Honey Crisp Apple Sauce (NO sugar)

I keep finding amazing recipes that have vanilla beans in them, so I guess that is what I am into right now!  I had  bunch of Honey crisp apples that had been in my fridge and just weren't getting eaten, {GASP}, I KNOW! I blame it on all the yummy Holiday treats that were EVERYWHERE I turned!  So when I came across this NO SUGAR apple sauce recipe, I knew it had to be done! I didn't miss the sugar one bit, it is so sweet and yummy on its own! I found the recipe here.

Honey Crisp Apple Sauce

5 Honey Crisp apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cinnamon stick
1 T vanilla bean paste, or 1 vanilla bean scrapped

Put all of this in a pot and stir to combine. Let simmer on your stove on Medium low for about 1-2 hours or until the apples are super soft.  You can also put all this in your slow cooker on low for about 4 hours.  I used an immersion blender to blend to desired consistency.  It is great warm or cold!  It will store in your fridge for about 2 weeks or you can can it using a water bath! I doubled mine and got about 4 cups (I forgot to measure). I will definitely being doing bigger batches to can in the future!

Vanilla Bean Scones

I love scones!  And as much as I love them, I think my boys love them more! I literally hid these and totally kept them all for myself, after we ate them for breakfast one morning.  They are a copy cat recipe of Starbucks Petite Vanilla Bean Scones.  I got the recipe here.

Vanilla Bean Scones

(32 petite sones)

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar 

1 T baking powder

1/4 t salt

1/2 cup cold butter, cubed

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 egg

2 t vanilla bean paste (you could also use 1/2 a vanilla bean scraped and 2 t vanilla extract)

Glaze

3 cups powdered sugar

6-7 T heavy ream

1 t vanilla bean paste (or 1/2 vanilla bean scraped and 1 t vanilla extract)

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat.

3. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Whisk or pulse in a food processor to mix.

4. Add butter and cut in with a pastry cutter or pulse with a food processor until mixture resembles cornmeal texture.

5. In another bowl, whisk together cream, egg, and vanilla bean paste

6. Add liquid to flour mixture and pulse until just combined.

7. Put the dough on a floured surface and knead the dough briefly until the dough comes together.

8. Roll the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness.

9. Cut the dough into 8 rectangles or squares and then cut each on one diagonal and then the other creating 32 petite scones.

10. Place them on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges just start to turn brown.

11. Transfer the scones to a cooling rack to cool completely.

12. Whisk together the ingredients for the glaze adding the cream one tablespoon at a time until desired thickness. Dip the cooled scones in the glaze and place them back on the cooling rack to harden.