I love apples! They are so delicious and so versatile. An apple can be enjoyed cut into crisp, delicious wedges, baked into a pie, added to dressings or other savory entrees or dipped into caramel. Since the heart of apple season is now upon us, I have found twenty-two apple related ideas to share with all of you.

1. All American Apple pie

2. Apple Magic ~ Stand the apple upright and cut it in half horizontally. Look at the cut side of your apple; you will see there is a star hidden inside.

3. Homemade Applesauce

4. Apple Math ~ Counting practice with the seeds. Cut the apple into halves, then quarters then eighths and practice fractions. Count the seeds in just one-fourth of the apple and estimate the amount of seeds in the whole apple. Count all the seeds and see if your estimate was correct.

5. Apple Oat bars

6. Help the kids make a cute Terra Cotta Pot apple for their favorite teacher.

7. Apple Crisp

8. Print out a few sheets of apple writing paper for your beginning writer.

9. Apple Spice Custard Cake

10. Apple Print craft

11. Crockpot Apple Butter

12. Caramel apples

13. Shrunken apple heads ~ With a small paring knife cut a face into your apple, similar to carving a pumpkin. Make the face happy, scary, whatever you like. Then place apple in a sunny spot to dry out. You will watch your apple head shrink and shrivel as the days go by.

14. Apple-Berry Salsa

15. Apple Centerpiece ~ Load a large glass bowl with fresh, colorful apples. Use all one color or a variety of colors. Place in the center of the table for a touch of autumn.

16. Apple Streusel Muffins

17. Maple Mustard Pork Tenderloin with Apples

18. Apple Raisin Scones

19. Bavarian Apple Torte

20. Waldorf Apple Salad

21. Apple Pinwheels

22. Apple iPod

Looking for even more apple ideas? Check out these websites...

Washington State Apple Commission
Michigan Apple Committee
New York Apple Country

Lynette is a wife and stay-at-home mom of three from one of the great apple states, Washington. Autumn is one of her very favorite seasons and apples are a big reason for this. At the time of this article she has canned 30 jars of applesauce and, with thanks to her dad, the awesome fruit grower, will undoubtedly be canning more.