October 2019 Better Homes & Gardens Recipes

If you haven’t already been making poke cakes, this caramel-apple-flavor cake recipe will change that for good! The basic cake batter gets its first fall flavor infusion from apple butter and apples. After baking, poke holes in the cake (hence the name) and pour on the next fall element—dulce de leche. A homemade whipped cream completes the cake. Voilà, a beautiful cake with no trimming, layering, or piping bags required.

Buy It: Wilton Nonstick 9x5-inch loaf pan, $6.99, Bed Bath & Beyond

This stuffed pork loin plays on the classic pork-and-apples combo in an eye-catching presentation that is easier than it looks—we promise! Butterfly your pork loin, then add the fruit filling, roll up, and bake. It takes only about 25 minutes of hands on time but will wow dinner guests.

You’ve likely seen the over-the-top decorated caramel apples from gourmet candy shops, but with simple caramels and candy melts, you can make these equally impressive dipped apples at home. The trick to the nature-inspired sticks is a cinch, too—just place a wood-grain paper straw over the candy apple sticks.

Buy It: Designer Paper Straws in Woodgrain $6.50 for 25, Amazon

Chopped apples, crisp-cooked bacon, and a splash of apple brandy (or apple juice if you’re forgoing alcohol) perk up basic ground chicken in these burger patties. More bacon and grilled apple slices as toppers aren’t mandatory, but they are most definitely encouraged.

We just couldn’t choose between an apple pie recipe and an apple tart, so we made these bars that feel like an apple dessert mashup. The layers of sliced apples feel like a pie and the shortbread crust and creamy filling were inspired by an apple tart. It’ll take care of any apple dessert craving.

Don’t let any in-season apples go to waste! We know it can be easy to over-pick at an orchard or buy a few too many when they’re on sale at the grocery store. Put four (and a half) pounds of those apples to use in our apple butter recipe that can be frozen up to six months. Caramel apple lovers, we include a variation of caramel apple butter just for you.

Buh-bye store-bought applesauce. We’re sticking to this five-ingredient homemade applesauce. We love getting to choose our favorite cooking apple and controlling how much sugar is added. The applesauce can be stored up to 8 months in the freezer so it’s easy to keep a supply on hand.

This skillet chicken recipe takes longer than others, but it’s still a cinch to make. You’re really actively cooking for only about 15 minutes; the bulk of the time needed for the juicy chicken is chilling time after seasoning. Don’t be tempted to skip the chill—that’s the key to the super-juicy results.

Buy It: Classic Cuisine Nonstick 12-inch Cast Iron Skillet, $23.99, Bed Bath & Beyond

We’ll go out on a limb here and declare pan-searing the best way to cook scallops to avoid a rubbery result. (If you’ve ever been served overcooked scallops, you know exactly what we’re talking about.) The key is getting your skillet to the right heat before adding the scallops and then exercising restraint after adding them to the pan. If they’re sticking to the pan, they’re not ready to turn. Wait until that perfect caramelized crust forms (it only takes about 2 minutes) before flipping for perfect doneness.

There’s not a carnivore out there who could resist this steak recipe with its pan-seared exterior and succulent center. A lickety-split sauce of butter, green onion, and ginger adds the final enticing touch to the meaty entrée.

Be prepared to make this side dish over and over, especially in the fall when butternut squash is in season. Orange juice brightens the flavors, and pan-searing gives that crisp crust and tender interior you can’t resist. Ready in about 30 minutes, this is an excellent veggie side dish to whip up while a casserole or roast is taking up oven space.

We know there’s a temptation to put all four pork chops in the skillet at once to expedite the cooking process, but we promise the result is worth it if you don’t overcrowd the pan. If the pan is too full, you’ll end up steaming the meat instead of searing, which means missing out on that amazing char on the exterior. Pinky promise us you’ll cook only two at a time.

Steak and eggs aren’t just for diner menus. Transform the blue plate special into a breakfast pizza that’s ready in under an hour. If you’re feeling ambitious and have the time, you could make homemade pizza dough, but we call for a package of refrigerated pizza dough to shortcut this recipe to get breakfast on the table faster.

These sugar cookie cutouts are such a simple decorating idea you’ll use them for graduations, game day, birthdays, really any cookie occasion! Customize the letters and colors to fit your theme and enjoy the oohs and aahs that come flooding in.

Buy It: College Font Cookie Cutter Set, $43.50, Amazon

Sure, you could make this sandwich recipe in a panini press, but toting a foil-wrapped brick to a tailgate is a much more appropriate way to press sandwiches on a grill. Take all the liberties you want with the toppings to use up what you already have in your fridge.

If you want to take this Mediterranean-inspired dip to a tailgate, tote the feta in a cooler to add just before serving (it’s really the only ingredient you need to worry about turning under the sun’s heat). Keep with the Mediterranean theme by serving with pita chips, zucchini, and cut up peppers.

If an early kickoff has you hitting the road first thing in the morning to get to your tailgate, here’s your recipe. The creamy dip that no one will be able to resist can be made the day before so you can roll out of bed, put on your team colors, and hit the road. Just don’t forget to grab the dip out of the fridge and put it in a cooler.