Apple Pie Spring Rolls

"wRapper's Delight"

I said a hip hop,
Hippie to the hippie,
The hip, hip a hop, and you don't stop, a cook it
To the yum yum yummy, say, down to my tummy,
To the rhythm of the boogie, the beat.
Now, what you see is not a test - I'm wrappin' up a treat,
And me, the Girl, and my Granny are gonna try to make it sweet.
See, I am Girlie Goal, and I'd like to say hello,
To the black, to the white, the red and the brown,
The purple and yellow. But first, I gotta
Wrap wrap, the roll to the roll,
Say down to my tummy, to the yum yum yummy,
Let's wrap, you don't stop,
Wrap the roll that'll make my Granny proud.
Well so far I've tried my best but I keep doing it wrong,
And the next time I try it will be right,
C'mon, Girl, wrap that roll!

I might be the worst wrapper in the history of spring roll wrappers. I could possibly have fryophobia (also known as fear of frying)...
but Granny always says to keep trying and tweaking things until it's right.
That being said I decided to give these Apple Pie Spring Rolls another try.  
I adapted this recipe from Juanita's Cocina. 

For the Apple Pie Filling
4 baking apples, peeled and chopped (I used Honeycrisp apples)
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the Spring Rolls
20-30 rice paper wrappers (spring roll wrappers)
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbs. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
Oil for frying

Combine the water, cornstarch, 3/4 c. sugar,  1/2 t. cinnamon, salt, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until thick.

Add the apples and reduce to a simmer. Allow the apple mixture to simmer until the apples become just tender (10 minutes). Allow to cool.

Spoon apple pie filling in the center of the wrapper.

Think of the wrapper as a diamond.  Fold the bottom corner toward the top corner.  Next fold in each side corner toward the center.  Finally fold down the top corner. 

Sidebar: as previously stated I am the worst wrapper ever, so don't do what I did.  Follow this guide instead: How to Egg Rolls

In the meantime, heat a skillet with 1/2 an inch of oil. Once oil is hot, fry the spring rolls on each side until  golden brown.(This is where things get scary for me!) Be sure not to crowd the rolls in the skillet as they may stick together.

Remove the spring rolls and place them on a paper towel-lined plate and allow to drain. Next, roll the warm spring roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat.

Brown Sugar Chewies

A few weeks ago I was looking through some old photo albums at my mom's house and came across this pic.

It's a pic of me mixing up the ingredients to make Brown Sugar Chewies.  It was the very first time Granny let me make a recipe solo (or as solo as at gets when Granny's involved). 
Funny thing is that Granny still uses that cookbook on the regular.
Recently I thumbed through the cookbook and found the recipe, so I decided it was time I revisited this recipe.  The simplicity of recipe makes it even easy for an 8 year old.

1 box light brown sugar

1 ½ sticks butter

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 ½ c. self-rising flour

1 c. chopped nuts

Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs, one at a time. Add flour and mix well. Add vanilla & chopped nuts. I used less than a cup of mix of black walnuts and pecans. Bake in greased 9x13 pan at 325° for 35-40 minutes.

Without Granny to supervise me during this baking experience I inadvertently grabbed bread flour instead of self-rising.  I realized my mistake after putting in about a half cup and switched out the bread flour for the correct flour.  So my Chewies came out a tad bit more glutenous than planned, but they were still quite tasty nonetheless.The next time I make these I plan to experiment with a few addends like chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, toffee, or coconut... But for now (and by now I mean this very instant) I'll just top them with a hearty scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel.