Fruity Displays? Apple Cones? Cherry Pie Filling?
You might be asking …what is she talking about?
There were so many things going on around the Holidays at Villa de la Luna…in other words our home, and if you would like to see the meaning behind naming our home click here.…you know I name EVERYTHING!
I wanted to share a few of the ideas along with a recipe that can be used any time of the year, but is really festive at Christmas.
Sooooooo……the story….
A few years ago, friends of ours visited Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia and were so excited as they talked about a village dressed in Colonial attire and shops that would have been active back in those Colonial days. See link here.
Colianial Williamsburg is much like Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri in which one can see the making of ciders, candle making and shoeing mules, etc. Colonial Williamsburg is that sort of village except in a much earlier time in our history, the 18th century.
I visited the website at that time, and explored all the available activities as well as an online store. It certainly sounds like one could make it a fun week-end visit and the Captain and I hope to visit some day.
At the online store, I found what is called an Apple Cone which is simply a wooden cone with small nails hammered in at intervals to hold fruit. I have used this apple cone on numerous occasions as it makes a very pretty display.
During the Holidays I like to display apples, of course…but one can use any fruit. Oranges and Lemons are especially pretty. It makes for a very pretty display.
Of course one can’t think of Colonial times without thinking of George Washington and what else? Cherries, of course. We all know about the famous chopping down of the cherry tree…..
….I want to share a 30 min recipe that should be in everyone’s recipe file, not only for the simplicity of preparation, but a bit healthier than most Cherry pie recipes and more importantly…it tastes good.
The printable recipe is at the bottom of this post.
But now let’s talk about the apple cone.
One of the first things I did when I purchased the apple cone was to remove a few of the nails, but one could use as is. AND I use smaller apples than say the large sugar crisp apples which I really love.
I have used several things as “separators”…but I like the Bibb lettuce the best. When I do citrus, I use branches with lots of leaves.
So here is how I start. I assemble my apples and my greenery (Bibb lettuce) on my counter. Or you can use Christmas greenery such as fir, etc.
I place the pedestal or plate and in this case it is a red cake plate on a towel on my counter so I can move the display easily as I add apples. I place the apple cone on the plate and start assembling and building the apple display.
I start at the bottom and push one apple onto the nails and work my way around the apple cone, leaving a small space for the Bibb lettuce or other greenery below each row. I don’t worry about space between the apples unless it is a large space because I can always fill it with greenery. Of course you could remove and replace an apple on the nails to make for better spacing but if you do that too many times, the apples will go bad sooner.
I speak from experience. 🙂 The pic above is literally from above to allow you to see how it is coming together.
I start the second row of apples and I try to stagger them so one apple is not directly over another apple, but it is ok if that happens so don’t sweat the small stuff. 🙂
Finally, I finish the 3rd row of apples and sometimes I put a large red apple on the top or a cluster of very small apples or a couple lemons and limes OR…a pineapple. I don’t use a large pineapple because it makes the apple cone top heavy. I usually tie a pretty bow at the base of the pineapple but for some reason, I didn’t take a pic of that.
So there you have it….apples on a fruit display for Christmas or any holiday. Now, if you have apples and no apple cone, just make an apple pie or use the recipe below substituting apple pie filling for the cherry pie filling.
It is National Pie Day!
- 1 package of refrigerated pie crust (not the pre-shaped crusts)
- 1 (20 ounce) can of cherry pie filling (no sugar added)
- 1/4 cup of Splenda or Trulia sweetener
- 1 pint of fresh raspberries (or blueberries or strawberries, your choice)
- whipped topping (lite)
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees
- Roll out one pie crust and cut into 4 inch rounds (use a bowl if you don't have a cutter and trace around with a knife, one crust will make 6 pie crust rounds, save scraps for decorating)
- Repeat with the second pie crust
- Press the pie crust rounds into the bottom and up the sides of a muffin/cupcake tin.
- In a small bowl, mix the cherry pie filling and the sweetener and then gently fold in the berries of choice.
- Spoon about 3 tablespoons of filling into each pie crust cup and place the muffin tin on a parchment lined cookie sheet to protect oven from spills.
- Bake for about 17 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the filling is bubbling
- Cool and serve with a dollop of whipped topping.
- I like to use the scraps of pie crust by making a little cut out leaf, then bake until golden and stick in the cherry cup after baking.
Please comment, I'd love to hear from you.