Bourbon Apples & 33 Amazing Apple Recipes

Tender apples bathing in an addictive cinnamon bourbon butter sauce. These apples are ah-mazing on French toast, pancakes or ice cream … or thicken up the sauce to make a bourbon apple pie. The bourbon adds something entirely enchanting to the sweet buttery sauce. … Oh and btw, if you’re looking for more apple recipes, scroll down to the end of this post for a fabulous treasure trove of apple inspiration!

But first I need to tell you the story behind this recipe. I was on vacation with my two (adult) kids at Lake of the Ozarks and we decided to go out for lunch … because that’s what you do on vacation, right? We asked up at the front desk where we should go to eat. She suggested we go to this place called Casablanca because people just rave about it and they have the best pizza in town. She said we REALLY needed to go down to that area anyway because it was full of shops and good places to eat and we definitely HAD to go there before we left.

Okay, so we hopped in the car and headed down there, picturing a quaint little shopping area with interesting shops and restaurants. The picture I had in my head of Casablanca, just from hearing the name, was a semi-fancy kind of place, an Italian restaurant with white tablecloths … or maybe it had red checkered tablecloths and good bread. My kids and I were eager to experience this area that was so highly recommended.

We got down there and it was the absolute tackiest tourist shopping area I have ever seen. It was so cheap and gaudy and so blatantly tourist-y I kind of threw up a little in my mouth. We kind of wanted to leave immediately (although my daughter said she loved it … but she didn’t express any interest in going into the tacky tourist traps). But we were hungry and the restaurant was highly recommended, so we found a parking spot and started walking past the hideously gaudy shops to Casablanca.

The restaurant was not at all like I had pictured it. It was a bit of a dive, small, with rustic wooden tables and a large bar and neon signs. The front of the restaurant was open air and that feeling carried into the inner space, where there were only 3 or 4 tables. The bartender came up to our table, a friendly guy in shorts and a t-shirt and got us our drinks, which arrived in plastic cups. Definitely NOT what I was expecting. But it was pleasant and friendly and the food that others were munching on looked good. My daughter (who never can make a decision at a restaurant) was debating what to order. She was torn between the French toast with bourbon apples or the French toast with strawberries. (It was lunch time, but she could eat French toast any time of day!) We told her to get the bourbon apples … definitely bourbon apples. She got this huge grin on her face and you could see how much she was anticipating those apples.

Well, then the bartender came back to get our food order, casually mentioning that they have the best pizza in town. She started to place her order and he said they only have French toast on weekends. My daughter’s smile faded. She looked sad. We weren’t staying until the weekend. We convinced her that since they have the best pizza in town, maybe we should order pizza. So we ordered a large sausage and pineapple pizza (my kids’ favorite) to split between the three of us, and once the bartender had left the table, I told her I could make her French toast with bourbon apples. I thought about making them while we were on vacation (because we did have a little kitchen at the resort), but we came home early and then it got forgotten as we settled back into our home routine … until a few weeks later when my dad gave me some apples from his tree. And then I remembered the bourbon apples.

So, while she was sleeping after working the night shift one day, I made the bourbon apples. When she woke up, I knew she’d want breakfast and when I mentioned to her that I’d made her some bourbon apples her face lit up. She asked if she could have some french toast with bourbon apples and I was so happy to say yes.

The look on her face as she was eating her beloved French toast with bourbon apples was pure bliss. She ate half the batch in one sitting! (I internally vowed to make a bigger batch next time.) She thanked me so sweetly, but the happy look on her face was all the thank you that I needed. I would gladly make these apples for her any time. I love that girl SO much.

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Looking for more amazing apple recipes?

Then you need to check out these recipes from me and my foodie friends … and a few that I found online that look SO good!

Apple dessert recipes and other lovely sweet apple-y things:

• Rustic Country Apple Fritter Bread – Cooking with Mary and Friends
• Apple Pie Dessert – Cooking with Mary and Friends
• Apple Pie Cake – Cooking with Mary and Friends
• Deconstructed Skillet Apple Dumplings – Seduction in the Kitchen
• Homemade Apple Fritters – Seduction in the Kitchen
• Limoncello Apple Pie
• Apple Pie Smoothie
• Apple Cherry Rhubarb Crisp
• Apple Pie with Apple Whiskey Pie Crust
• Maple Spice Apple Crisp
• Five Alarm Apple Hot Pepper Jam
• Caramel Apple Jam
• Swedish Apple Cranberry Pie
• Maple Apple Cranberry Bread Pudding
• Apple Cinnamon Scones with Maple Drizzle
• Twisted Apple Braid
• Apple Cranberry White Chocolate Oat Crumble
• Apple Pie Wontons
• Caramel Apple Sweet Rolls

Savory apple recipes … because apples can totally rock dinner!

• Curried Red Lentil Apple Soup
• Bacon Apple Gorgonzola Bites
• Holiday Quinoa Kale Salad with Apples
• Apple Grilled Walleye with Pineapple Salsa
• Grilled Apple Tossed Salad – Taste of Home
• Apple Chicken Quesadillas – Taste of Home
• Apple Mashed Potatoes – Taste of Home
• Apple Thyme Chicken – Taste of Home
• Apple Sage Sausage Patties – Taste of Home
• Roast Pork with Apple Sinner Stuffing – Saveur
• Grilled Flatbread with Apples, Bacon and Onion – Saveur
• Apple Cheddar Pizza – Oh My Veggies
• Butternut Squash Apple Burgers – Oh My Veggies
• Savory Apple Thyme Tart – Oh my Veggies