It's September 1st, and when I hear the word September, I immediately think of apples. Maybe it's from years of being in classrooms as a student and later as a teacher, with bulletin boards and calendars for September decorated with bright red apples for back-to-school. (...even though we start school in August down here, which I have always had a strong, almost moral, objection to.) Maybe it's from growing up in New York, remembering all of those trips we took Upstate in September to enjoy the cool, fall air and beautiful scenery that my Mom especially loves. We'd drive from into Vermont to pick apples, loading up our van with them to bring back to Long Island, smelling their fresh sweetness all the way home. While picking them, Casey and I thought it was just hilarious to eat an apple while it was still on the tree, leaving just the core. Cute kids, right?
On those trips Upstate, the highlight for all of us kids was visiting Mom's Aunt Jackie and Uncle Bob. Aunt Jack was Grandma's oldest sister, the matriarch of the LeGault clan. I remember being scared of her when I was little, partly because she was missing a few fingers from a farming accident, and all kids know that people with missing parts are scary! She would also yell at us when we'd come in from visiting Uncle Ed's dairy across the street, "Take off your shoes! I don't want cow-shit on my carpet!" It was quite shocking! Uncle Bob is a war hero who landed in France on day 5 of the Normandy Invasion and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. They lived in the foothills of the Adirondacks in Argyle, New York, with rolling hills behind their house that we'd sled down in the winter. Uncle Bob would take us on tractor rides over those hills, and Aunt Jack would always have cookies for us! Chocolate chips. Snicker-doodles. And her famous Molasses Puffs. I promise to share some of these soon. But today, in honor of September apples and the coming fall, despite the fact that it's 90+ degrees outside as I type, I'm sharing with you Aunt Jackie's Apple Brownies. It's really more like an apple cake, but she called them brownies. It's a dessert I make often since it's so simple and uses only pantry staples plus a few apples which I always have on hand. It's a great way to use that bruised apple that no one wants, or the one that a kid took one bite of before changing their mind! It's one of our favorites, and now that I've written this, I'm heading into the kitchen to make a pan! Enjoy!
PS...Be sure to keep scrolling...I unearthed some gems!!
Aunt Jackie’s Apple Brownies
2 sticks of butter, melted
1 ½ cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp. Salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. Vanilla
2-3 apples, peeled and chopped into chunks
Melt butter and pour enough into a 13X9 glass pan to coat the bottom and sides well. Pour the rest of the butter in a bowl and mix with the remaining ingredients. Pour into pan and bake at 350 degrees for30-40 minutes.
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| The view from the top of the hill toward Aunt Jack and Uncle Bob's...I think that | 's me and Casey. |
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| Me and Casey, propped up on a pillow from Aunt Jack's couch, taking a ride with Uncle Bob! I miss that view! |
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| My first day of school. Oceanside, New York. September, 1977. |
