Breakfast, Dessert, Pie

Apple Pie Pop Tarts Are the Best Mini Apple Pies

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Apple pie pop tarts are the best individual apple pies you can make. They are absolutely adorable and easy to eat. No cutting slices of pie and having the filling ooze out onto the pie plate. Just pick up each apple pie pop tart and bite into a delicious dessert or a scrumptious breakfast!

Individual Apple Pies

There is almost nothing better than the smell of a homemade apple pie, when it’s baking in the oven. The apple aroma instantly makes your mouth water! You can just imagine yourself cutting a heaping slice of warm apple pie and adding some real vanilla ice cream on top before gobbling it up.

Warm apple pie is really a spectacular, American classic. And as spectacular as it is, mini apple pies are just that much better. I think it’s because they are the perfect size for each person. You don’t have to slice into the whole pie. Rather, you just pick up your mini apple pie and bite into it. With these apple pie pop tarts, there is little mess when compared to a slice of apple pie. The ooey-gooey apples that we love so much are still in these pop tarts, but they are enveloped in the pie crust, making them very easy to eat. Oh, and another great thing about mini apple pies? You can eat more than one and not feel so guilty. Two are still fairly small so it’s totally fine to have a second helping : )

Apple Pie American Dessert

Apple Pie is a long standing American dessert. You know the phrase, as American as apple pie? It seems somewhat silly because apple pies didn’t originate in America. And apples aren’t native to America either! So how did apple pie become an American staple??

Apple pies originated in England and consisted of much more than apples. In fact, the apple pies consisted of figs, pears, raisins, and even saffron as well as apples. Over many years of tweaking the apple pie recipe, Americans developed a sweeter version that consists of a juicy apple filling with cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Additionally, throughout the years, the presentation of the pies have gone to a new level with fancy lattice and cut outs on top of the pie crust. As the tasty pies evolved, Americans were proud of their dessert. Their pride for their dessert is a symbolism of American pride. Who knew it was such a deep thing?!

Dessert, Snack, or Breakfast?

These apple pie pop tarts can be served as a tasty treat for dessert. However, if you are feeling daring, you could heat up the individual pies and eat them for a special breakfast option! That’s right, pop tarts can be breakfast breads – if you don’t believe me, just think of the aisle where you find them in the supermarket. Yep, the breakfast aisle!

If you make the apple pie pop tarts the night before for dessert, store them in an airtight container and put them in the refrigerator. Just pop the pop tart into the microwave for 15 to 20 seconds and voila! Or you could toast up the apple pop tarts in a preheated (350 degrees) toaster oven for 5 minutes to warm up these yummy snacks.

Another option for these pies is to give them to your kids for their morning (or afternoon) snack. You can feel good about giving these snacks since they aren’t loaded with preservatives. Homemade cooking and baking is the way to go for delicious and healthier food after all.

Ingredients

  • 2 Pie Crust Dough make your own or Pillsbury ready made
  • butter melted
  • 4 Apples peeled and chopped
  • 2 tbsp Butter
  • 1 tbsp Cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp Apple Pie Spice

Apple Selection

For the apples, choose whatever apples taste the best to you. Many recipes call for granny smith apples because they are crisp and have a sour flavor which makes them a great option, when pairing it with sweet ingredients like white and brown sugars and cinnamon.

However, I prefer to use gala or honey crisp apples for my recipes. There are two reasons for this. The first reason is because we always seem to have honey crisp or gala apples readily available in my house! Easy is always great, in my opinion. The second reason I choose honey crisp or gala apples is because of their sweetness. If I’m going to bake with apples, I prefer all sweet over sour – that’s just me. You can choose whichever you like. You could even mix up a little of sweet with sour – whatever you prefer works!

Instructions

Apple Pie Filling

  • Melt butter in a med saucepan over medium heat.
  • Add chopped apples and cook for 5 minutes so that the apples soften – mix periodically.
  • Add cinnamon and apple pie spice and mix well.
  • Cook for another 5 minutes.

Apple Pie Pop Tarts

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Grease (2) baking sheets with non stick cooking spray.
  • Roll out each pie crust dough on a lightly floured surface.
  • Cut out (16) 3″ shapes (any shape somewhat round shape will do). Cutting as many as you can with the dough.
  • Reroll the remnant dough to get the remainder of the cut outs.
  • Spoon the apple pie filling onto the middle of 8 cut outs. Make sure to leave approx 1/2″ border around.
  • Top each apple cut out with a plain cut out and press the edges together.
  • Using a small fork, crimp the edges all the way around each mini-apple pie.
  • Bake for approximately 22 – 25 minutes or until they are lightly brown.
  • Let cool for a few minutes and then remove and place on a wire rack until cooled.
  • Eat plain or top with a little vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream.

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Special Breakfast Ideas

Bananas Foster French Toast

Cannoli Pancakes

Nutella Pop Tarts

Brown Sugar Banana Bread

Desserts You Will Love

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Cannoli Dip

Rolo Cookies

Cheesecake Cookie Cup

Don’t forget to leave a reply below or share the recipe with on social media – sharing is caring!

apple pie pop tarts are the best individual apple pies you can make with sauteed apples, butter, sugar, apple pie spice, and a ready made pie crust
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Apple Pie Pop Tarts

Apple Pie Pop Tarts are the best way to eat individual apple pies!
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Keyword autumn desserts, fall breakfast, pie
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 8 people
Author jenahoward

Ingredients

  • 2 Pie Crust Dough make your own or Pillsbury ready made
  • butter melted
  • 4 Apples peeled and chopped
  • 2 tbsp Butter
  • 1 tbsp Cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp Apple Pie Spice

Instructions

Apple Pie Filling

  • Melt butter in a med saucepan over medium heat.
  • Add chopped apples and cook for 5 minutes so that the apples soften – mix periodically.
  • Add cinnamon and apple pie spice and mix well.
  • Cook for another 5 minutes.

Apple Pie Pop Tarts

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Grease (2) baking sheets with non stick cooking spray.
  • Roll out each pie crust dough on a lightly floured surface.
  • Cut out (16) 3" shapes (any shape somewhat round shape will do). Cutting as many as you can with the dough.
  • Reroll the remnant dough to get the remainder of the cut outs.
  • Spoon the apple pie filling onto the middle of 8 cut outs. Make sure to leave approx 1/2" border around.
  • Top each apple cut out with a plain cut out and press the edges together.
  • Using a small fork, crimp the edges all the way around each mini-apple pie.
  • Bake for approximately 22 – 25 minutes or until they are lightly brown.
  • Let cool for a few minutes and then remove and place on a wire rack until cooled.
  • Eat plain or top with a little vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream.
  • ENJOY!
    apple pie pop tarts are the best individual apple pies you can make with sauteed apples, butter, sugar, apple pie spice, and a ready made pie crust

Breakfast, French Toast

Apple Pie French Toast A New Take On Breakfast

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Apple Pie French Toast is an easy breakfast recipe that looks, sounds, and tastes extravagant. If you love the taste of baked apples because of the buttery and sweet flavor, it only makes sense to add this delectable taste to your favorite breakfast – French Toast, that is.

Just peel and chop up some apples, sauté them in butter, sugar, cinnamon, and some apple pie spice, then top your French Toast with this delicious topping. Oh, you could always go overboard and add some whipped cream to the apple topping as well. Why not, right?

French Toast

French Toast is a breakfast favorite. But why is it such a favorite breakfast and brunch staple? Because French Toast is considered a comfort food and comfort foods are always favorites. So why do we love comfort foods so much? Well, French Toast, specifically this Apple Pie French Toast is like eating a warm, toasted, bread pudding-like dessert for breakfast. Do I really need to elaborate as to why this type of food would be a favorite amongst brunch-ers? Probably not, but I will!

The warm goodness of the hearty and scrumptious tasting bread gives you a full feeling which makes you feel good inside. A little while after you finish it, you might feel guilty which isn’t such a comforting feeling, but that’s another story altogether!

From a scientific perspective, comfort foods give you a boost of dopamine and make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, when you eat them. On a more psychological side, eating comfort foods usually reminds us of special times such as family parties, holidays, and other fun times that we indulged in sweet, comforting foods. It’s nostalgic in a way.

So there you have it, we love comfort foods like this Apple Pie French Toast because of science and our love of eating! As long as you eat these types of breakfasts in moderation, you can dig in without guilt!

How Do You Avoid Soggy Bread

French Toast is like a fried up Bread Pudding to some extent. You soak up each piece of bread in an egg and milk mixture and then toast it on a hot pan. This makes the bread slightly crunchy on the outside, yet almost creamy on the inside. Therefore, if the bread is too thin, the egg and milk mixture will overtake the bread and it will become soggy. Nobody wants to eat soggy French Toast. Although it will still be edible, soggy French Toast is not desired. With the anticipation of a yummy breakfast, you won’t want to go through the motions of prepping everything and cooking it up only to bite into a mushy piece of bread. That would be such a disappointment.

Best Bread For French Toast

Realistically, you can use whatever bread you want for this Apple Pie French Toast. However, if you want to have the BEST presentation and taste, you might consider using a thicker type of bread.

However, if the bread is too thick, the French Toast won’t actually cook through the center of the bread, leaving it falling short of that creamy texture. It’s a fine balance, for sure. Therefore, the ideal thickness for the perfect French toast bread is approximately 1″ thick. Basically, you want to choose a bread that is both spongy to soak up the egg and milk mixture, but sturdy enough to hold it without becoming soggy and mushy. The best French Toast will be scrumptious, not soggy.

Great bread choices for French Toast

Brioche

Brioche French bread by origin. It almost has a cake like quality due to it’s high egg and butter content. It’s very rich and thick. Additionally, it is very tasty which you would expect based on the high egg and butter content! The taste and thickness makes brioche a great bread choice for this Apple Pie French Toast.

Texas Toast

Texas toast is a toasted bread with butter that is a thicker sliced bread that you would find in the packaged bread aisle in your local grocery store. The thickness of the bread is basically double that of normal sandwich bread. Again, the sturdy appeal of Texas toast leads it to be a front runner when choosing the best bread for this yummy Apple Pie French Toast. No soggy French toast with this bread.

French Bread

French bread is a long, thin loaf of bread that has a crunchy crust that surrounds the bread. You really have to bite this bread because it has a strong consistency. Again, consistency is key when selecting the best bread for making French Toast. If you are looking to make a tasty breakfast and want to avoid soggy toast, French bread is a great option for this Apple Pie French Toast.

Ingredients

I mentioned above that you can use whatever bread you would like for this Apple Pie French Toast, but for sake of argument, the recipe calls for either a loaf of brioche or Texas toast bread. Those are my recommendations, take them or leave them!

  • 1 loaf Bread Brioche or Texas Toast
  • 5 large Eggs
  • 1/2 cup Milk
  • 4 Apples peeled and chopped
  • 2 tbsp Butter
  • 1 tbsp Cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp Apple Pie Spice

Instructions

Apple Pie Topping

  • Melt butter in a med saucepan over medium heat.
  • Add chopped apples and cook for 5 minutes so that the apples soften – mix periodically.
  • Add cinnamon and apple pie spice and mix well.
  • Cook for another 5 minutes.

French Toast

  • Whisk the eggs in shallow bowl, but medium size bowl.
  • Add milk and cinnamon to eggs and mix well.
  • Place as many pieces of brioche bread that will fit in the dish and turn them to cover both sides.
  • Heat a skillet or griddle to medium low heat.
  • Grease the pan with butter or non-stick cooking spray.
  • Place as many pieces of coated bread on the pan and toast for approx. 3-4 minutes on each side so that they turn a golden brown color. Once done, remove from pan and keep warm.
  • Coat another batch of bread in the egg mixture.
  • Add more butter or non-stick cooking spray, if needed.
  • Toast the new batch of coated bread until golden brown. Remove from heat, when cooked.
  • Repeat this process until all of the bread has been cooked.
  • Serve the French Toast and spoon as much or as little of the banana foster topping over each piece of French Toast.

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More Breakfast Recipes To Try

Bananas Foster French Toast

Cinnamon Roll French Toast Bake

Lemon Blueberry French Toast Bake

Cannoli Pancakes

Don’t forget to leave a reply below or share the recipe with on social media – sharing is caring!

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Apple Pie French Toast

Apple Pie French Toast is the BEST way to change up your breakfast!
Course Breakfast
Keyword french toast
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 6 people
Author jenahoward

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf Bread Brioche or Texas Toast
  • 8 large Eggs
  • 2/3 cup Milk
  • 4 Apples peeled and chopped
  • 2 tbsp Butter
  • 1 tbsp Cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp Apple Pie Spice

Instructions

Apple Pie Topping

  • Melt butter in a med saucepan over medium heat.
  • Add chopped apples and cook for 5 minutes so that the apples soften – mix periodically.
  • Add cinnamon and apple pie spice and mix well.
  • Cook for another 5 minutes.

French Toast

  • Whisk the eggs in shallow bowl, but medium size bowl.
  • Add milk and cinnamon to eggs and mix well.
  • Place as many pieces of brioche bread that will fit in the dish and turn them to cover both sides.
  • Heat a skillet or griddle to medium low heat.
  • Grease the pan with butter or non-stick cooking spray.
  • Place as many pieces of coated bread on the pan and toast for approx. 3-4 minutes on each side so that they turn a golden brown color. Once done, remove from pan and keep warm.
  • Coat another batch of bread in the egg mixture.
  • Add more butter or non-stick cooking spray, if needed.
  • Toast the new batch of coated bread until golden brown. Remove from heat, when cooked.
  • Repeat this process until all of the bread has been cooked.
  • Serve the French Toast and spoon as much or as little of the banana foster topping over each piece of French Toast.
  • ENJOY!
Drinks, Holiday, Martinis

Candy Cane Martini – Cheers To The Christmas Season

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A Candy Cane Martini is the perfect cocktail around the Christmas season. The peppermint flavor and festive colors of this drink really evoke the Christmas spirit. When gathering with your family and friends to exchange gifts and food, this adult refreshment is a must have. Each crisp sip reminds you of the feeling you had as a kid eating candy canes out of your stocking on Christmas morning!

Candy Canes

When you think of Christmas, do you think of candy canes? And when you think of candy canes, do you think of Christmas? I’m certain that you answered yes to at least one of those questions. Christmas and candy canes go hand in hand. After all, do you see candy canes for sale throughout the rest of the year? Not usually.

Back in my day (wow, do I sound old!), candy canes were peppermint flavored only. Once in a long while, you could find cherry flavored candy canes, but they were hard to come by.

Nowadays, you can find candy canes in every flavor under the sun. They are like the new jelly beans in regards to the different flavors. I’ve even seen buttered popcorn candy canes…I’m all for buttered popcorn, but not as a candy cane. No thank you!

I’d prefer to stick with the good old fashioned peppermint candy canes with the occasional cherry flavored ones. Nostalgia is a powerful thing! But seriously, candy canes are meant to be red and white and with the minty taste of peppermint. It’s the way Christmas was meant to be.

Peppermint Cheer

Peppermint has a distinct taste and you either love and can’t get enough of it or you just flat out despise it. Like many other Christmas staples, peppermint is on the short list of must-haves during the Christmas season.

Although you can find peppermint cookies, drinks, and candy year round, it is most popular in December. People love to stock up on peppermint chocolates that make up cookies or chocolate bark. Additionally, you find peppermint extract a lot more easily in the late fall/early winter months because that is BAKING SEASON! And the most popular things to bake around Christmas time? COOKIES, of course! Further, the very festive Christmas cookies are the ones that are minty and different from the regular chocolate chip cookies you eat throughout the year.

And let’s not forget about the hot chocolate season that begins in December. What is better than warm chocolate milk? Of course, it would be a warm chocolate milk with a candy cane in it!

All of these things remind you of Christmas so there is just one problem, we need a festive cocktail that is tied to this list of festive food and drinks. A candy cane martini is just what Santa is bringing you this year boys and girls!

Christmas Celebrations

Ingredients

  • 2 oz Vanilla Vodka
  • 1.5 oz Peppermint Schnapps
  • 1.5 oz White Chocolate Liqueur Godiva is the best!
  • Marshmallow Fluff for garnish
  • 1 mini Candy Cane crushed

Instructions

Garnishing The Glass

  • Place the crushed candy cane on a small plate.
  • Spread marshmallow fluff around the rim of the martini glass.
  • Dip the rim of the martini glass into the crushed candy cane so that it sticks to the marshmallow fluff around the entire rim.

Making The Martini

  • Fill cocktail shaker 1/2 way full with ice.
  • Add all drink ingredients to the shaker.
  • Shake well,
  • Pour into the garnished martini glass.

Holiday Drinks

Looking for more inspirational martinis? You came to the right place, I have a bunch that you can mix up! The best part of my martinis is that they consist of all liqueur – not unnecessary ingredients here! And they taste AMAZING! Just need a cocktail shaker, ice, and some tasty liqueurs for these dessert martinis.

Gingerbread Martini

Pistachio Amaretto Martini

Tiramisu Martini

Chocolate Raspberry Martini

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Candy Cane Martini The Perfect Drink This Holiday Season

A Candy Cane Martini is the perfect alcoholic drink for the holiday season. Just a few key ingredients make up this peppermint candy in liquid form.
Course Drinks
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 1 person
Author jenahoward

Ingredients

  • 2 oz Vanilla Vodka
  • 1.5 oz Peppermint Schnapps
  • 1.5 oz White Chocolate Liqueur Godiva is the best!
  • Marshmallow Fluff for garnish
  • 1 mini Candy Cane crushed

Instructions

Garnishing The Glass

  • Place the crushed candy cane on a small plate.
  • Spread marshmallow fluff around the rim of the martini glass.
  • Dip the rim of the martini glass into the crushed candy cane so that it sticks to the marshmallow fluff around the entire rim.

Making The Martini

  • Fill cocktail shaker 1/2 way full with ice.
  • Add all drink ingredients to the shaker.
  • Shake well,
  • Pour into the garnished martini glass.
  • ENJOY!
Drinks, Holiday, Martinis

Gingerbread Martini The Best Cocktail This Christmas Season

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A Gingerbread Martini is a creamy cocktail that tastes like your favorite Christmas cookie, but in liquid form. When you think of Christmas cookies, you immediately think of cute little gingermen that are decorated with white icing. It is a symbol of the Christmas season. Not that we can’t eat gingerbread throughout the rest of the year, but there is something magical about those cookies. Now you can mix up a festive holiday cocktail without all the mess of baking those cute little cookies!

I bet a Gingerbread Martini sounds good to you right now. I mean, Halloween is over so that means it’s Christmas season, right? So many people have decided that 2020 has been such a crappy year that they are going to start their Christmas celebrations early by decorating and shopping right away. Using that logic, I think we should up the anti and start our holiday baking and celebrating early too…which means getting our drinks ready to go!

Gingerbread

Gingerbread is a type of baked good that is flavored with ginger and molasses. Additionally, it generally contains cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and is usually sweetened with brown sugar, corn syrup, or honey.

Popular gingerbread foods are gingerbread cookies, gingerbread loaf cakes, and ginger snaps. Not to mention gingerbread dough that makes up the fun elements for making gingerbread houses!

Nowadays, we take a good thing and exploit the crap out of it – think pumpkin spice everything! And gingerbread is somewhat similar, but hasn’t been completely overdone (not yet anyway!). However, we can find gingerbread lattes, gingerbread muffins, and now even gingerbread martinis. And, I for one, am extremely happy that gingerbread vodka exists so that we can drink our favorite Christmas cookie.

Mixing Up A Gingerbread Martini

Ingredients

Glass Garnish

  • Caramel Sauce
  • 1 Graham Cracker crushed

Martini Ingredients

  • 1.75 oz Gingerbread Vodka
  • 1.5 oz Vanilla Vodka
  • 1.5 oz Irish Cream

Instructions

Garnishing The Glass

  • Put crushed graham cracker on a small plate.
  • Put caramel sauce on a different small plate.
  • Dip the martini glass rim into the caramel sauce so that it covers the entire rim.
  • Now, dip the caramel rim into the crushed graham crackers so that the entire rim is covered throughout.

Making The Gingerbread Martini

  • Fill a cocktail shaker 1/2 way with ice.
  • Measure and pour the martini ingredients into the cocktail shaker.
  • Shake well.
  • Pour into garnished martini glass.

Holiday Cocktails

Holidays bring about a season where you eat, drink, and be merry. And I have some delicious martinis that are festive and will definitely get you merry!

Here are some must try holiday cocktails that are sure to put some joy in your heart and a smile on your face:

Candy Cane Martini

Pistachio Amaretto Martini

Tiramisu Martini

Chocolate Raspberry Martini

Christmas Recipes To Enjoy

Whether you are hosting the holidays at your home or going to someone else’s home, there are a variety of recipes you can check out. For example, you might be interested in having a special breakfast at home and should check out my Cinnamon Roll French Toast Bake. Or maybe you are just serving up appetizers at home, you need to look into Bacon Wrapped Asparagus or a delicious Charcuterie Board. And, finally, dessert! And what is Christmas without Christmas cookies? Try these amazing cookies that you can keep at home or bring with you to your holiday gather:

White Chocolate Chip Cookies With Craisins

Rolo Cookies

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Gingerbread Martini – The BEST Holiday Drink This Christmas Season

This Gingerbread Martini is the BEST recipe for a festive holiday drink. Your favorite Christmas cookie is now in cocktail form.
Course Drinks
Keyword dessert martini, holiday, martini
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 1 person
Author jenahoward

Ingredients

Glass Garnish

  • Caramel Sauce
  • 1 Graham Cracker crushed

Martini Ingredients

  • 1.5 oz Gingerbread Vodka
  • 1.5 oz Vanilla Vodka
  • 1.5 oz Irish Cream

Instructions

Garnishing The Glass

  • Put crushed graham cracker on a small plate.
  • Put caramel sauce on a different small plate.
  • Dip the martini glass rim into the caramel sauce so that it covers the entire rim.
  • Now, dip the caramel rim into the crushed graham crackers so that the entire rim is covered throughout.

Making The Gingerbread Martini

  • Fill a cocktail shaker 1/2 way with ice.
  • Measure and pour the martini ingredients into the cocktail shaker.
  • Shake well.
  • Pour into garnished martini glass.
  • ENJOY!
Dinner, Pork

Tempting And Easy Apple And Gouda Stuffed Pork Chops

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Apple And Gouda Stuffed Pork Chops are an easy dinner to make that tastes exceptionally delicious. The gouda cheese and apples makes this a perfect fall dish that gives it sweet and savory elements. Additionally, this meal can use up some of those apples your kids picked!

A well rounded dinner that everyone loves and takes less than 20 minutes from start to finish. And the sauce…wow…it really is incredible and will have you licking your lips to get every last bit!

Stuffed Chops

Pork chops are an easy dinner that cook quickly and make it a great weeknight dinner for most people. Because we are all usually short on time during the week, cooking up a few pork chops can get dinner on the table in less than 15 minutes. And they taste great! You don’t have to do much to a pork chop to make it taste delicious. I tend to add a little salt, pepper, and garlic powder and cook them on the grill for a simple and tasty dinner.

However, if you want a change of pace these apple and gouda stuffed pork chops are really a great way to step things up, while keeping the ease of dinner. All you need to do is slice up an apple or two and some gouda cheese. Make a slit in the chops. Add in the apple and cheese and you are pretty much ready to cook them up.

You could also stuff pork chops with other tasty items as well. For example, you could add spinach, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese. Or maybe another fruit like pears with gouda – keeping the sweet and savory theme going. Additionally, you could keep it even simpler by adding some regular stuffing to the pork chops to make this a hearty stuffed chop. The sky is really the limit and you can be as creative as you want. If you like it, add it!

Gouda Cheese

Gouda cheese is considered a mild flavored cheese that has a semi-soft consistency. Some describe the flavor to be nutty, however, I describe the flavor as bacon-y. Is that a word? I’m not sure, but the taste of gouda seems to have a hint of bacon to it. The cheese originated in the Netherlands. Ironically, it did not originate in the town of Gouda like many people would assume. Rather, Gouda is the town that trades cheese and that is where the name for this delectable cheese came from.

Did you know that gouda is one of the most popular cheeses? I actually did not know that until I wrote up this post! I never knew what gouda was until I was in my late 20s and had some at a wedding. I added the yellowish cheese to my appetizer plate during the cocktail hour and after I finished the pieces on my plate, I found myself returning to the cheese bar for more of that unknown cheese! After asking a few people, I was informed that this delicious cheese was gouda. I had heard of it, but never tasted it which was very unfortunate because it was one of my new favorite cheeses!

Other Cheeses To Try

While gouda is the preferred cheese for these amazingly tasty apple and gouda stuffed pork chops, there are many other cheeses that can be substituted if you are out of gouda. A few of my personal favorites that you might already have in your refrigerator are cheddar, mozzarella, and monterey jack cheese.

Cheddar

While cheddar cheese is considered a more semi-hard cheese than gouda (which is considered a semi-soft cheese), I would use it in a heartbeat if I didn’t have gouda cheese on hand. I love the strong flavor of cheddar cheese. Further, if you use shredded cheddar to stuff the pork chops, the cheese will melt easily making it a delicious addition to these apple stuffed pork chops.

Mozzarella

Mozzarella cheese is considered a mild and semi-soft cheese. As such, it shares similar characteristics of gouda cheese. Thus, substituting mozzarella for gouda is somewhat seamless. You could use fresh mozzarella or shredded. Of course, fresh mozzarella is preferred because it has the gooey cheese appeal. However, shredded mozzarella will do just fine as far as meltability and taste is concerned.

Monterey Jack Cheese

Monterey Jack Cheese is a great substitution for gouda because of it’s soft cheese characteristics. Additionally, it has a mild flavor that stands out. If you are a fan of white cheese that melts beautifully, monterey jack might be a perfect option for you when making apple stuffed pork chops.

Ingredients

  • 6 Pork Chops
  • 2 Apples
  • 0.25 lb Gouda
  • 2 tbsp Sage
  • 2 tbsp Butter
  • 1 cup Chicken Broth
  • 1 tbsp Thyme
  • 1 tbsp Cornstarch

Instructions

Preparation

  • Preheat grill so that it gets to 350-400 degrees F.
  • Make slit in each pork chop that goes 3/4 to the other side (make sure not to cut all the way through).
  • Slice apples into 1/2″ thick slices.
  • Cut gouda into 1/2″-3/4″ slices, similar to the size of each apple slice.
  • Stuff 1 or 2 (depending on your preference) of apples and gouda into each pork chop.
  • Season pork chops on both sides with sage and thyme.

Grilling The Pork Chops

  • Grill on medium heat for 4 minutes (maybe more or less time depending on thickness of your pork chops).
  • Flip pork chops. Continue to cook for another 4 minutes (again, maybe more or less time depending on thickness of your pork chops).

Sauce

  • Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
  • Add chicken broth and sage and stir well.
  • Add thyme and continue to stir well for another 5 minutes.
  • Whisk in cornstarch into the saucepan. Continue to cook for another 8 minutes so that it thickens.
  • Season with more sage/thyme, if needed.
  • Pour sauce over cooked pork chops and serve immediately.

How To Cook The Pork

My preferred way of preparing these apple and gouda stuffed pork chops is by grilling them over a preheated grates at around 350 degrees F. However, you can cook these up any way you prefer. Here are some ways that will best prepare this yummy meal.

Grill

The fastest way to cook pork chops is directly on a heated grill. An average pork chop thickness will take anywhere from 6 to 10 minutes to cook. Meaning a thinner pork chop will only take 3 minutes per side to cook through to a temperature of 145 degrees F. Conversely, a thicker pork chop can take upwards of 5 minutes per side for a total of 10 minutes to cook through.

With the apple and gouda stuffed pork chops, the filling will thicken the pork chop, thus it will take longer to cook so keep that in mind. You want to make sure that inside of the meat cooks thoroughly. Therefore, the thicker your filling, the longer the pork will take to complete cooking to a safe temperature.

Oven

If you don’t have a grill accessible to make stuffed these apple and gouda stuffed pork chops, you can cook these in the oven. Just put them on a baking sheet or 9 x 13 pan in a preheated oven set to 350 degrees F for approximately 35 minutes.

An easy reference guide for temperatures and time is:

  • 350°F – bake 35 minutes
  • 375°F – bake 22-25 minutes
  • 400°F – bake 17-19 minutes
  • 425°F – bake 15-17 minutes
  • 450°F – bake 14-16 minutes

Stove Top

And if grilling and cooking these apple and gouda stuffed pork chops aren’t up your alley, you can pan sear them on the stove. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and heat up the pan for approximately 1 minute. Add the pork chops to the pan and cook each side for about 5 to 6 minutes each side. Again, the cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of the chops. Using a meat thermometer, you can test the temperature of the thickest part of the chop and alter the cooking time accordingly, making sure that the chops reach a temperature of 145 degrees F.

More Pork Recipes

I love cooking pork for a variety of reasons, but have to say that my top two reasons are the flavor and the simplicity. Of course, flavor is pretty self-explanatory. If you enjoy the taste of something, that’s a good reason to make that again and again.

When I say that pork has simplicity, I mean that it cooks fairly quickly, especially pork chops. You can cook a great pork meal in less than 30 minutes. In fact, most dinners that consist of pork can be cooked in less than 15 minutes. How’s that for simplicity? It’s great, if you ask me!

If you can’t get enough of pork, try out some of my other must-try recipes:

Mango Pork Loin

Honey Parmesan Crusted Pork

Marsala Pork Chops

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Tempting And Easy Apple And Gouda Stuffed Pork Chops

Apple and Gouda Stuffed Pork Chops are an easy way to serve a delicious dinner that is sure to please your entire family. Tastes gourmet, but cooks in under 15 minutes!
Course Dinner
Keyword pork chops
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 13 minutes
Servings 6 people
Author jenahoward

Ingredients

  • 6 Pork Chops
  • 1-2 Apples
  • 0.25 lb Gouda
  • 2 tbsp Sage
  • 2 tbsp Butter
  • 1 cup Chicken Broth
  • 1 tbsp Thyme
  • 1 tbsp Cornstarch

Instructions

Preparation

  • Preheat grill so that it gets to 350-400 degrees F.
  • Make slit in each pork chop that goes 3/4 to the other side (make sure not to cut all the way through).
  • Slice apples into 1/2" thick slices.
  • Cut gouda into 1/2"-3/4" slices, similar to the size of each apple slice.
  • Stuff 1 or 2 (depending on your preference) of apples and gouda into each pork chop.
  • Season pork chops on both sides with sage and thyme.

Grilling The Pork Chops

  • Grill on medium heat for 4 minutes (maybe more or less time depending on thickness of your pork chops).
  • Flip pork chops. Continue to cook for another 4 minutes (again, maybe more or less time depending on thickness of your pork chops).

Sauce

  • Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
  • Add chicken broth and sage and stir well.
  • Add thyme and continue to stir well for another 5 minutes.
  • Whisk in cornstarch into the saucepan. Continue to cook for another 8 minutes so that it thickens.
  • Season with more sage/thyme, if needed.
  • Pour sauce over cooked pork chops and serve immediately.
  • ENJOY!
Drinks, Holiday, Martinis

Learn How To Make The Best Pistachio Amaretto Martini

1 Comment

Pistachio Amaretto Martini is a delicious upgrade to a Pistachio Martini. So what is this tempting drink? The short answer is that each sip is pure bliss. The longer answer is that a pistachio amaretto martini is a creamy cocktail that consists of pistachio liqueur, white chocolate liqueur, vodka, and amaretto, of course. Then it gets livened up with a tasty garnish of chocolate sauce and crushed pistachios. Sounds incredible, right? It is!

Amaretto

Amaretto is an Italian liqueur that has an almond taste, making it the perfect addition to many alcoholic drinks. It is a staple for your home bar. A little bit goes a long way in drinks because of it’s strong flavor. So don’t be afraid to spend a little more on a great bottle of amaretto because it will last a while!

Of course, you could sip on it by itself for a simple and tasty drink. Because of the sweet, nutty flavor, just pouring a shot or two over ice is a great drink to sip on on a chilly night. Additionally, amaretto is a common ingredient to add to coffee for a warm, spiked drink! Further, many people like to cook with amaretto because of the sweet flavor that it adds to desserts.

Whatever you do with amaretto, it is sure to please your taste buds. It certainly adds an over-the-top taste to this yummy pistachio amaretto martini!

Ingredients

As with all of my martinis, I prefer to mix up them up with alcoholic ingredients only, whenever possible. If you are going to drink extra calories, I like them to have a purpose after all.

Here is what you will need for this tasty pistachio amaretto martini:

  • 2 oz Vodka
  • 3 oz Pistachio Liqueur
  • 1.5 oz White Chocolate Liqueur (Godiva is the best!)
  • 0.5 oz Amaretto
  • Pistachios finely chopped/almost crushed
  • Chocolate Sauce

Instructions

This pistachio amaretto martini recipe is very simple. One of the best parts of this delicious drink is the presentation. So don’t skimp out and skip garnishing the glass. Technically, you don’t need the garnish, but it looks stunning, it’s easy to do, and it adds extra pistachio flavor that is really phenomenal!

If you want a funky glass like the one pictured here, you can buy some of your own here.

Garnishing The Glass

  • Place chocolate syrup and chopped pistachios on 2 small, shallow plates.
  • Dip rim of martini glass first in the chocolate, then in pistachios.

Making The Martini

  • Fill shaker 1/2 way with ice.
  • Add vodka, pistachio liqueur, white chocolate liqueur, and amaretto to shaker and shake well.
  • Pour into garnished glass.

Mix Up More Dessert Martinis

I’m positive that you will love mixing up this creamy martini for yourself and your friends! If for some reason, you want change things up from time to time, I have more dessert martinis that are sure to please. And the best things about making a dessert martini? They take less than 5 minutes to make, easy cleanup, and you don’t have to share with your children!

Here are some of my must-try dessert martinis:

Tiramisu Martini

Peach Cobbler Martini

Bananas Foster Martini

Snicker Licker Martini

Chocolate Covered Raspberry Martini

And Some Actual Desserts

Italian Pistachio Cookies

White Chocolate Chip Cookies w/Craisins

Cannoli Dip

Rolo Cookies

Cheesecake Cookie Cups

Follow Me On Social Media

Don’t forget to leave a reply below or share the recipe with on social media – sharing is caring!

Print

How To Make The Best Pistachio Amaretto Martini

The only thing that could be better than a Pistachio Martini is a Pistachio AMARETTO Martini!
Course Drinks
Keyword dessert martini, martini
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 1 person
Author jenahoward

Ingredients

  • 2 oz Vodka
  • 3 oz Pistachio Liqueur
  • 1.5 oz White Chocolate Liqueur Godiva is the best!
  • 0.5 oz Amaretto
  • Pistachios finely chopped
  • Chocolate Sauce

Instructions

Garnishing The Glass

  • Place chocolate syrup and chopped pistachios on 2 small, shallow plates.
  • Dip rim of martini glass first in the chocolate, then in pistachios.

Making The Martini

  • Fill shaker 1/2 way with ice.
  • Add vodka, pistachio liqueur, white chocolate liqueur, and amaretto to shaker and shake well.
  • Pour into garnished glass.
  • ENJOY!

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