Apple Baking

Author's Note: this is, again, old material that I'm clearing out of my "drafts" section - but hopefully you enjoy anyway, and I couldn't bear to waste the pictures by not showing them...

You remember the apple picking I did last fall? Well that was actually for an "apple baking" event that my dorm held. We went picking on a Saturday, and then Sunday was the baking event.

First we set up all the ingredients that the girls might need:

Just look at all those apples, just begging to be turned into sweet creations:

Then the baking supplies and suggested recipes:

Here's the recipe that I contributed, it's for apple pie in an iron skillet (don't worry, a post is coming on that shortly):

Then when all the girls showed up in the afternoon, the kitchen turned into a hub of activity. Laughter and voices from all across the room as girls worked in groups, all manner of pans bubbling on the stove:

Pretty soon, cider was heating up and making the whole floor smell like cinnamon-y goodness:

And baked goodies ready for the oven were appearing in pie plates and cake pans:

While the girls were baking, we had a table set up with sample apples (a few of each variety that we picked) so everybody could taste test:

Then, we loaded up the ovens:

And while they baked, we cleaned up the aftermath:

But man, the wait was worth it (note the ice cream, because what's apple pie without vanilla ice cream?):

Bon appetit! We dig in:

I'm pleased to say that everything was eaten (with some help from other dorm residents who stopped by, drawn by the fantastic smells). Everybody had a great time, the event was a success, and I anticipate we will do more of the same at the dorm. Man, life as an RA is tough. :)