Hooray for autumn! Which, in my opinion, is a much more beautiful word to describe this season than fall. I know I live in perpetually 70°F Los Angeles, but I still get excited about the changes in season as much as the next person in New England. (I just don’t get the breath-taking view of leaves changing color, which really is a bummer.) Autumn to me is cardigans, and boots, and scarves, and the beginning whispers of the holidays to come. Oh–and with autumn comes autumn produce! Pumpkins, squash, sweet potatoes… and apples.

Apples are much less temperamental than berries (alas! berry season, farewell!) which is why they’re usually delicious all year round. However, this hardy fruit is especially delicious around this time–and you’ll see signs of everyone taking advantage of its ripeness around this time. Apple cider, apple cake, apple pie… you see, something about the mix of apples and cinnamon just screams cozy, and the mixture warms your taste buds. But what if we decided to throw caramel into the mix? What, indeed.

I found a recipe in a recent Saveur issue for caramel apple pie and was intrigued; here was a unique twist on everyone’s favorite dessert that should have been obvious! So I made the filling following the recipe and formed them into pastry pockets (think of Pop-Tarts, but with 100% less preservatives) for my friends’ housewarming BBQ. It was a hit and I enjoyed the flavor–but when I endeavored to make the recipe again, I decided to make a few changes.

With less sugar, a little more cinnamon and more caramel–of course!–I found the filling that I was looking for; I just needed a ‘vessel’ for it. Enter the idea of personal pies, or “pot” pies. I always try to give my friends dessert to take home with them, but bringing home pie slices is kind of messy. But who could say no to a personal-sized pie? So I used my large muffin/cupcake pan and the rest is history!

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A few things I would change from what is shown in these images: first, I would’ve stacked the apples instead of pouring them into the pie shell in order to fit more apples into each pie. Next, I would’ve been more careful about how much sauce I poured into each pie–I went a little overboard with one pie and the sauce ended up everywhere! And lastly, I would’ve pinched the edges of the pie with more force to seal the filling in. But it still tasted heavenly–which is why I’m still posting this recipe despite my hiccups.

If you don’t have muffin pans, you can still use this recipe–just double the amount of pie crust , as this recipe will only make enough for 1 9-inch crust and you need 2 of them. Good luck!

Pie filling adapted from Saveur: Caramel Apple Pie

Pie crust adapted from The Italian Dish

Unfortunately, I was unable to keep to my regular posting schedule because of a little thing called life.

I flew back from Boston to LA on Thursday night, completely negating any kind of follow-up post I intended to make about Boston on schedule. After that, I was busy with James’ surgical year-end banquets/get-togethers/etc. (Surgeons like to party—and why not? They have it pretty stressful 99% of the time!)

When James was away on Sunday for one of his last calls of the year, I was sure that I’d be able to make up for lost time. And then I got sick.

I hate how unproductive you must be while sick in order to get better. I languished on the couch, unable to read anything because of a headache and unable to sleep because I oscillated between being too hot and too cold. When your immune system is kicking into overdrive in order to fend off whatever is causing your illness, your body is left with exactly zero percent energy. I kept fading in and out of consciousness, hoping that each time I awoke next I would feel better.

As James pointed out later, I probably exacerbated my sickness by not allowing myself enough to eat—did you know that your body needs 1.5x as much food intake as you normally eat because it expends so much energy in rising your overall body temperature? By the time he came home from call on Monday, I looked like a specter. Luckily, he had enough sense to force feed me despite my protests; as much as I hate to admit it, that reason is probably why I managed to recover today.

So what does any of this have to do with food?

Well, less than an hour before I came down with said illness, I had been trying out a new recipe for baked chicken nuggets. Unfortunately, they ended up being the only solid food I managed to eat on Sunday—certainly not enough for a sick person’s metabolism. But as for a healthy alternative that’s low in calories—great for everybody else!

The best part is that you can make a large amount in advance all at once, freeze the leftovers, and use them later at your discretion. No more excuses about healthy food taking more time out of your day—and no more deep-fried pink slime McNuggets. (I’m guilty of loving them as much as anybody else, but I’m moving onto healthier pastures.) My favorite condiment with these nuggets is plain ol’ ketchup, but anything you have on hand will be delicious, I’m sure.