If you’ve ever had Apple Brown Betty, please raise your hand! If you’ve ever HEARD of Apple Brown Betty, please raise your hand! Well, my hand only came up one time…
I remember my mom mentioning it a time or two, but I don’t recall her ever making it. I’ve never had it, but I’m going to rectify that situation tonight or tomorrow—sometime this weekend!
This is a dessert that, by all accounts, gives us all the taste of apple pie but with no crust. Instead of crust, you get………ice cream on top AND caramel syrup if you so desire!
This dessert dates back to colonial times, though most sources say it was mentioned in print for the first time by name in 1864. It’s supposed to be easy to make, and doesn’t require a lot of special ingredients—so it’s hard to imagine that I’ve lived this long and never have had it. I can tell by looking at the picture and the recipe my hubby is going to love it—he’s an apple pie fanatic. For those of you who are NOT apple dessert lovers, this recipe can also be made with pears or berries as a variation!
I found this recipe and picture on Cooking Professionally dot com. They have a wonderful newsletter you can also sign up for! There are other variations on this classic recipe, but this is the one that looks the best to me! By the way, I bought some oranges the other day, but have no orange juice since we don’t drink it anymore, and one of the recipes I looked at mentioned using the juice of one orange, or about ¼ of a cup—which is what this recipe calls for as well. Glad I bought those oranges!
APPLE BROWN BETTY
Ingredients:
4 cups apples, thinly sliced
1/4 cup orange juice
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg salt, to taste
1/2 cup butter, cold, sliced into cubes
vanilla ice cream, optional, for serving
caramel sauce, optional, for serving
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Grease a 9-inch pie pan.
- Spread the sliced apples in the bottom of the pie pan.
- Drizzle the orange juice over the apples. This helps prevent the apples from browning.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- Add in the butter and mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. Try not to get the butter too warm in this stage, as that can change the texture of the crust later on.
- Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the apples in an even layer.
- Bake until the apples are bubbly and cooked through and the crust is crisp, for about 45 minutes.
- Let cool for a few minutes and serve warm, with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce if desired.
Y’all know I’m the Caramel Sauce Goddess—no, not MAKING it, but EATING it! I found a recipe for that, too, at bellyful dot net, though I have not tried it—it looks easy enough and I’m hoping it will be!
CARAMEL SAUCE
Prep Time: 2 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Cool down: 10 mins
Total Time: 22 mins
Servings: 10 (2 tablespoons per serving – 1 1/4 cups total)
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Add the sugar and water to a 3-quart heavy bottomed saucepan; stir a little so it sits in a flat, even layer.
- Warm pot over medium heat and cook until the sugar dissolves, turns clear, and starts to bubble. (It will be cloudy at first, but will turn into a clear, bubbling liquid.) This takes about 3-4 minutes.
- (At this point, do not stir again – simply allow to bubble, swirl the saucepan occasionally and brush down the sides of the pan, as needed, to prevent crystallization.)
- Sugar will form clumps, but continue swirling and cooking until the mixture thickens and turns a deep amber color like honey (this can take anywhere from 8-12 minutes), keeping a watchful eye so the mixture doesn’t burn.
- Carefully add the butter and whisk until completely melted. (The caramel will bubble up rapidly, so be careful and continue to whisk.)
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and slowly pour in the cream, whisking continuously until all of the cream has been incorporated.
- Whisk in the vanilla and salt.
- Set aside to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Then pour into a lidded glass jar and allow to cool completely. (It will thicken as it cools.)
Refrigerate up to three weeks—you can heat it up in the microwave to use after the Apple Brown Betty is gone if you want…more ice cream!
Have you ever had Apple Brown Betty? Inquiring minds want to know—what does your recipe look like in comparison to this one? It’s been said this was a favorite of President Ronald Reagan.
I have a feeling I know what my heroine in my WIP is going to be whipping up for a tasty dessert when it’s time for a meal!