My neighbor knows I like to cook. When I went to visit her the other day she had this recipe for me. She said that someone brought this cake to her and they could not stop eating it. I thanked her profusely for a tried and true recipe. I decided to make it Sunday night. I can not tell you how delicious this cake is. It is kind of dense - with a bread pudding consistency. I doubled the recipe for the caramel glaze. Serve it warm with real whipping cream.


Caramel-Glazed Apple Cake
*Easy Cooking the Costco Way

Cake
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 eggs
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
5 Granny Smith, Golden Delicious or Jona Gold apples Peeled,
cored and cut in 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans
2 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Caramel Glaze
4 Tbs. butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 325. Butter and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

2. To prepare the cake, beat both sugars and oil in a mixing bowl until very well blended. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, mixing just until blended. Stir in apples, pecans and vanilla; pour into pan.

3. Bake for 50 to 75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan while preparing the glaze.

4. To prepare the glaze, melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir in both sugars and salt; cook over medium-low heat for 2 minutes. Add cream and boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

5. Poke holes in the cake with a skewer or toothpick. Pour on the glaze. Serve warn or at room temperature. Top with whipped cream or ice cream if desired. Makes 12 servings. Printable recipe.

The saying goes, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away". This recipe will help you eat (at least) an apple a day. This dip is creamy and sweet and crunchy at the same time. It compliments sweet and tart apples alike...I like it with honey crisp apples myself but any ol' apple will do. It takes just a minute to make but the impression lasts much longer. You only need a few ingredients and you're ready to go. Enjoy!


Crunchy Apple Dip

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Mix well until creamy. Then add:
1/2 bag Heath bits (that's where the crunchy comes in)
Stir together and serve with sliced apples immediately. Printable recipe

*Please note: this dip is great the next day but the toffee bits dissolve so the dip does not retain its crunchiness.