Apples and pumpkins are two particularly popular fruits for desserts today, and they are central to a charming, delicious autumn or even winter banquet, such as American Thanksgiving, Christmas, or other celebrations. Often, families can get these fruits or their products at a local grocery store, but in the autumn season, it may be much more fun to visit farms and orchards for autumn activities like picking apples right of the trees, choosing and harvesting pumpkins from pumpkin patches on the farm. This can be great fun for kids, who will love finding these fresh fruits and the satisfaction of harvesting their favorites. Other fun farm activities may include a craft show, hay bale rides, and more if there is a festival or fair taking place, and the adults can enjoy gathering ripe, authentic ingredients for baking apple pies, pumpkin pies, and more. Desserts from these fruit are widely varied and popular, from apple donuts to pumpkin pies and seeds baked in the oven.
Desserts From the Farm
Farm crops such as apples and pies are hugely popular for baking desserts like apple pies, and pies are in fact among the most popular desserts anyway. Crisco and the American Pie Council carried out a survey asking Americans what dessert they would prefer a family member or friend to bring to holiday dinner, and pie was the most popular choice, at 29% of all responses. And among pies in particular, apple pies proved themselves the most popular of flavors at 47%, with pumpkin pie placing second at 37% and chocolate cream ranking third at 32%. There are plenty of apple types for baking apple pies and more; around the world, 7,500 varieties of these fruit and grown, and 2,500 of those varieties exist in the United States alone. About two pounds of apples are needed to make one nine-inch pie, but so many can be harvested that this means plenty of apple pies can be baked by nearly anyone. Apple fritters are another dessert that anyone can bake, and given the popularity of apples, plenty of other recipes aside from the staple of apple pies may be found, from cinnamon applesauce to baked apples.
Pumpkins, too, are popular for baking, primarily for pumpkin pies, which stand as an iconic dessert for American Thanksgiving. Often, whipped cream may be added for more flavor, and what is more, pumpkin seeds can make for great, low-calorie snacks once they are baked in the oven and salted for flavor. Other pumpkin recipes may be found in cookbooks or online or in cooking shows, such as pumpkin pie-stuffed cheesecake.
Apple pies and pumpkin pies are plenty popular, but there is more that adults can do on a farm besides watch their kids pick apple and pumpkin dessert ingredients. Rustic weddings are growing in popularity to overtake banquet hall style weddings, and a farm can be an excellent, per-fabricated setting for such a wedding, complete with a barn (it can be cleaned out), attractive orchards, and more. To help decorate the reception hall, the wedding planners can add local items as rustic wedding decorations, and this may include apples and pumpkins, among other farm ingredients such as gourds or ears of corn. These foods can be arranged into wicker baskets to make for attractive decorations, and they can even be given away as wedding favors. And of course, if the bride and groom so choose, apple pies and pumpkin pies can be served at the reception lunch or dinner for down to earth flavors everyone is bound to love. In fact, these decorative fruits can be used in everyday life, too, if someone wants to lend a rustic theme to their home.
Collecting apples and pumpkins is also a great opportunity for the fun of home baking in autumn, as a substitute for just buying pre-baked apple pies or pumpkins pies from the grocery store. This allows any baker to customize their ingredients and add personal touches, especially if apple or pumpkin pies are being served at a wedding reception or an autumn birthday. This also means that someone can bake a pie with special dietary needs in mind, such as gluten allergies or lactose intolerance if the right recipe is used.