Simple Ways to Infuse Fall Flavors

There's no time like fall to experiment with new recipes, especially those savory and sweet comfort dishes that highlight the season's favorite fruit - apples. Delicious when spread over a warm slice of fresh-baked bread, apple butter is also an unexpected but ideal ingredient for creating rich flavors in baked, cooked and grilled dishes that add warmth to any meal.

Traditional apple butter is made by simmering apples long and slow in kettles with sugar, apple cider and spices. This classic Pennsylvania Dutch spread is essentially a concentrated, spiced apple sauce and contains no dairy butter. The classic brown color reflects the apples' sugar caramelizing during the slow cooking process.

While apple butter makes an excellent spread, with up to 70 percent fewer calories than peanut butter and traditional dairy butter, it's also an easy way to instantly introduce fall flavors into your favorite dishes, whether dinner or dessert.

Bring the flavors of fall to your table with these simple, homestyle recipes. One blends the spicy notes of apple butter with pork in a simple, comforting crock pot dinner. The other offers a sweet apple-infused twist on traditional pecan rolls - made even easier with Musselman's Apple Butter - which is made the old-fashioned way for perfect texture and taste. It's never been easier to whip up comfort cuisine right in your own kitchen.

For more recipes featuring apple butter, visit www.musselmans.com.

Shredded Apple Pork

Ingredients

• 1 cup Musselman's Apple Butter
• 1/4 cup Musselman's Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 medium apples, cored and chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 6 boneless pork chops

Preparation

1. In small bowl, whisk together apple butter, vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper.
2. Place chopped apples and onions in slow cooker. Add pork chops and pour apple butter mixture over top.
3. Cook on low for five to six hours covered. Shred pork with two forks in cooker, and let meat marinate on low in sauce for 20 minutes uncovered. Serve warm over rice or mashed potatoes.

Serves
6 servings