An apple a day might keep the doctor away, but it won’t keep Betty from crashing your party. October 5 is National Apple Betty Day!
Apple Betty (also known as Apple Brown Betty, Brown Betty, Apple Crisp, and Apple Crumble) is an American dessert dating back to Colonial times. It’s like a cross between a cobbler and a bread pudding, and consists of layers of apple seasoned with cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar, and buttered or sweetened bread crumbs. It reminds me of a deconstructed apple pie (I’ve always thought “deconstructed” was a cop out chefs use when they run out of time to properly finish a dish). The recipe first appeared in print in the Yale Literary Magazine in1864, though there is no record of who Betty was, or why she had a dessert named after her. We do know that the “brown” refers to the brown sugar used to sweeten the apples, and that it was a favorite dessert of Ronald and Nancy Reagan.
My mom once again helped out with this challenge. She made an apple betty and brought it over for dinner. Tara’s mom, Tracy, is in town visiting for the weekend, so we all had dinner together. Mad props to my mother-in-law for making a perfect whipped cream swirl on top of the apple betty. Which, by the way, was wonderful! It was like an apple pie with a crumb topping instead of a crust. Delicious stuff. Thanks, moms!
Related articles
- Apple Crumble (ramblingramas.com)
- For When You Can’t Decide Between Apple Pie and Apple Crisp: Apple Crumble Pie (climbingthecrazytree.wordpress.com)
Eat My Words 