Cinnamon Poached Apples -- The Side Dish That Belongs on Every Christmas Ham Table

Brayden is one hundred and eighty-nine weeks old. Eden is forty-seven weeks old. The cinnamon poached apples are a small simple-side — apples halved and cored, poached in a small sugar-and-cinnamon-and-water syrup until tender.

Sunday I made the apples as a small side for the family dinner.

Brayden has been the small enthusiastic-helper at the kitchen-counter on Sunday afternoons. He hands me ingredients. He stirs the small mixing bowl. He watches the small kitchen-process with the small intent-attention of the small kid-who-might-become-a-cook-someday. The small hereditary-pattern is in the small early-signs.

Eden has been the small attentive-baby-toddler. She watches her big-brother. She mimics the small ages-three-up-to-his behavior. The small younger-sibling shape is appearing in the small everyday-rhythm.

The catering-cookbook companion (the Pantry Rules companion) has continued to sell at its small steady pace. The two-cookbook online-store has become the small reliable-revenue-stream. The small third-cookbook is in the small mental-outline-stage but is not in active drafting.

Cody’s pop-up has continued to evolve. The small Tuesday-double-and-occasional-Wednesday rotation is now the small standard rhythm. The small annual revenue has crossed $100,000. Cody has been thinking about a small private-dining-room booking expansion using the small new expanded-space.

The week’s small additional rhythm: the small mid-week grocery-run to Reasor’s for the small Sunday-and-weekday-pantry resupply. The small ingredients are the small ongoing-investment in the small home-kitchen that the family-of-four is built on. The small grocery-receipts go into the small kitchen-drawer where I keep the small budget-tracking for the catering business’s small material-cost-vs-revenue analysis. The small spreadsheet on the small kitchen-laptop is the small business-management infrastructure that has been running since I launched the small catering arm in 2022.

Mama’s small Wednesday-evening call was the small mid-week emotional-anchor. Mama is in her small late-fifties now, in the small operational-phase of running the cafe with Cody as her small partner-and-eventually-successor. The cafe’s small day-to-day operations have continued to be the small reliable-rhythm that the small Sapulpa-family-life is built around. Cody has been managing the small new-staff onboarding. Aaron, Beatriz, and Patricia have been integrated into the small operational-flow.

The small Aunt-Linda Tuesday-visit-rhythm continues. She arrives at the small 2 PM mark. She holds whichever small child needs to be held. She drinks the small coffee I keep ready in the small French press. We talk through the small week’s family-news, the small Roy-update (Roy is in his small mid-late-sixties now, post-macular-degeneration adjustment, fully passenger now with Aunt Linda driving both), the small Harper-and-Hadley update, the small Bristow-cousins news.

The small Sunday-evening publishing-and-archiving ritual continues. The recipe gets photographed at the small three PM kitchen-light-window. The post gets drafted at the small four PM workspace at the kitchen-counter. The post gets the small final-pass-edit at the small five PM. The post publishes at seven PM. The small comments and emails come in across the small Sunday-night-and-Monday-morning window. The small ritual is the small spine of the small Recipe Spinoff blog operation.

The small Pantry Rules cookbook companion has continued to sell at its small steady pace. The small kayleeturnercatering.com online-store carries both cookbooks now. The small revenue from the small books is the small adjacent-stream to the small catering-arm revenue and Dustin’s small auto-shop income. The small three-stream household-financial-shape continues to be the small stable-structure the family-of-four has been building around.

Cinnamon Poached Apples

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 6 medium apples (such as Honeycrisp or Fuji), peeled, cored, and halved
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup apple cider or apple juice
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 4 whole cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 strip orange zest (about 3 inches)
• Pinch of kosher salt

Instructions

1. Build the poaching liquid. In a wide, deep saucepan or Dutch oven, combine the water, apple cider, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves, vanilla extract, orange zest, and salt. Stir to combine and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugars dissolve, about 3–4 minutes.
2. Add the apples. Nestle the apple halves cut-side down into the simmering liquid in a single layer. If your pan is small, work in two batches. The liquid should come at least halfway up the sides of the apples.
3. Poach gently. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 18–22 minutes, turning the apples once halfway through, until they are just tender when pierced with a paring knife but still hold their shape. Do not let the liquid boil aggressively or the apples may fall apart.
4. Rest and reduce. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the apples to a serving dish. Increase heat to medium-high and simmer the remaining liquid for 5–7 minutes until it reduces into a thin, fragrant syrup. Remove the cinnamon sticks, cloves, and orange zest.
5. Serve. Spoon the warm cinnamon syrup over the apples. Serve alongside Christmas ham or roasted pork, or on their own with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 165 | Protein: 0g | Fat: 0g | Carbs: 43g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 28mg