Apple, Brie & Cranberry Make the Perfect Fall Grilled Cheese Sandwich

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I received a complimentary shipment of SweeTango^® apples from Stemilt for review. The recipe and opinions are my own. 

There are a lot of things that I miss about New England, especially this time of year. One of those things is fresh apples. Coming from New England, apples are as much a part of fall as the changing leaves and cooling temps. We go apple picking and drink fresh pressed cider, but not here in Colorado. Apples don’t grow here in the clay soil and it also hardly rains. Those are the best apple growing conditions and I have to say, I really miss apple picking and apples with that fresh from the tree taste.  

A few weeks ago I received an email asking if I would like to try some SweeTango^® apples, which is the successor of the Honeycrisp apple. Being the fan of Honeycrisp that I am, of course, I was eager to try them. 

One of the first things I thought of when I bit into one of the SweeTango^® apples was that it reminded me of apple cider. Crisp, sweet, with the spice notes mentioned in the apple’s characteristics. This immediately made me homesick but in a good way. I thought the apples would make a great addition to a sandwich, so I put together an apple grilled cheese with SweeTango® apples, brie cheese, homemade cranberry sauce, and baby arugula. Let me tell you … it was delicious!

How to make cranberry sauce

First, I made the cranberry sauce. Have you ever made homemade cranberry sauce before? If not, it’s so easy and so much better than canned cranberry. Just add a half cup each of white sugar, brown sugar, orange juice, and water to a pan. Stir until the sugars are melted, then add a bag of cranberries and cinnamon and nutmeg to taste. I also usually add some orange zest and a little apple pie spice.

Bring to a boil then simmer until the cranberries begin to pop. Smoosh the cranberries with the back of a spoon until it’s to your desired consistency and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. That’s it. So easy!

Apple grilled cheese sandwich

Now that the cranberry sauce is done, it’s time to assemble the apple grilled cheese sandwich. To do so, you will need a good quality crusty bread, SweeTango^® apples, brie cheese, homemade cranberry sauce, and baby arugula (optional). 

Slice the bread and cover with brie. Put under the broiler until desired crispiness of the bread. I put mine under for almost two minutes. Remove from the broiler and top with thinly sliced apples, a drizzle of the juice from the cranberry sauce, and top with arugula. It couldn’t be easier and it’s so delicious! (But you could put brie on an old shoe and I’d think it was the best thing ever).

I want to thank Stemilt for sending me a dozen of their delicious SweeTango^® apples. My family loved them and when we ran out, we bought more at King Soopers, our local Kroger banner store. Since this variety of apples is available through November, you can bet that we will be stocking up! In addition to apples, Stemilt sells a variety of other fruit including pears, cherries, and peaches. If organic is what you’re looking for, check out their line of Artisan Organics™. 

Find more fall and apple recipes here.