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Apple Brown Betty

BY Kevin Lee Jacobs | September 11, 2022 11 Comments

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Last updated on January 15th, 2023

Yesterday, just for the joy of it, I made Apple Brown Betty. Do you know this autumn-scented 19th-century dessert? It’s  easier to make than Apple Crisp. It’s economical, too, as the only primary ingredients are apples and whatever bread you happen to have on hand. Join me in the kitchen, and I’ll show you the easy recipe:

I made this dessert for my YouTube channel. Please watch when you have a moment. Among other things, you’ll see my nifty (and inexpensive) apple coring, peeling, and slicing gadget.

Ingredients for Apple Brown Betty

Fresh or stale bread. You can use regular white or whole wheat sandwich bread if you wish, but you certainly don’t have to. I’ve made “Betty” with leftover croissants, frozen homemade baguettes, the frozen, cut-off crusts from tea sandwiches, and even frozen scones leftover from Afternoon Tea. Gluten-free bread can work here as well. Be creative, and use any bread (or bread-like things) you have on hand. That’s what our 19th-century ancestors did.

Butter. Salted or unsalted, as you please.

Apples. With the possible exception of the ubiquitous and (to me) boring ‘Red Delicious,’ just about any apple variety will work here. I used ‘Royal Gala’ apples in today’s Apple Brown Betty.

Cinnamon and nutmeg. These provide glorious perfume without obliterating the flavor of the apples. You can add surplus spices if you like — ginger comes to mind — but then your Betty might smell like a pumpkin pie. That’s not a bad thing.

Sweetener. Here, I use a small amount of both pure maple syrup here and brown sugar. You can use the sweetener(s) of your choice.

Directions

Cut or tear the bread into large pieces. In a food processor, pulse the bread until it forms fine, fluffy crumbs. (My crumbs in the video were neither fine nor fluffy, as I used a baguette with a too-hard crust.) Spread the crumbs out on a baking sheet, and bake them until they turn lightly golden — 8-10 minutes. Transfer the crumbs to a bowl.

Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove top, and then pour it over the the bread crumbs. Toss to coat.

By hand or by machine, peel, core, and cut the apples into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Put the apples in a bowl, and toss them with  the maple syrup, brown sugar, spices, and half of the bread crumbs.

Tip the apple mixture into a well-greased 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining bread crumbs. Cover the dish tightly with a lid or a sheet of aluminum foil.

Bake until the fruit mixture is bubbling — about 40 minutes. Then remove the cover, and continue baking until the bread crumbs have browned and the apples are perfectly tender — about 10 minutes.

Let cool for at least 15 minutes. Serve with or without a splash of heavy cream or a dollop of sour cream, crème fraiche, whipped cream, or ice cream. I served my Betty with vanilla ice cream that I sprinkled with a tiny pinch of ground nutmeg. ‘Twas deliriously delicious.

Hungry for more? I have dozens (and dozens!) of apple recipes right here on this website. To see them, just type “apple” (without quotes) in the search box. Meantime, here are just a few of my favorite apple somethings:

 

Sheet Pan Dinner with Delicata Squash, Apples, and Sausage

Apple Crisp the 1950s Way.

Apple-Cranberry Scones

Print Recipe
4 from 4 votes

Apple Brown Betty

A 19th-century "waste-not, want not" dessert.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time1 hr
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces (about 8 slices) sandwich bread, torn into large pieces
  • 1/2 cup (113g) butter
  • 6 (about 2 1/2 pounds) baking apples ('Gala,' etc.), peeled, cored and cut into 1/8-inch slices
  • 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup (use more or less to taste)
  • 1/3 cup (67g) light or dark brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Instructions

  • Center the oven rack and preheat the oven to 375°F. In a food processor, pulse bread until it forms light, fluffy crumbs. Spread the crumbs out on a baking sheet, and bake them until they turn lightly golden -- 8-10 minutes.
  • Transfer the bread crumbs to a medium-size bowl. Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stovetop. Add the melted butter to the bread crumbs, and toss to coat.
  • Put the apple slices in a large bowl, and toss with the maple syrup. Stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and half of the bread crumbs. Tip the mixture into a 2-quart baking dish. Top with the remaining bread crumbs. Cover the dish tightly.
  • Bake until the mixture is bubbling -- about 40 minutes. Then remove the cover, and continue baking until the bread crumbs have browned and the apples are perfectly tender -- about 10 minutes more. Let cool for at least 15 minutes. Serve with ice cream, whipped cream, crème fraiche, or sour cream.

 

Apple-Cranberry Scones
Gingersnap Cookies Recipe

Comments

  1. 1

    Adrian says

    September 11, 2022 at 3:59 pm

    Looks great- can you re-constitute and use ‘craisins’?

  2. 2

    Deborah & Jim says

    September 11, 2022 at 4:05 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Kevin! Happy September Sunday! Such a sweet tribute to the Queen. Wasn’t going to mess with peeling apples and all that, but your video changed my mind. Going to look for a gadget like yours and give hubby a fun project lol…like Tom Sawyer white washing the fence!
    Cool and a bit rainy here in the Midwest this morning and makes you want to jump into fall with an apple recipe. Gala apples are on the list too! Thank you for the inspiration and simplifying a recipe I found more complex in the past with making crumbs that sometimes did not turn out right!

  3. 3

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    September 11, 2022 at 7:18 pm

    Hi Adrian – Feel free to add raisins or craisins to the apple mixture. Enjoy!

    Hi Deborah and Jim – The apple coring/peeling/slicing gadget was a game-changer for me. It works like a charm!

  4. 4

    Phyllis says

    September 12, 2022 at 11:16 am

    5 stars
    Oh My! My mouth is watering……. I have one of those peelers (not sure it cores like yours) that I’ve never used; will have to dig it out. Do you think this recipe can be used with other fruits like peaches, nectarines, blueberries or those are more “crisps”? Thank you for the recipe & the video…I love all your videos.

  5. 5

    Susie says

    September 12, 2022 at 8:11 pm

    Updating my new email address to
    [email protected]

    Unsubscribe from [email protected]

  6. 6

    Geri Bailey says

    September 13, 2022 at 7:08 am

    3 stars
    Sadly I wasn’t a fan of this recipe. I used Gala apples and sourdough bread and made no substitutions. There was no bubbling of the mixture and therefore the breadcrumbs really didn’t bind to the mixture. Any idea what might have gone wrong?

  7. 7

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    September 13, 2022 at 4:57 pm

    Hi Susie – To change the email address where you receive my updates, simply unsubscribe to the updates. Then re-subscribe with your new address. You will receive a confirmation email, which is why I can’t make the changes for you.

    Hi Geri – Not sure why your fruit mixture didn’t bubble in the oven. The apple/crumb mixture should bind together during baking, while the crumbs on top should remain loose. I hope the dessert was at least edible for you!

  8. 8

    Geri Bailey says

    September 13, 2022 at 8:23 pm

    3 stars
    Kevin, the flavor was good so it was mainly the texture that was off. I’m going to try again with Cortland apples.

  9. 9

    Tressa says

    September 18, 2022 at 7:57 am

    Kevin, I’ve been missing your garden tours and monthly to do list. I hope they return. I always enjoy your blog.

  10. 10

    Christine Townend-Smith says

    November 7, 2022 at 12:45 pm

    Hello Kevin from a very rainy miserable Monday in Wimbledon, London.
    I came across one of your Easy Dinner Party videos on YouTube today. The meal looked delicious and ‘easy’ to make, (red bell pepper soup, chicken and sprouts and pink champagne cake).
    You’ve got a from me and I have subscribed. I’m now going to catch up on all your previous videos. Thank you for inspiring me to make the meal. Kind regards.

  11. 11

    Kevin Lee Jacobs says

    November 7, 2022 at 5:09 pm

    Hi Christine – Thank you for subscribing to my YouTube channel — I’m so glad you are enjoying the recipes there! Hope your Wimbledon weather improves. Your comment has certainly brightened my day!

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