It’s the beginning of fall, and Starbucks just came out with their seasonal pumpkin drinks and treats. There’s Thanksgiving, Halloween and yummy food to celebrate. Even though cooking and baking food is a lot of fun, it’s a lot of work. What are some fall favorites? 

 “We don’t usually bake for certain seasons but my favorite recipe are these super yummy pumpkin spice latte chewy sugar cookies,” said the San Marcos culinary arts teacher, Mrs. Barker. When she announced they would make the cookies the class went wild. “You guys aren’t tired of baking cookies yet?” Some fall favorites for your sweet tooth are apple strudel, and of course the pumpkin spice chewy sugar cookies. 

You’ve probably had pre-made apple toaster strudels, but have you made them? They are a life changer! They have a yummy cinnamon flavor and soft glazed apples with a crispy outside.   

STRUDEL INGREDIENTS

3-5 Apples – Use Granny Smith apples. They are tart and taste best when you bake them.

 2 1/2Sugar – Granulated white sugar is ideal for the filling.

Butter – Unsalted butter is always the best choice for baking.

Cornstarch – This thickens the filling.

Spices – Use both cinnamon and nutmeg for a classic apple pie flavor. Plus, extra salt enhances the flavors and makes them more pronounced.

Puff Pastry – Just buy a package (two sheets) of pre-made puff pastry.

Egg – This is to add an egg wash on the outside       

RECIPE

Set out a puff pastry sheet to thaw – you want it to still be cold but no longer frozen.

Preheat the oven to 400° F. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.In a large bowl, squeeze the juice of one lemon (making sure to remove any seeds).

Peel and thinly slice your apples (or dice the apples), placing them in the bowl of lemon juice and coating thoroughly as you add them to the bowl. In a small bowl, whisk to combine almonds, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg (and golden raisins, if adding).

Add dry mixture to the bowl of apple filling and gently toss (and/or stir) to coat. Add flour and stir to coat.

Roll out the pastry onto a large sheet of parchment paper or a large pastry mat in a rectangle (up to 11″x17″). Using a paring knife, lightly score the pastry into three columns you want the middle to be wider than the outer thirds. Cut even slits on each outer column – as many as you want. The more you have, the longer it’s going to take you to wrap.

Pour your strudel filling down the center of the pastry and fold the center section of the pastry over at the top and bottom. Now start wrapping the center by pulling alternating slits of pastry from each side and pressing the ends into the pastry on the opposite side, pressing gently on the ends to connect to the base of the dough. Make sure you’re not leaving big holes across the top!  Carefully transfer the pastry to your prepared baking sheet.

Brush the top of the folded pastry with an egg wash* and then sprinkle raw sugar (or sparkling sugar) on top. You could also add some delicately placed almond slices on top if you wanted.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

Remove from the oven, let cool on a baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool before slicing into it.

Enjoy warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

These famous culinary class pumpkin spice cookies are so chewy and delicious.  ou definitely want to know how to make them. Here’s the recipe:

INGREDIENTS 

 ½ cup softened butter

2 ¼ cups sugar

½ cup canned pumpkin

1 tbsp instant coffee powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cream of tartar

½ tsp of salt

2 egg yolks 

3 tbsp heavy cream

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

RECIPE:

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium 30 seconds. Add 2 cups of sugar, the pumpkin, 1 tbsp espresso powder, the baking soda, cream of tartar, salt and ½ tsp of pumpkin pie spice. Beat in egg yolks and 1 tbsp of the cream. Beat in as much of the flour, stir in remaining flour. In a small bowl stir together remaining ¼ cup of sugar, 1 tsp espresso powder and ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice. Place remaining 2 tbsp  cream in another  small bowl. Shape dough into 1 inch balls and the dip in cream and then in spice mix place dough two inches from each other and bake 10- 12 minutes.