As many of you could tell over our glorious fall break, the leaves are turning and the weather is getting chilly! Approaching the middle of Oc­tober and inching closer and closer to Thanksgiv­ing, nothing says fall like apples. (Except maybe pumpkins, pies and getting sick off Halloween candy). Whether you like Macintosh, Red De­licious or Gala apples, everything goes out the window when you bake with that apple. No matter the kind, the sugar and butter will make each one taste amazing. That’s why there’s a fall tradition of Apple Fest (three weekends ago) here at Colgate and that’s why a select few find it necessary to slave away in the kitchen in order to produce that perfect fall treat.

The kitchen of Mélange á Trois contribut­ed apple tarts, biscuits with apple butter and apple cupcakes to Apple Fest. Even though Apple Fest is long over, you can’t stop making those apple desserts. So for this week’s recipe we decided to highlight the apple cupcakes because, let’s be honest, who doesn’t love cupcakes? Sophie will take any excuse to bake cupcakes and decided to lightly follow a Mar­tha Stewart recipe but add her own spin. In the midst of all the apple-y excitement and in true Paula Deen fashion, Sophie doubled the amount of butter in the first batch (2 sticks instead of 1 stick). While many bak­ing mistakes can be semi-disastrous (flat cake, floury cookies), this mistake was a blessing in disguise. The result was buttery, apple-y goodness. Of course if you’re down for the challenge (and the heart attack) add a stick of butter to the recipe below, but if you would rather be “healthy”, the “low fat” version is still amazingly delicious.

Ingredients:

2 1/14 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp salt

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

2 tsp brown sugar

2 large eggs

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Approximately two coarsely shredded apples (red) [best if shredded using a cheese grater, medium holes]

8 oz cream cheese softened

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

1 tbsp pure maple syrup

½ tsp pure vanilla extract

2 cups confectioner’s sugar

Preheat the oven to 350?. Whisk flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg in a me­dium bowl. Set aside. In a large bowl beat but­ter with sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, applesauce and vanilla extract. Mix on medium speed until incorporated. Mix shredded apples on medium speed.

Place baking cups into muffin tins and spoon about two tablespoons of batter until ¾ full. Bake for 18-20 min until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack.

For the frosting, beat cream cheese and butter until well mixed. Add the maple syrup, vanilla extract and confectioner’s sugar (little bits at a time to avoid sugar flying every­where). Mix ingredients until the frosting is smooth and creamy. Frost the cupcakes once they are fully cooled and EAT!

Amy’s culinary opinion: These cupcakes were a delight and the absolute perfect fall dessert. I think they disappeared from the table at Apple Fest in a record two minutes. They almost had a carrot cake like consistency due to the shredded apples, but a surprisingly creamy texture due to the applesauce. They were especially creamy in the double but­ter version, as one might expect. The cream cheese frosting was the perfect way to top them off. I am not usually a huge fan of frost­ing, but due to my Wisconsin roots, anything with cheese is a winner in my mind. I would definitely suggest baking these over the next few weeks as we prepare for the harsh Colgate winter months to enjoy a last taste of fall.