Every year I make an effort to go apple picking. There’s something about the welcoming of the Fall season that initiates a sense of nostalgia. I have fond memories of apple picking with college friends and even my hubby, such a fun, festive outing.

Well my youngest sister was coming to visit (who is now a college girl!) so I needed to plan something fun for us to do of course. So, we took a trip to Lyman Orchards for a beautiful day of apple picking!

We were lucky enough to have a nice Fall day, perfect for fun day outside! We picked (and tasted..hehe) 4 different varieties..Macintosh, Macoun, Gala and Honeycrisp.
I preferably wanted a good supply of both the Macintosh and Macoun for baking the perfect apple treats because these varieties have a bit of tartness going on with the sweet.

Of course, we took TONS of pictures! How could you not? Look at how beautiful these orchards were! 

Also available at Lyman Orchards is a corn maze, deli and market. Of course we hit up all three! It’s been years since I have done a corn maze and anyone who knows me will tell you I have a terrible sense of direction. Luckily, they had these handy little quiz guides to help you decide on making a left or right through the maze!

So, with the help of the map, the quiz and our amazing sense of direction (not) we made it through unharmed! Haha! All together I’d say it was a successful sister fun day!

Now, what to do with all these apples!? Well I have several recipes to use up these apples! But what I did here was make my little sister a big, bold breakfast of apple spiced waffles topped with spiced apples and candied bacon. Doesn’t that sound utterly delicious? Well it was!

This waffle was the perfect showcase for our apples. Topped with softened, spiced, sugary apples and that crunchy, salty but sweet bacon. WOW. Just WOW. You have to try this. THIS WEEKEND. I mean it.

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TOOLS & GADGETS

• Mixing bowls
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Stand mixer or hand mixer
• Spatula

INGREDIENTS

Adapted from the Williams-Sonoma recipe.

Waffle

• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 1/2 cups milk, warmed
• 8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 apple, peeled, cored and grated
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 Tbs. Vinegar
• Non-stick spray, for waffle iron

Apple Topping- optional but recommended

• 2 Tbs. unsalted butter, cubed
• 1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 Tbs. brown sugar
• 1 Tbs. cornstarch

Candied Bacon Topping- optional but recommended

See previous  Candied Bacon post for details!

PREHEAT WAFFLE IRON.

Waffle Making

STEP 1

In a cup or bowl, whisk together warm milk and vinegar to sour. Let sit approximately 5 minutes while you prepare everything else. This essentially creates a “buttermilk” which really elevates the waffles. Can just use regular milk if you’d prefer.

STEP 2

Prepare your remaining ingredients. Measure, melt, grate and dice what is necessary on the list so when you get started you can just add everything to your mixture. This should take you about 5-10 minutes. In my case I had my sister grating the apples 🙂 so it went much faster!

STEP 3

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, milk and butter. Add the grated apple and stir to combine.

STEP 4

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Add the flour mixture to the egg yolk mixture and whisk until smooth (some small lumps are OK).

STEP 5

Using an electric mixer (or hand mixer) fit with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to high and add the sugar 1 Tbs. at a time and beat until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 3 minutes.

Next, fold half of the whites into the batter, then carefully fold in the remaining whites.

STEP 6

Spray your waffle iron with the non-stick spray (or some melted butter) and pour about 2/3 cup of the batter onto the surface. Cook the waffles until golden brown, about 5 minutes (my iron turns green when ready to flip).

Apple Topping 

STEP 1

In a microwave safe bowl, add all the ingredients and stir.

STEP 2

Microwave on high 1 min, remove, add cornstarch and stir. Return to microwave for another 30-45 seconds until apples are tender and mixture has thickened.

Now, stack your waffles, top with the apple topping, candied bacon if you wish, maple syrup and enjoy a bite of Fall!