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10A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, October 26,2022
Now’s time for apples
I realize
apples are
available all
year long. Still,
there is some
thing about
this time of
year that
screams for
eating apples
and cooking with them. I
love all apples—from the
tart Granny Smith apples,
to the sweet Honey Crisp
apples—all apples are
delicious. For most reci
pes, I like to mix a variety
of apples—but feel free to
use whatever type of
apples you love.
Apple Pie Bars
for 15 minutes.
In a bowl, com
bine apple slices
with 2 tablespoons
flour, 2 table
spoons sugar, 1
teaspoon cinna
mon, and 1/8 tea
spoon nutmeg.
When crust comes
out of the oven, raise oven
temperature to
350-degrees. Top with
apples.
In a bowl, combine
streusel ingredients and
press onto the apples.
Bake 30-35 minutes. Cool
on a rack for 20 minutes
and then lift the parch
ment paper out of the pan.
Cut into bars. Drizzle
with caramel sauce.
ADLEN
ROBINSON
Columnist
Shortbread Crust:
• Vi cup butter, melt
ed
• 14 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 'A teaspoon salt
• 1 cup flour
Filling:
• 2 apples, peeled,
cored and thinly
sliced
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons
sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinna
mon
• 1/8 teaspoon nut
meg
Streusel Topping:
• Vi cup oats
• 1/3 cup brown
sugar
• 14 teaspoon cinna
mon
• 14 cup flour
• 14 cup butter,
cubed
• Store-bought cara
mel sauce
Line a baking pan with
parchment paper and let
the paper come over the
edges of the pan. Preheat
oven to 300-degrees. In a
bowl, combine melted
butter, sugar, vanilla, salt
and flour to form the
crust. Press the dough
into the bottom of the
parchment paper. Bake
Apple Fritters
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons
sugar
• 1 Vi teaspoons
baking powder
• 14 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon but
ter, melted
• 2 egg whites
• 4 apples, peeled,
cored and sliced
into rings
• 3 tablespoons
lemon juice
• 2-3 inches vegeta
ble oil
• Powdered sugar
for serving
Whisk together flour,
sugar, baking powder and
salt. In another bowl,
whisk milk, egg yolk, and
melted butter. Add flour
mixture. In another bowl,
toss apples with lemon
juice. Using an electric
mixer, beat the egg whites
until stiff peaks form.
Fold egg whites into bat
ter. Dip apples into the
batter and fry in
375-degree oil. Fry 2
minutes per side until
golden brown. Remove to
paper towel lined plate.
Dust with powdered
sugar.
Be sweet
As a teenager, I was leav
ing my purely Southern
mother’s house one day
with a salutation of “See
you later.”
“Okay,” she replied. “Be
sweet.”
“Be sweet.” It’s the man
date of mothers across the
South when sending their
daughters off on a trip or
social engagement. Not “be
careful,” mind you, but “be
sweet.” That’s because to
Southern mothers, being
sweet is more important
than avoiding an accident.
“You can catch more
flies with honey than vine
gar,” Southern matriarchs
warn repeatedly. And being
the dutiful daughters of the
South that we are, we prac
tice mightily that com
mand.
Because they’re right.
Numerous are the men
and adversaries who have
found themselves stuck-fast
in Southern women honey.
Our syrupy sweet ways, on
the other hand, often make
escape impossible.
Once, Mama was fuming
over a repairman who had
promised repeatedly to
show up but had not.
“I’ve had it!” she
stormed. “I’m gonna call
him and give him a piece of
my mind.”
I smiled and winked. “Be
sweet now.”
The brilliance of my
advice dawned across her
face. She grinned. “Right,”
she agreed, nodding. She
picked up the phone and
used so much sugar that he
was on her doorstep within
a couple of hours after not
showing up for two weeks.
It was rewarding to see her
practice effectively what
she preached for my entire
lifetime.
Years ago, I got to think
ing about the immense
importance of sweetness to
Southern women after I
appeared at a book event
with two other sweet
Southern women (yes,
“other” because I consider
myself to be real sweet,
too. Mostly. I prac
tice it routinely
except when
crossed one too
many times or
someone has been
ugly to a loved one
of mine or made
fun of the way I
talk. On those occasions, I
become anything but
sweet). Best-selling authors
Dottie Benton Frank and
Cassandra King were both
enveloped by passion,
determination and the
sweetness that Southerners
demand of their women.
We started out in the pub
lishing business at the same
time which bonded us.
In many of her beloved
beach books, Dottie often
threw my name into her
acknowledgements because
she was loyal. Her unex
pected death was a loss to
her readers, her friends and
a society which needs all
the sweetness it can get.
Cassandra King is the
pen name of Sandra
Conroy, who was called
“the nicest woman
on earth” by hus
band, Pat Conroy,
who, too, has left
us. She wrote a
delightful book -
Same Sweet Girls
- which is a trib
ute to the sweet
ness of our feminine
Southern ways. She, too,
agrees that the art of being
sweet was necessary in her
mother’s eyes and, there
fore, a critical part of her
Alabama upbringing.
“My mother was the
quintessential Southern
lady and I was pretty much
a disappointment to her,”
Sandra admits. “I was a
tomboy as a kid then a
wannabe Bohemian as a
teen and college student.
But at least I was sweet.”
Mama was so good at
“sly” sweetness that she
could slip a criticism in
between multiple compli
ments and it would take
you two days to figure out
what she said. This is the
mark of correction perfect
ed by Southern women:
Load ‘em down with com
pliments then slip in the
critical comment and slide
quickly into more flattery.
My friend, Mary Ellen,
discovered this when
Mama, a dressmaker, was
taking her measurements
for a bridesmaid dress.
“You have the most beau
tiful bustline I’ve ever seen,”
Mama commented. “I know
women who would kill for
your bustline.”
Mary Ellen smiled.
“And the tiniest waist I
ever saw,” Mama continued.
Mary Ellen’s smile
broadened.
Mama measured her hips
and sighed woefully. “It’s
your butt that’s so big.”
Slight pause. “Of course, it
just looks bigger because
your waist is so small.”
That was my mama for
you. Wasn’t she sweet?
Ronda Rich is the best-sell
ing author of What Southern
Women Know (That Every
Woman Should).
RONDA RICH
Columnist
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