What’s Cooking?

ACROSS

1 -- Valley, Calif. 5 Indent key 8 Booty 12 Portent 13 Hot temper 14 Corduroy ridge 15 Arm of the Arctic Ocean 17 Desire 18 Sub detector 19 Sunfl ower State 21 Study all night 24 Pvt.’s superior 25 Salamander 28 Canal feature 30 Acapulco gold 33 “The Greatest” 34 Continental cash 35 “Awesome!” 36 Sweetie 37 Apple computer 38 Memory unit 39 A billion years 41 Crazy 43 Treat badly 46 Available 50 Contented sounds 51 Left the band 54 “-- Rhythm” 55 Actress Mendes 56 Now, on a memo 57 Cuts off 58 Gym unit 59 Egyptian deity

DOWN

1 Scatters seeds 2 Texter’s “As I see it” 3 Chow -4 Unbroken 5 “-- the season ...” 6 Exist 7 Toucan’s feature 8 Tried to hit a homer 9 Veteran’s tale 10 Pond growth 11 Pop music’s Bee -16 Goof up 20 Requests 22 Grad 23 Aesopian ending 25 “Unh-unh” 26 “Evil Woman” gp. 27 Port authority? 29 Designer Chanel 31 Squealer 32 Poetic tribute 34 Drei minus zwei 38 Dwarf tree 40 Expels 42 Camp bed 43 Postal delivery 44 “Othello” villain 45 Ornamental jug 47 Pitch 48 Jai -49 Band in Boston? 52 Prior night 53 Snooze

EVEN EXCHANGE

by Donna Pettman

Each numbered row contains two clues and two answers. The two answers di er from each other by only one letter, which has already been inserted. For example, if you exchange the A from MASTER for an I, you get MISTER. Do not change the order of the letters.

What’s Cooking? Apple Fritter Pull-Apart Bread

BY JAN D’ATRI

Donuts with our coff ee were always a treat in my family because we didn’t buy them very often.

When you’re Italian, the perfect paring with your espresso is a biscotti. But oh, those donuts! My real weakness, though, was an apple fritter. Those rugged, rustic clumps of dough smooshed together with apple bits, laced with an ooey gooey glaze, were just too irresistible.

Now, to make matters worse for my waistline, what sits before me is a bread pan bubbling over with what pretty much looks like an apple fritter on steroids. This is going to be really good — or really bad, depending on how much willpower I have.

I found this recipe for apple fritter pullapart bread that is made with delicious and delicate a sweet yeast dough and sugary, buttery diced apples that are caramelized. The dough is rolled out, topped with the diced apples, and then sliced in squares, stacked in groups of four, and just stuff ed into the pan. This recipe is just downright fun. The pan went into the oven, and an hour later, sitting before me were apple-laced slabs of heaven ready to be pulled apart and devoured! You can make this with the homemade dough recipe below or you can make it with refrigerated croissant dough. Just promise me you’ll make it!

Apple Fritter Pull-Apart Bread

Ingredients

3 containers refrigerated croissant dough, rolled out into one solid rectangle or homemade dough below

For the dough

• 3 cups fl our • 1 package yeast • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 1 cup brown sugar • 1/4 cup water • 1 egg, beaten • 3/4 cup milk • 1/4 cup butter (I used Kerrygold Triple butter)

For the fi lling

• 6 large crisp apples, peeled and diced • 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice • 1 cup brown sugar • 1 teaspoon vanilla • 2 tablespoons butter • 1 teaspoon cinnamon • 1 tablespoon cornstarch

For the glaze

• 1 cup powdered sugar • 3 to 4 teaspoons milk, half & half or water

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9-by-5-inch bread pan.

In a skillet, cook apples, lemon juice, brown sugar, vanilla, butter, cinnamon and cornstarch until mixture is thickened. Set aside to cool.

Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles; remove from heat. Add the butter and stir until melted; set aside.

Put fl our, yeast, brown sugar and salt in a bowl; mix well.

Add the water, egg and milk/butter mixture.

Mix until dough forms into a ball, kneading for about 5 minutes.

On a fl oured surface, roll dough into a rectangle.

Evenly spread apple mixture over dough.

Cut dough into even 3-inch squares.

Stack four squares onto each other with spatula. Stack them side by side in pan until piles are used up. Bake 50 minutes. If top gets too brown, place foil over top and continue to bake. In a bowl, mix together powdered sugar and milk, cream or water until smooth.

Remove bread from oven and pour on glaze. Pull apart and enjoy!