Apple pie poptarts and my labmates

Have I mentioned how much I love my labmates? Very much. You know, when you start in a new lab, with a new project, doing stuff you've never done before, things look a little scary. Every little step is full of questions like how should I do this, is this ok, is it gonna work? .

I'm a super lucky gal. I have fantastic labmates who are more than willing to help me every step of the way. They answer my questions, they teach me their tricks and they do it with a smile on their faces. We're a bunch of happy people sharing a tiny space.

But please, don't you think for a second that all we do is work. We do work, but we seriously have too much fun. I usually define our dinamics as a 'shit show'. And excuse my vocabulary, but we're just plain ridiculous. Take for instance the other day, when I was trying to filtrate some stuff and I couldn't reach the filter. There comes my labmate with two large cans and puts one underneath each one of my feet so I can reach. And obviously, two seconds later, the boss shows up and starts laughing at me and says 'ok, we're getting you a stool'. (I did get it!).

That's just one example of ridiculousness. I think our singing is pretty funny too. I share my primary workspace with two very manly guys. Well, they both sang Whitney Houston the other day. I almost dropped what I was carrying.

All in all, I love these guys. I have tons of fun with them and they help me a lot. That's why when C mentioned the other day, how disappointed he was that his mum didn't make apple pie this past thanksgiving, I had an idea. I thought I could make him apple pie in a portable way. And the result are these delicious 'poptarts'. Basically apple pie crust with apple pie filling in a nice cute shape. Pretty and delicious. I bet your coworkers will be happy if you make them!

Apple pie 'poptarts'

For the crust
1 1/4 cups flour
1 stick of butter, cold and cubed
1/8 cup really cold water
1 tablespoon sugar

Mix the butter with the flour and sugar until pebbles form. Use either your hands or a pastry cutter. If you do it with your hands, work fast so the butter doesn't melt. Add the cold water and mix well until you form a homogeneous dough. Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour. Once cold, roll the dough to a thickness of about half a centimeter. Cut in rectangles of the same size. You can make them as big or as small as you want.

For the filling
2 large or 3 medium granny smith apples
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon (I like it a lot)
2 tablespoons of butter, softened

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. If the butter doesn't spread homogeneously, heat the mixture in the microwave for a bit. Make sure your filling is cold when making the poptarts.

For the poptarts
Preheat your oven to 350F
Place the filling (about 2 tablespoons for the size I made) on top of one of the sides of the poptart. Cover with the other side. Seal the edges with the help of a fork and make three cuts in the tarts to release the steam. Brush the tarts with egg wash. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the tarts are golden brown and oozing with juices. Enjoy warm or cold!

Easiest apple tart ever

My oven hates me. I know it, I'm sure. He's being abused by the uncontrolled amount of baking that's been going on lately. I've found myself offering to bake something for every tiny little celebration that goes on both with friends and at work. And that's a lot of baking. Believe me.

Last Friday the excuse was a little cute boy called Connor, who was born 3 weeks ago. It was time to meet my friends' baby! We hadn't seen each other for a while. I thought it'd be nice to bring something to enjoy all together. And I thought about a tart (easy transportation). Since I had a ton of apples left in the kitchen...

Apple tart it is! Who doesn't like apple tart? you? well, then you're weird. Sorry, no offense. You are, it's ok, we can still be friends.

Make this. It's good for you. Me and L ate 1 slice each. A ate 2 slices and took the rest home. I've heard there was no tart left the day after. Conclusion: easy, yummy, make it, eat it, smile.


For the crust:
Note: this is a pie crust. It works well for the apple tart as well. If you're purists with not using pie crust for the tart, just wait a bit! there's a real unshrinkable tart crust coming soon (next post).

1 1/4 cups flour
1 stick butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup of water, very cold.

For the filling:

4 large apples
4 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons melted butter
Jam to brush. I used blueberry.

In a bowl mix together the dry ingredients. Then cut the butter into cubes, while still cold and add it to the flour. With your hands or a pastry cutter, incorporate the butter into the flour until pebbles form. Add a bit of water and mix well to see if the dough comes all together in a bowl. If it doesn't add a bit more water. Chill the dough for half an hour and then roll in a floured surface.

Bake the partially, for about 10 min at 350 F. It doesn't need to bake completely since it will be in the oven another 45 min. Mix the apples with the melted butter and the sugar making sure they all get coated.


In the meantime, peel, core and cut the apples in slices. Mix the slices with the melted butter and brown sugar, making sure they get evenly coated.

When the crust is ready, place the apple slices on top. I tried to arrange them in a flower shape but you can go even faster and just spread them over the crust. Bake for about 20 min so the sugar and butter soaks them. Then take the tart out of the oven and brush the apples with jam. Bake the tart for another 25 min or until apples are golden brown.

Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream.

Printable recipe!

Healthy and delicious apple walnut bread

I know what you're thinking. If it's healthy it can't be delicious.

Well, you're wrong! This bread is seriously addictive. For real. I promise.

The healthy and tasty ingredients include whole wheat flour, apples and walnuts. Not bad right? But then there's the secret ingredient. And I won't tell you because it's a secret. Just kidding. What makes this bread extra special is the buttermilk. It gives it a little twist and a richer flavor and something that I just can't put in words.

So, seriously, I don't know how to make you understand that you have to make this. You just have to because it's quick and easy and delicious. You don't even need a mixer, so come on. Make it. Pretty please.

The apples give this bread its incredible moistness and tenderness. The trick is to grate parte of the apples and chop the rest. The grated part gets mixed into the dough and makes it soft. The diced pieces are the surprise you find when you bite into it. And then the walnuts. Some in the mix, so you get a crunch in each bite. Some on top for a pretty and tasty crust.

The recipes is adapted from one of my favorite bloggers,  Joy the Baker.

1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup grated apples
1/2 cup coarsely chopped apples
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

 
Preheat the oven to 350 F
In a bowl, mix flours, cinnamon, sugar, baking soda and baking powder. In a separate bowl beat the eggs and stir in the buttermilk. Add the vanilla extract and the cooled butter. Mix well until the mixture looks homogeneous (the buttermilk is a little thick and you want to make sure everything's combined). Slowly, add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture. Fold in the grated and chopped apples and 1/2 cup of the walnuts. Don't overmix. Add the batter to a greased and floured loaf pan. Level it and spread the rest of the walnuts on top.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Let it cool completely before slicing. This bread is so moist it can last OK up to a week. I'm sure it won't last that long though.