The Original
Tehachapi Apple Book

It’s a cookbook, plus! The Original Tehachapi Apple Book was first published in 1979. It included a history of apple production in Tehachapi, California (Kern County mountains), as well as recipes from community members. Work is underway to produce an updated edition. Find out how you can be involved!

The Original Tehachapi Apple Book

About the 1979 edition
of The Original
Tehachapi Apple Book

Apples were a big attraction in Tehachapi, California, in 1979. Growers large and small sold directly to the consumer and many people made their way up to Tehachapi in the fall to buy apples. Claudia Snow (now Claudia Elliott) worked at the Tehachapi News and came up with an idea to create a little apple cookbook as a keepsake that could be sold at the apple sheds and other locations.
READ MORE ABOUT THE 1979 EDITION

Tehachapi Apple Book First Edition

Submit apple recipes for the upcoming new edition!

If you live in Tehachapi, or are a Tehachapi oldtimer,* we invite you to submit apple recipes for the next edition of The Original Tehachapi Apple Book. *A Tehachapi Old Timer is someone who has lived in Tehachapi 40 years or more or lived in Tehachapi 40 or more years ago!

1979 Tehachapi Apple Recipes

Joan Johnson’s Swedish Apple Cake

Joan Johnson'sSwedish Apple CakeHomemade at its best!About this recipeBy Claudia Elliott Joan (pronounced Jo-anne) Johnson may well have been the most gracious hostess to ever turn a Tehachapi apple into a tasty dessert. I had the good fortune to get to know her when...

Dean Covert’s Apple Tapioca

Dean Covert'sApple TapiocaA tasty variation on baked applesAbout this recipeBy Claudia Elliott Preparing this recipe is on my to-do list and I have a little box of quick-cooking tapioca ready in my cupboard. When I've tried it I will share photos and notes for you...

Good Friends’ Crock Pot Applesauce

Good Friends'Crock Pot ApplesauceIt couldn't be easier!About this recipeBy Claudia Elliott This recipe has a little backstory. When I asked Tehachapi residents to submit their favorite recipes for the 1979 edition of The Original Tehachapi Apple Book, two friends...

Edith Teel’s Apple Roll

Edith Teel'sApple RollLike a cinnamon roll with apples!About this recipeBy Claudia Elliott One of the challenges of preparing recipes that have been handed down rather than modern recipes is that the people who made them originally knew their way around the kitchen...

Del Troy’s Apple-’Kin Bread

Del Troy’sApple-’Kin BreadA moist and tasty loaf!About this recipeBy Claudia Elliott This recipe gave me a chance to try out a new loaf pan that is perfect for this combination of fall favorites — apples and pumpkin!Apples and pumpkin are a delicious combination in...

Mary Simpson’s Apple Ranch Cake

Mary Simpson'sApple Ranch CakeQuick and easy to make from scratch!About this recipeBy Claudia Elliott This is one of the first recipes I tried from the 1979 edition of The Original Tehachapi Apple Book and I chose it because it looked even easy enough for me! It was a...

Sid Gilreath’s Raw Unpasteurized Apple Cider

Sid Gilreath’s Fresh Raw CiderA recipe most people can't make at homeAbout this recipeBy Claudia Elliott Of all the recipes in 1979's The Original Tehachapi Apple Book, the one that most people can't make at home is Sid Gilreath's Fresh Unpasteurized Raw Cider. Back...

Crystal Huntsucker’s Aplets (Candy)

Crystal Huntsucker'sAplets (Candy)An old-fashioned fruit and nut delightAbout this recipeBy Claudia Elliott I used homemade applesauce from this recipe to make Crystal Huntsucker's Aplets. I was looking forward to making these because I discovered a similar candy —...

Coral Hawkins’ Natural Apple Pie (No Added Sugar!)

Coral Hawkins'Natural Apple PieNo added sugar!About this recipeBy Claudia Elliott Coral Hawkins was the home ec instructor at Tehachapi High School for a number of years, although I didn't have her as a teacher because I didn't take the class until my senior year,...

Linda Paul’s Butterscotch Apple-Raisin Cookies

Linda Paul’s ButterscotchApple-Raisin CookiesPacked full of yummy-ness!About this recipeBy Claudia Elliott This recipe has always intrigued me because I love butterscotch. And I wasn't disappointed! The tasty combination of chunks of apple, raisins, and butterscotch...

Posts from the Tehachapi Apple Book Blog

What to do when you flub a recipe

Anyone can flub a recipe. But it's far worse when you realize that the flub is because of a mistake you made more than 40 years ago! That's what happened to me on my first try preparing Edith Teel's Apple Roll, one of the recipes included in the first edition of The...

To sift, or not to sift?

To sift, or not to sift, that's the question when it comes to dry ingredients. You may notice that some of the recipes submitted for The Original Tehachapi Apple Book call for sifting dry ingredients, and others do not. Recipes are often passed along from one cook to...

An introduction (and my first apple pie)

I've realized that I haven't actually introduced myself here. My name is Claudia Elliott and I've gone by that name since my marriage to Chuck (Best-Husband-Ever) in 1986 (almost half my life). But my maiden name was Claudia Galloway and in between, I was known as...

The 2020 apple season in Tehachapi

  As summer begins to give way to fall, an important question in Tehachapi each year is when will apple season begin? As usual, the Tehachapi News has provided an overview of the 2020 apple season, with reports from growers. According to the Sept. 18, 2020,...

Pears, not apples, brought my family to Tehachapi

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I have lived in Tehachapi many times. It's appropriate to note that it was fruit that first drew my family to Tehachapi. Not apples, but pears. Tehachapi  Old Timers are aware that the big piece of vacant land on the east side of...

What’s going on with this website?

  A funny thing happened a few years ago when I was living in Oregon and working on this project. As I started making the recipes published in The Original Tehachapi Apple Book, I started remembering the people who sent them in to be published and thinking about...

Tehachapi apples: A ‘bite’ of history

From The Original Tehachapi Apple Book, Published 1979 • This history covers only through 1979 By Judy Barras (Lee) Crisp, crunchy, sweet Tehachapi Apples have grown in the region for more than 100 years. One of the loveliest sights in the area occurs in springtime...

Three easy ways to prep apples for baking

When I decided to start trying the recipes for Tehachapi apples published in the 1979 edition of The Original Tehachapi Apple Book, I knew I was going to need some help. Prepping apples for baking can be a tedious chore. Coring, peeling, slicing, dicing and grating...