You know how certain foods can be attached to different memories you have. Smelling it or tasting it or sometimes even just thinking about it will bring that memory rushing back. I definitely have a few of those as I am sure most of us do. Sometimes food takes me back to special moments of my childhood and in other cases, like fall and all the fall treats, it takes me back to the very beginning of my adventure as a mom. So the very beginning my children’s childhood if you will. These are a few of my favorite fall treats and not just because they are AMAZING!

These are my favorites!

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE summer! I also love spring and all the beautiful blooms and smell of fresh cut grass. But there is just something special and magical to me about fall. I love the slightly cooler weather and I am OBSESSED with blankets and snuggly things so, of course, I need the weather that compliments those. But when I was growing up, we didn’t always have hands on time with my mom in the kitchen. It just wasn’t something we did. I did, however, have tons of time with my granny and she helped me find my love of baking and all things sweet! Needless to say, one of my top list fall treats has got to be apple cider and apple cider donuts. Yes, always together. You can’t have one without the other. Fresh apple cider and hot, fresh apple cider donuts are hands down my top favorite thing to get in the fall. I apologize to all the pumpkin spice lovers, but apple cider wins for me!

ALL the apples!

We love to pick up these amazing treats when they become available at our local orchards or farms around our town. And you can’t go to the pumpkin patch without bringing some home with you. I will always remember that one fall when I was pregnant with my youngest baby, Addie, that we took a fresh bag of donuts with us to have at the house. They literally didn’t make it to the car! I personally blame the person who handed them to the pregnant lady.

Ok pumpkin spice lovers. I did have to include you in here because while apple cider is my number one choice, I really do love a pumpkin spice chai. Yes – chai. For those of you that don’t know, I am not a coffee drinker. I actually really hate coffee (though oddly enough I love the smell!). But I have come to really love chai lattes with almond milk . No dairy for this girl. Peppermint chai is actually my preference over pumpkin spice, but I have a rule for myself. Pumpkin spice is for fall, peppermint is for winter. It makes it feel more special that way!

A fall must have!

The main fall tradition and treat that we absolutely love, the one that reminds me of my early years as a mom, also involves apples! Because of my love for being in the kitchen with my granny and all the amazing memories I have of that, I wanted to create some of my own for my kids. This one began when my oldest daughter, Arika, was about 2 years old and it was right before Halloween. We started the tradition of making our own caramel apples. Unwrapping all the individual caramels and melting them down. Then plunging the whole apple right into that hot, sticky sugar. She loved it! Though we quickly learned that they are really difficult to eat that way. And let’s face it, no one wants to unwrap all those caramels and melt them down.

So over the years we came up with this genius idea! It’s been adapted a few different ways, first with using a melon baller to make little balls of apple bites and put them on lollipop sticks. The kids would dip them in a tub of caramel dip and then roll in their favorite toppings! We usually always have chopped nuts, crushed Oreos, sprinkles, heath toffee bits (that one is my favorite), and mini chocolate chips! But as we added more kids into the mix and my sister and I got together with all these munchkins we decided to go easy peasy and just slice the apples and ditch the sticks. So much easier!

I can’t believe fall is already here! Take a look at what we did to keep busy during the spring shutdown this year!

https://joniloraine.me/2020/10/01/home-projects-during-covid/