Spring Hill Ranchs Spiced Apple Cider Batter Recipes

SPRING HILL RANCH'S APPLE CAKE

Steps:

• 1. Adjust an oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 350°(365º above 6,000 feet). Lightly grease a 12-inch cast-iron skillet or (if you must) a 9"x13"x2" pan.
• 2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, apple sauce, melted butter, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Peel, core and finely (≈3/8") chop the apples, stirring them in as you go. Stir in the pecans.
• 3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon until everything is well combined. Make a "well" in center of these dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the well. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, fold the dry and wet ingredients together just until the flour is dampened. You will find this to be a very thick batter, In fact it's more like a cookie batter. And while it may seem like there are way too many apple pieces, but it all works out in the end.
• 4. Turn the batter into your prepared skillet or baking pan, patting down the top so it's even. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the top is lightly browned and an inserted knife comes out almost clean.
• 5. Let the cake cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 30 minutes before serving. Think seriously about serving this cake with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and/or cinnamon spiced whipped cream.

HOT SPICED APPLE CIDER

Steps:

• Place the apple cider, peppercorns, one of the cinnamon sticks, the cloves, and the star anise in a medium saucepan. Cut a large (1 by 4-inch) peel from the orange using a vegetable peeler and add it to the pan. Bring the cider mixture to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain into a 4-cup glass measuring cup and discard the solids.
• Pour the hot cider into mugs or heatproof glasses. Add 2 tablespoons of bourbon to each mug. Cut the orange in half through the stem, slice crosswise in 1/4-inch-thick half-rounds, and add one slice to each mug. Cut the apple in half through the stem, remove the core, slice crosswise in 1/4-inch-thick half-rounds, and add one slice to each glass.
• Serve hot with a cinnamon stick in each glass for stirring.

SPRING HILL RANCH'S SPICED APPLE CIDER BATTER

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the brown sugar and butter until they are nearly combined. Add in the cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg and pulse to thoroughly mix. Place the batter in an airtight container and refrigerate it until it has slightly hardened, about 3 hours. It will keep for at least a week in the refrigerator or for a short eon in the freezer.
• To serve, place 1 heaping Tablespoon of the batter into a mug and fill the mug with simmering apple cider. That is CIDER, folks, not apple JUICE! Garnish.