• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

I am a Honey Bee

All about my adventures with cooking, crafts, and travel

  • Home
  • About
    • About Me!
    • Press
    • Privacy Policy & Disclosures
    • Contact
  • Recipe Index
  • Exploring
    • Exploring- Florida
    • Exploring- Boston
    • Exploring- Cruises
    • Exploring- New England
    • Exploring- New York City
  • Resources
  • Disney Fun!

apple Cider

Apple Cider Fall Sangria- #HallowenTreatsWeek

October 10, 2019

Apple Cider Fall Sangria – a simple, delicious sangria that is perfect for fall! It will be a hit at your next party. Or just enjoy it for girls night in!

This post and recipe is part of the week-long event, #HalloweenTreatsWeek where I have posted some great Halloween recipes along with other wonderful bloggers. 

Most people think of sangria as a refreshing summer drink, but this Apple Cider Fall Sangria is perfect for crisp Autumn days. It will have you eagerly awaiting cooler days so you can get cozy with a glass and a blanket.

…

Read More

Filed Under: Drinks, Recipes Tagged With: apple Cider, apple cider sangria, fall sangria

Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Cider Salted Caramel Sauce

November 7, 2017

We got a car!!!!!

More specifically, my husband picked out a certified pre-owned mini-van. He got it Friday night and now I’m in love with it.

I loved our Rav 4, but it wasn’t going to work out for us long term with 2 kids and 2 dogs. We are active with friends and family so then we can’t travel with any of them. Sure, someone could squeeze between 2 car seats but that’s not too fun. And, what do we do if we want to bring one of the kids friends with us for something? We certainly wouldn’t be able to get 3 carseats/booster seats in the back.

So now we have a Honda Odyssey that has more cup holders in it than I know what to do with. Seriously, that is what I snapped to Amanda when I first got into it. And, of course, my husband is like, enough with the cup holders! Do you actually like it?!?!?” Yes, I love it. It’s so great.

Now I need to find the perfect political bumper stickers to slap on there. And I need a Vineyard Vines’ pink whale on it. Isn’t that just perfect? The preppiest bumper sticker ever with a “Pod Loves America” sticker?! HAHAHA

Anyway… cinnamon rolls!!!!

 

Guys, I learned something very valuable the first time that I made these… don’t put cinnamon in the dough. At least not the quantity that I put in. Cinnamon is acidic and can retard the yeast from getting its bubble on. It rose well-ish over night, but didn’t do another successful rise when rolled out the dough and made the cinnamon rolls. I baked them up anyway just to taste the flavor, which was good,but the texture was horrible.

So, repeat after me, do not put a lot of cinnamon in the dough.

Okay, so now we that all learned something from my fail, let’s make great Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls!!!

Secondly, in my adventures in making a crap ton of cinnamon rolls this year, do not over work the dough, or roll it out too thinly. It breaks up the bubbles in the dough, so keep that in mind when you are making them. You really want to keep the dough to be at least 1/4″ thick.

The apple cider salt caramel sauce is everything on these cinnamon rolls. EVERYTHING.

If nothing else, just make the caramel sauce and put it on everything. But you really need to take the time to follow the instructions. I make this sauce all the time in the fall and once I was rushing and didn’t make the sauce syrupy enough at first and when I added the rest of the ingredients it was a mess. I was sorta able to  salvage it, but just follow the directions and take your time. It’s soooo worth the time babying it.

Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Cider Salted Caramel Sauce

Makes 12 cinnamon rolls*

Ingredients

For the Dough

  • 1 Cup warm milk (100-110 degrees)
  • 1 packet yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted (but not hot!)
  • 4 Cups flour
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt

For the Filling

  • 2 large baking apples- cored and then sliced into 1/8″ thick slices
  • 1/2 Cup melted butter
  • 1 Cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 Cup sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons cinnamon

For the Caramel Sauce

  • 2 Cups apple cider
  • 1 Cup brown sugar, packed
  • 3/4 Cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 Cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 – 1 teaspoon sea salt

Process

  1. Add the yeast to the warm milk. Let rest for 5 minutes to activate the yeast.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs, then slowly mix in the warm milk mixture. Add the butter and just mix to combine.
  3. Add in the flour, sugar, and salt. Using a hook attachment, work the dough until combined.
  4. On a well floured work surface, roll the dough into a smooth ball. Add the dough to a large bowl that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Rotate to cover the dough with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let double in size, at least 1 hour.
  5. Once the dough is ready, preheat your oven to 350 F and grease a 9x 13 baking pan.
  6. On a well floured work surface, roll the dough out so it is approximately 14″ x 24″ x 1/4″ thick
  7. Evenly arrange the apple slices on the dough in rows along the entire length of the dough. Keep the apple slices 1″ back from the edge where the cinnamon rolls are sealed, when rolled. Sprinkle with the brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon.
  8. Roll the long edge towards you and then cut into 12 evenly sized rolls. Arrange the cinnamon rolls in the baking pan.
  9. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.
  10. While the cinnamon rolls are baking, prepare your caramel sauce. Using a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat, bring the apple cider to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and slowly cook until cider has reduced from 2 cups to 1/4 Cup. It will be fairly thick and syrupy at this point. Stir occasionally.
  11. Add the sugar, cream, cinnamon, and salt. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring continuously. You’ll want it to be syrupy at this point.
  12. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla extract. Add 1/2 teaspoon  the sea salt, mix well. Add more to desired taste. Transfer to a heat-proof container and let cool.
  13. Serve your warm cinnamon rolls with a healthy drizzling of caramel. (You will likely have to reheat the caramel sauce for drizzling consistency if it cools or you store it for a few days as the caramel thicken as it cools.)

Caramel adapted from Bashful Bao

*I purposefully rolled out my cinnamon rolls to be smaller and more than 12 so that I could share at work. Typically, I would just make 12 cinnamon rolls, as the recipe states.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: apple, apple Cider, apple cider caramel, apple cinnamon rolls, cinnamon roll, cinnamon rolls, salted caramel

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Waffles with an Apple Cider Maple Syrup

November 4, 2015

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Waffles with a Apple Cider Maple Syrup

hmmm, what do I talk about today?

Maybe how Autumn has a wicked stomach bug and spent all last night throwing up on everything- including me. So much laundry, so little sleep.

nah. let’s not get into that grossness!!!

…

Read More

Filed Under: Breakfast and Brunch, Pumpkin, Recipes, Waffles Tagged With: apple Cider, apple cider maple syrup, chocolate chips, pumpkin waffles, waffle wednesday, waffles

Butternut Squash-Apple Soup

October 28, 2013

Butternut Squash-Apple Soup

How is October wrapping up this week?

Halloween is Thursday night. I really wanted to have a costume this year since I could have fun and dress up the baby bump but I’m not having much luck coming up with a costume. We’ll see what I can come up with quickly so that I can get dressed up to hand out some candy. Oh yeah, and we can’t forget to get a costume for Kemper. ha!

Since October is wrapping up it means it’s time to post this month’s recipe for my Secret Recipe Club post. This month I received the blog called The Wimpy Vegetarian. Susan’s blog is full of great recipes that feature fresh ingredients and vibrant flavors.

Butternut Squash-Apple Soup_01 Butternut Squash-Apple Soup_02

Butternut Squash-Apple Soup_03 Butternut Squash-Apple Soup_04

As usual, Price picked the recipe for me to make for this month’s SRC post. He was thinking fall when he picked the Butternut Squash-Apple Soup. I’m so glad that he did because we had a monster of a butternut squash sitting on our counter just waiting to be used. I had been staring at it wondering what to do since it was so big. Seriously, it was about from my finger tips to my elbow. A little intimidating to say the least. But this soup ended up being the perfect fit for it.

We loved this soup! It felt so rich without being indulgent. Can’t beat a healthy soup that is quick to make. It would be the perfect fit to make on a weekend or just after work.

Even the dog liked the soup! It’s vegetarian so I just mixed a bit into his food and he loved it. I’m always trying to give him extra fruits and veggies as treats instead of processed treats so I figured I’d just give this a try as well and he LOVED it.

Butternut Squash-Apple Soup_00

I highly suggest making this amazing Butternut Squash-Apple Soup when you are craving a delicious soup that is simple to make and that will fill you up on fresh fall flavors.

Butternut Squash-Apple Soup

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 medium butternut squash
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oils
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 5 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 cup apple cider
  • 1 teaspoon salt, to taste

Process

  1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.
  2. Peel and then slice off the top and bottom of each squash. Slice in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds and pulp with a spoon and then chop the squash into 1″ cubes.
  3. Toss the squash with a little olive oil, lightly salt, and spread on a baking sheet. Roast until very, very soft and lightly caramelized, about 30 minutes.
  4. In a very large pot, melt the butter over medium high heat and cook until lightly browned. Lower the heat and add the remaining olive oil and the onion. Saute for about 20 minutes or until the onion begins to caramelize.
  5. Add the squash, vegetable stock, apple cider, and salt to the pot, and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes.
  6. In small batches, pour the soup into a blender and puree to a smooth.
  7. Season to taste prior to serving.

Adapted from The Whimpy Vegetarian

_____________________

Secret Recipe Club

Check out my previous 2 years of  Secret Recipe Club Posts.

____________________

Thanks for visiting. Please leave me a comment to provide some feedback. I appreciate all the comments I receive.

Filed Under: Recipes, Soups, Stews, Chili Tagged With: apple Cider, butternut squash, butternut squash soup, Butternut Squash-Apple Soup, onion, soup, vegetarian, vegetarian soup

Thirsty Thursday: Apple Cider Floats

September 26, 2013

apple cider floats

Well, well, well, this post wraps up a YEAR of Amanda and I doing Thirsty Thursday posts. We wanted to take things full circle and end the year that started it all… apple.

apple cider floats_01

I can’t believe it’s actually fall now. I’m so not ready for it this year, mainly because the faster time flies the faster this baby is here. We’re at the 2 months to go mark. 2 months! So while that is a teensy bit exciting/stressful I’m just going along with it every day. Every day the mornings are getting a bit cooler and crispier. Every day I long to go apple picking and to ultimately make tons of apple based recipes. Every day I long to get my hands on a bag of those delightful cinnamon and sugar coated apple cider donuts. No really, a bag. And I’m not sharing. Nope.

I swear you won’t want to share this Apple Cider Float either. It’s such a great way to enjoy fresh cider. Hello, ice cream on top!! It’s super simple with just a few ingredients so it takes, oh, .7 seconds to whip up and then you’re on your way to fall bliss.

apple cider floats_03 apple cider floats_04

Amanda has made a Caramel Apple Cider, which I’m dying to try. Caramel Apples are just the best (sorry candied apples- meh!) so I would just L-O-V-E this. Ooo maybe get some hot fresh apple cider donuts from the farmer’s market too and… I have a problem.

Thank you for following along with the the past year’s Thirsty Thursday posts! Hope you enjoyed them like we did! xox

apple cider floats_02

Apple Cider Floats

Makes 2

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of apple cider
  • 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream
  • whipped cream
  • cinnamon and nutmeg

Process

  1. For each float, pour the cider into a glass, preferably a milkshake glass.
  2. Add the scoop of ice cream on top of the cider.
  3. Top with the whipped cream and sprinkle on a the cinnamon and nutmeg.

Filed Under: Drinks Tagged With: apple Cider, apple cider floats, Thirsty Thursday, Thirsty Thursdays

Thirsty Thursdays: Apple Pie Cocktail

October 4, 2012

After Amanda and I had fun with our S’mores Week in August we decided to make a that we should do more posts together related to a theme. We thought about different themes we could do but the main thing that kept coming up was that we wanted it to be longer than a week. So things evolved to become sharing weekly drink recipes that can be boozy or non-alcoholic and that can match the season or holiday. The possiblites are endless! So we are kicking our Thirsty Thursdays posts today with fun recipes that we both wanted to share. I picked this apple pie cocktail and Amanda picked Honeycrisp Apple Sangria.

Last year when my mom and I went to Utah to attend a crafting event we came back one night to the hotel and were discussing how we wanted to get a drink. We asked a group of guys, who were drinking in the lounge watching sports, were they got their beers. They were so nice that they just gave us a few. Well, we run up to our room with our prizes in hand and that is when I noticed that they were not twist tops. By this time I had actually put my pajamas on so I went back to downstairs to them in my pajamas (clearly, I have no shame) for them to open the bottles. They gave me a cup of Apple Pie Moonshine for us to try and I was hooked. Seriously the midwest is so nice. It was sweet, light, and packed a punch.

 

This is a great cocktail to make to celebrate fall. The original recipe calls for Everclear as it is a grain alcohol like moonshine but I was having trouble finding that in Massachusetts. So I switched to vodka and increased the amount. One of the biggest things is that I really suggest using cinnamon sticks. If you use ground cinnamon then you need to then remove it as it does not dissolve and it would be pretty intense to drink. This is great both hot and cold so you can enjoy some just from the stove while the rest of the batch cools.

Check out Amanda’s Honeycrisp Apple Sangria.

Apple Pie Cocktail

Serves 24 (8oz cups)

Ingredients

  • 1/2 gallon of apple cider (8 cups)
  • 1/2 gallon of unsweetened apple juice (8 cups)
  • 1 1/2 cups of light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup of sugar
  • 3 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 vanilla bean, optional
  • 2 cups vodka
  • 3 cups Whipped Cream flavored Vodka

Process

  1. In a large pot, combine the cider, apple juice, sugars, cinnamon, and vanilla together. Cook together to dissolve the sugars and to warm.
  2. Remove from heat and the cinnamon sticks and vanilla.
  3. Add the vodkas.
  4. Enjoy hot or cold.

Filed Under: Drinks Tagged With: apple Cider, Apple Juice, Apple Pie, apple pie cocktail, Apple Pie Moonshine, Moonshine, Moonshine Cocktail, Spiked Cider Cocktail, Thirsty Thursdays, Vodka, whipped cream, whipped cream flavored Vodka

Primary Sidebar

EMAIL NEWSLETTER!

Sign up HERE for meal planning suggestions & tips to take a great trip!

Top Posts & Pages

  • Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
    Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
  • Meghan Markle's Zucchini Pasta Sauce
    Meghan Markle's Zucchini Pasta Sauce
  • Room Review: Cars Family Suite in Disney World's Art of Animation Resort
    Room Review: Cars Family Suite in Disney World's Art of Animation Resort
  • Easy Pepperoni Pizza Roll Ups
    Easy Pepperoni Pizza Roll Ups
  • The Ultimate Weekend Away Packing List for Babies and Toddlers
    The Ultimate Weekend Away Packing List for Babies and Toddlers
  • How To: Labeling Your Garbage Cans
    How To: Labeling Your Garbage Cans
  • Pistachio White Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
    Pistachio White Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies
  • Southwest Orzo Salad with a Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette
    Southwest Orzo Salad with a Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette
  • Broccoli Cheddar Soup for Two!
    Broccoli Cheddar Soup for Two!
  • California Chicken Salad
    California Chicken Salad
collage of recipes of common ingredients
collage of soup stew and chilis bowls

Follow Us

Copyright© 2023 · Brunch Pro Theme by Feast Design Co.

 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.