This apple brown betty is a simple, old school dessert with gooey baked apples layered with a buttery, candy cinnamon crumble. It’s nice for vacation baking with recent fall apples, however I like to make it year-round.
Serve this straightforward apple betty heat, topped with vanilla ice cream like apple pie à la mode. When you’re a fan of basic peach cobbler and apple crisp, this old school apple dessert is true up your alley!
Apple brown betty is a type of old-timey, nostalgic desserts that tastes prefer it’s freshly baked from Grandma’s kitchen. When you’ve by no means made one, a betty is loads like an apple crisp or a cobbler, with gooey baked fruit and a crumbly topping. Historically, it’s made with sweetened breadcrumbs. For simplicity’s sake, I’ve layered my straightforward apple brown betty with a fast blender streusel made out of flour, brown sugar, butter, and a touch of cinnamon spice.
This Outdated-Customary Apple Betty Recipe Is…
A fast, no-fuss dessert. An apple brown betty is fast to make with budget-friendly pantry staples like recent apples, flour, and brown sugar. The topping comes collectively within the meals processor!
Nice for fall baking. With piles of apples and a contact of heat spice, this dessert is right for fall. In fact, that doesn’t cease me from baking it year-round.
Event-ready. This apple betty is a real crowd-pleaser. I nearly at all times return residence with an empty baking dish each time I take it alongside to a celebration or potluck. Topped with whipped cream or ice cream? It’s unbeatable.
You’ll Want These Substances
Supposedly named after its creator, the historical past of a brown Betty continues to be a bit of fuzzy. What we do know is that it’s an American dessert made out of fruit, on this case apples, however you’ll additionally discover variations with pears or berries. I’ve included notes on the components I exploit under. Scroll right down to the recipe card for the printable checklist with quantities.
Apples – Peeled and sliced. I like to make use of agency, crisp-tart baking apples like Granny Smith apples or Honeycrisp. See under for particulars.
Orange Juice – I like the mixture of orange juice with the cinnamon within the topping. You can additionally use lemon juice. The acidity boosts the flavour and retains the apples from browning.
Flour – I like to recommend all-purpose flour right here, as I haven’t examined the recipe with different sorts but.
Sugar – I make the streusel layer with a mixture of brown sugar and granulated sugar. You can use all of 1 sort of sugar if wanted.
Cinnamon – Different good choices are nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, apple pie spice, or pumpkin pie spice. I embrace a bit of salt within the crumble, too.
Butter – Chilly, cubed butter. I at all times bake with salted butter, however unsalted works, too.
What Are the Finest Apples to Use?
As talked about, I bake my brown betty with Honeycrisp or Granny Smith apples. Different good selections are Pink Woman, Braeburn, Cortland apples, or a mixture of completely different varieties.
What’s the Distinction Between Apple Crisp and Apple Betty?
The primary distinction between an apple betty, apple crisp, and apple cobbler is the topping. Apple crisp has a crunchy oat topping, and a cobbler is usually topped with batter, whereas a brown betty has layers of buttery crumbs.
The way to Make Apple Brown Betty
Right here’s a brief overview of the steps to make this apple betty. Remember to scroll right down to the recipe card for the printable recipe directions afterward.
Prep. Whereas the oven preheats to 375ºF, grease a 9×9-inch baking dish. A deep-dish pie plate additionally works nicely right here. Subsequent, add the sliced apples to a bowl with orange juice and toss to coat.
Add chilly butter to the dry components.Pulse to create a crumble.
Make the topping. In the meantime, pulse the flour, each sugars, cinnamon, and salt in your blender or meals processor. Pulse the cubed butter a bit of at a time till you will have coarse crumbs.
Add sliced apples.Layer over the crumble and bake.
Assemble. Now, unfold about ½ of the apples into the prepped baking pan. Prime with ½ the crumble, then one other layer of apples and a ultimate layer of crumbs.
Bake. Bake the apple betty at 375ºF for 40-45 minutes till the apples are bubbly and tender and the crumble high is golden brown. Cool for a couple of minutes, after which serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
Keep away from a Soggy Crumble
Guarantee that the butter you employ for the streusel is COLD when it’s blended with the flour and sugar. If the butter is just too heat earlier than it will get into the oven, it will possibly make the crumble soggy.
Recipe Notes and Variations
Extra add-ins. Sprinkle chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts in between the layers, or add dried cranberries or raisins. You can additionally swap the crumble for graham cracker crumbs or rolled oats.
Totally different fruit. Swap half the apples (or all of them) out for various fruits. Make an apple-pear brown betty with recent sliced Bosc or Anjou pears. You can additionally attempt rhubarb, berries, or peaches.
Double the recipe. Double your components and make this apple betty in a 9×13-inch pan in the event you’re feeding a big crowd.
Storage Ideas
Refrigerate. Retailer this apple brown betty hermetic within the fridge for as much as 5 days.
Reheat. Heat up servings within the microwave, or you may reheat the apple betty in a 350ºF oven till it’s scorching all through.
This apple brown betty is a simple, old school dessert with gooey baked apples layered with a buttery, candy cinnamon crumble.
4 cups of peeled and sliced apples (3 – 4 medium apples, I favor Honey Crisp or Granny Smith)
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup darkish brown sugar
1 tablespoon floor cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup chilly butter, cubed
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Coat a 9×9 baking dish (or a deep dish pie plate) with nonstick spray and put aside.
In a big bowl, mix the apple slices and orange juice, stirring to coat. Put aside.
In your meals processor (or blender), mix the flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pulse within the butter a couple of cubes at a time to mix. Repeat with the remaining butter till the combination is coarse crumbs and no massive items of butter stay.
Unfold half of the apples evenly into the underside of the ready baking dish. Prime the apples with half of the crumb combination. Repeat with the remaining apples and crumb.
Bake for 40 – 45 minutes till the highest is crisp and golden and the apples are tender.
Enable this to chill for 10 minutes after which serve heat with ice cream or whipped cream.
Notes
Retailer hermetic within the fridge for as much as 5 days.
