Fall French Onion Soup

"This soup was yummy overall. However, several things I would change: 1 - The recipe doesn't specify when to add oil, so I added it at the beginning with the butter. 2 - Soup didn't taste salty enoug..." See moreh, so added a bit of salt 3 - I would recommend cooking the onions/apples portion for a good 8 hours, and then adding the liquids and cooking for a good four hours. I cooked the liquids for 1 1/2 hours, as outlined in the recipe, and the flavors didn't really get to meld. However, the next day I heated up some leftovers and it was really yummy. So, I think the liquids just need to be cooked longer so the flavors all blend together. 4 - Lastly, I used Vidalia onions in this recipe, but I think next time I'll try red onions. Red onions would compliment the flavor of the apples very well, I think. I also might try using golden delicious apples instead of granny smiths. They added a bit too much tartness to the soup. Overall, a great unique recipe that I will definitely make again!"

"I give the original recipe three stars because of the chicken broth. Onion and apple marry well with beef broth, especially if one calls this French Onion Soup, fall twist or not. I made it with beef..." See more broth, cut the apple cider to 3/4 cup, and used gala apples so as not to make this too tart. I seasoned the onion/apple mixture with 1 1/2 tsp. of sea salt and fresh ground pepper. I also added a tablespoon of flour to the apple and onion mixture 30 minutes before adding the liquids. I think the brandy was nice, but next time I'll use something that doesn't reduce to such a sweet flavor, like a dark and smoky cabernet. I also omitted the sugar from the bread all together, as I felt this would be too sweet and overpowering to the savory flavors of this soup. I also used a mixture of gruyere and gouda. With these small tweaks this is a 4 1/2 star recipe."

"This was really good. I didn't use a slow cooker. I cooked the onions (4 large)in a stick of butter over med-high heat for about 10 minutes, then I added the brandy, let it cook down a minute and add..." See moreed 2 tbsp of flour. I let it cook off for a minute then added the stock and cider. It really did need a bit of salt and pepper to flavor it. The cinnamon on the bread was really good. Thanks!"