Sweetly crisp and reminiscent of cuddling up by the hearth, nibbling on these treats with a cup of hot cocoa.

Sugar Cookie Crust

4 tablespoons butter or margarine, room temperature

2⁄3 cup sugar

1 beaten egg

1 teaspoon rum extract or vanilla

1 cup flour

Powdered sugar for rolling out

Caramelized Apple Topping:

1 large or 2 small apples, peeled, cored and cut into 3⁄4-inch-thick wedges

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Cinnamon

Nonstick cooking spray

In a large bowl, add the butter and sugar. With a stout spoon, mix well together. It doesn’t have to be smooth and fluffy, just combined well. Mix in the egg and rum extract, then add the flour, mixing until well incorporated.

Sprinkle some powdered sugar on a work surface, transfer cookie dough and knead for 30 seconds. Roll out to about a 1⁄2-inch thick and the size that will fit the 8- to 9-inch nonstick, oven-safe skillet you will be using. If you don’t have nonstick skillet, a cast-iron pan will work just fine.

Place rolled cookie dough on a sugar-dusted plate and put in refrigerator until needed.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in 8- to 9-inch nonstick, oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. When melted, sprinkle both sugars over the butter evenly. Let cook until it becomes light brown. Keep an eye on this because once it starts to brown, it can burn in a matter of seconds. (And you think baked-on lasagna is hard to clean …)

Lay apple wedges in a circular pattern. Reduce heat to medium and cook apples for 5 minutes. Carefully flip each apple wedge, continuing to cook while dusting with cinnamon and cooking for an additional 5 minutes. Grab sugar cookie dough, carefully place over the apples, pricking the top of it for vents.

Immediately put the skillet into the oven, bake 12-14 minutes, or until cookie is starting to brown. Immediately remove from oven to rest for 1 minute ”“ no longer. Grab a plate ”“ the same size or larger ”“ and carefully invert your creation onto the plate. Spray a pizza cutter with nonstick cooking spray, or use a sharp, non-serrated knife that has been sprayed, and cut into wedges. Enjoy while warm or let it cool to form an amazingly crispy, sugary, caramelized crust all around.

 

Ridiculously Easy Vegetable Soup

With the barest of ingredients and the simplest of preparations, you can enjoy a filling soup that will rival any other vegetable soup found in your family recipe book. I wanted to add more ingredients to this recipe created by my dad, the second Yankee Chef, because it seemed rather plain at the onset. But once tasting, I decided, “Why fix something that isn’t broken?”

This recipe is perfectly seasoned without any other ingredient. It’s just that simple.

1 tablespoon oil

1⁄2 small onion, minced

1⁄2 teaspoon minced garlic in oil

5 cups vegetable broth

1⁄4 cup soy sauce

1 (12-ounce) bag frozen, California-style vegetable mix

1⁄2 (15-ounce) can cooked sweet potatoes, drained

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and black pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until onions are soft. Add remainder of ingredients; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes. Uncover and, in batches if needed, transfer soup to a blender or food processor to puree until smooth. Return to saucepan, add salt and pepper to taste and bring back up to temperature before serving. Serves four.

— Chef Jim Bailey is The Yankee Chef and an authority on New England food and its history. He is a respected food columnist from Maine and is married with four children. You can email questions or comments to [email protected] and visit theyankeechef.blogspot.com.