| This recipe is my attempt at recreating the fried apples available at Cracker Barrel Family Restaurants. The result will be very similar to their dish. We call them fried apples, but they can be created in a skillet, wok, saucepan, or pot. The important part, regardless of the type vessel, is that it have a tight fitting lid. Ingredients
- 4-6 apples
- 2 tbs. butter or margarine
- juice of 1/2 lemon or 1 good squeeze of lemon juice concentrate amounting to about 1 tsp.
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tbs. freshly ground cinnamon. If not freshly ground, buy already ground, but get the good stuff!
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbs apple juice
- 1 small dash salt
- 1 tbs. corn starch
Peel apples , then core and cut into 8 wedges. Place butter or margarine in pan, melt over low heat. Add lemon to apples as soon after peeling and cutting as possible to prevent discoloration. Put apples, 2 tbs. apple juice, salt, brown sugar, and cinnamon in pan, cover tightly. Bring to brisk simmer. Turn the resulting mixture every couple minutes to help it cook evenly. When apples are near but not quite to desired degree of softness, mix cornstarch with remaining apple juice, stir thoroughly until smooth and add to simmering apple mixture. As the now juicy mix comes back to simmer, it will thicken to a wonderful caramel-like sauce. Some things will affect your results. The type of apple makes a lot of difference. Yellow delicious apples will cook into apple mush very quickly. I don't recommend them for that reason. Granny Smith apples will withstand cooking for quite a while. I prefer Rome apples, Stayman apples, or Fuji apple]s. They are all medium hard apples with some tartness, giving you a bit of snap along with the brown sugar/cinnamon sweetness. The amount of time to cook also depends on the consistency you wish to achieve. If you like yours cooked until they are spreadable on toast or an English muffin, by all means cook them until they fall apart. If you like them with some crunch, kill the heat sooner. I like mine right in the middle of those 2 extremes. Don't have apple juice? Water works just fine! Do you like yours with more cinnamon flavor? Add more until your mouth gets happy. This recipe is very forgiving, allowing tweaking to your heart's content. This is a very easy recipe to use. There isn't a much better way to start the day than fried apples with country ham and eggs for breakfast. Oh, and by the way, don't forget the biscuits! | 
