Apple Pie Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips
Okay, like it or not, Fall has fallen and, in some areas, is already on its way out. What that means to me is APPLES. We have several apple trees, two of which are Northern Spy. The other one? Not sure. It was tagged as a Northern Spy when I bought it, but that is NOT what it is. The apples are quite good, but they don’t keep as well as spies. I will be getting into a few more apple recipes in the near future, but this was one I had not tried, and I thought it sounded delicious. Guess what? It’s delicious. Especially with a good fresh tart apple, like a Northern Spy.
Unfortunately, we have been so busy lately, I lost a load of tomatoes because they froze before we got a chance to go out and strip the vines. The apples were on their way to that, so we finally got out there yesterday and stripped the trees. I’m not real sure when I am going to find time to take care of them, but i made sure I had time to make a batch of this yesterday. And was very glad I did. It really didn’t take long.
I have found very similar recipes around the net, but I made my own adjustments based on what I know I like for apples.
Northern Spies, while being very crisp and flavorful and good for everything from eating raw, to pie, to applesauce and baked apples, sometimes need a little moisture. I find that many of them do.
One of the tricks my Mom has used for this is to add a little orange juice to the apples. One of the other benefits of this is the great flavor it adds. Not so much that it tastes like orange, but it just adds a something. I also used dark brown sugar for most of the sweetening here, giving it a caramel apple flavor. Keep in mind you will need to adjust the sugar and cinnamon based on your tastes as well as the type of apples you use. I used a couple of my trusty Northern Spies, which are a tart apple. Just make your adjustments when you first get this heating up. Keep it on a low heat until you adjust your flavorings where you want them.
Mmmm, little scoops of apple pie…..
- For the Apples:
- 2 large apples, diced. Spies, Jonathons, a solid sweet/tart apple (about 2 cups)
- 2-3 tablespoons orange juice or 1 tablespoon orange juice concentrate
- or you could just use a little lemon juice if you wish
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup water (this could be orange juice, depending on whether you used OJ concentrate)
- 1 Tablespoon corn starch mixed with 3 Tablespoons cold water.
- For the Chips:
- 4-5 small fajita size flour tortillas
- 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
- ½ cup sugar mixed with 2 Tablespoons cinnamon
- In a small saucepan, mix the apples with the sugar, cinnamon and juice. Heat on low/medium heat, testing for spice/sugar content. Once you get the flavors where you want them, you may need to add a little water, just to make sure you have a little sauce to the apples.
- Simmer the mixture for about 5 minutes, until the apples just start to soften. Mix the cornstarch and cold water to make a slurry. Whisking or stirring constantly, drizzle the cornstarch mixture into the apples, adding JUST enough to thicken the apple mixture slightly. Remove from heat.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Brush both sides of each tortilla with the melted butter, then sprinkle both sides with the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Cut each tortilla into 8 wedges and place on cookie sheet. Bake for about 5 minutes per side until browned and crisp. Allow to cool.
- Serve warm with the tortilla chips for dipping.