Caramel Apple Pizza by Alina Fernandez
Story and Photos by Guillermo Avelar
They key to happiness is doing what you love—a mantra that Alina Fernandez has adopted for her life.
Born and raised in Eagle Pass, Texas, Fernandez is pursuing an undergraduate degree in exercise and sport science.
She has had exposure to the field by working at her hometown as a physician assistant and is always searching for opportunities to further develop her skills.
Fernandez started attending St. Mary’s in fall 2014.
“I chose this university because it’s small and it has a strong community feeling. Also, I enjoy the personalized attention students get with faculty as it maximizes my learning process,” Fernandez says.
Fernandez describes cooking and baking as one of her favorite hobbies.
“I am comfortable cooking and baking anything; it is my way to take a break from life whenever there is too much academic pressure,” Fernandez adds.
“I decided to bake an Apple Carmel Pizza because, despite the fact I don’t really have a sweet-tooth, this dessert is probably the best dessert there is. I enjoy eating it, and so do everyone else,” she says.
Although the process takes between two to three hours, Fernandez assures that it is “extremely easy and fun to make.”
The dish requires mixing ingredients to form different pastes to spread on top of the cookie crust.
Fernandez likes this dessert so much because “it looks like a pizza, but it tastes like a cookie.”
Additionally, she explains how the Apple Caramel Pizza adds healthy ingredients, such as apples and walnuts, to make it taste better and be healthier.
As with everything Fernandez prepares, the best advice is to “make everything with love, and add a little pinch of joy, as well the obvious, of having fun throughout the process.”
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup of unsalted butter
- 3/4 cups of sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp of vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp of salt
- 1 tsp of baking powder
- 1/2 tsp of baking soda
- 1 tsp of cinnamon
- 1/3 cup of walnuts
- 2 apples, sliced
- 1/2 lb of cream cheese
- 1/2 cups of powder sugar
- 1/2 cup of caramel sauce
Makes 8-12 slices
Directions
First, preheat oven to 300°F to toast walnuts. To make the dough, in a large bowl, mix 1/2 a cup of softened butter with sugar until everything is evenly mixed. Add to the large bowl an egg and 1 tsp of vanilla extract and beat it together until a smooth paste is created. Then, in a medium bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon until evenly mixed. Combine the mixture of both bowls thoroughly. Once this is completed, cover the dough and place in the refrigerator from 30 minutes to 4 hours. In a baking rack, place the walnuts and toast them on the oven for 10 minutes; set aside to cool. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 12-inch pizza pan for crust. Remove dough from refrigerator and form a circular shape on the pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until crust is slightly brown; remove and allow crust to cool completely. Meanwhile, slice both apples thinly (you can use club soda to prevent apples to turn brown) and place aside. For the frosting, beat cream cheese and ¼ cup of butter in a large bowl. Add powder sugar, 1 tsp of vanilla extract and ¼ cup of caramel sauce and beat it until completely combined. Finally, spread the frosting evenly unto the crust and place sliced apples and toasted walnuts on top. To finish, drizzle caramel as preferred.
Filed under: Class Projects, Desserts, Recipes | Tagged: Alina Fernandez, caramel apple pizza, Guillermo Avelar, magazine launch, St. Mary's University, taste of stmu |
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