staple in your fall cooking!

Ingredients

1 cup cranberries
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY
1 cup water
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

 

CLICK HERE FOR FULL RECIPE

 

You can find this recipe, as well as many more delicious recipes right on the Golden Blossom Honey recipe page! Be sure to follow Golden Blossom Honey on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on new products and promotions.

If you like this recipe, be sure to come back every Friday, where I feature a new recipe from Golden Blossom Honey!

 

 

What are some of your favorite lunchbox fillers in the fall?

 

 

 

It's All Just A Bunch of Hocus Pocus

 It's October, witches! And you know what that means. Hallo-freakin-ween season has officially begun. Can I get a whoop! whoop!? So, last year we did an east coast road trip, traveling from New York up to Massachusetts. I said it before, I was not excited about doing New York in the least, but I told Jason that since we were going to be in MA, I was fully expecting a stop in Salem. And since we were going to be in Salem, bet your ass I was going to swing by the Hocus Pocus house. 

For any fans of the movie, you simply can't go to Salem and NOT visit Max and Dani's house! It's a part of movie history that is going to live on for generations to come.

This is now a private residence so visitors need to be respectful and stay off the property. I didn't even feel right walking across the street to stand on the sidewalk for a photo opp, so I stayed well over on the other side of the road. There was an older lady lounging on the porch when we pulled up who was wearily eyeing me down the few minutes we were there. Honestly, I don't blame her one bit. I'm sure she gets tired of having strangers stop and photo her house every day. I bet the tourist crowds are even bigger in October than they are in July when I was there.

 

I didn't stay long, maybe 5 minutes tops, but for me, it was the highlight of our east coast adventures. 

 

There's supposed to be a Hocus Pocus 2 in the works, due to air sometime next spring on Disney+, and I simply cannot wait!

Hocus Pocus movie... love it or leave it? What's your favorite Halloween movie?