There’s just something special about going to Cracker Barrel for lunch. No, it’s not the checkers outside or the store in the front of the restaurant. It has to be the epic side dishes you can get with your meal. It never fails… my order is the same every time I go there. Chicken and dumplings with fried apples, mac and cheese, and the hashbrown casserole. For the longest time, Cracker Barrel was my choice because I couldn’t get those darn apples anywhere else. Want to know a secret, though? I learned how to make a spot-on copycat so I don’t have to drive quite as far for that heavenly cinnamon apple goodness… without further ado, here’s how to make Cracker Barrel Style Fried Apples (in your slow cooker!)
apples
Spice, Spice Baby… Soft Apple Spice Cookies
Stop, collaborate, and listen.
These Soft Apple Spice cookies are going to Spice Up Your Life (Can I do a Vanilla Ice reference and a Spice Girls reference in the same post? Because I’m doing it… so ha).
Grab your favorite spice cake mix. I love Betty Crocker Spice Cake mixes.
Also grab some apples. I have three shown, but then after cutting them, I realized two was enough.
Peel them, and then dice them up.
Once you’re done with dicing them, go ahead and toss them with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg, and 1 tablespoon of caramel ice cream topping.
It’ll look like a less blurry version of this:
Now, get back to that cake mix. In a bowl, combine your cake mix, 1 egg, 1/2 cup oil, and 1 tablespoon of either apple juice or water.
Fold in your apples.
Now, here’s where it’s up to your discretion. These cookies are delicious enough and soft enough that little cookies are enough to satisfy a craving, so I drop mine by the teaspoon onto a greased cookie sheet. If you want a larger soft cookie, go with a tablespoon and spread them farther apart.
Bake those at 350 for 10 minutes, or until edges are done. Then, a secret trick that my mom has always done to get cookies rounder and flatter and more awesome, as soon as you pull the cookies out of the oven, smack the tops with your spatula and then remove them directly onto waxed paper.
Let those things cool completely, and then pile them on a plate. If dropped by teaspoonfuls, you’ll get around 50 cookies.
Now grab your cookies, and let’s get out of here.
Word to your Mother.
(Am I the only one who still listens to Vanilla Ice? Leave me a comment below and let me know your favorite Vanilla Ice song, or your favorite holiday cookie!)