Apple Brown Betty is one of the oldest dishes in American culinary history, dating back to colonial times. Made with buttered bread crumbs, spices, sweet apples and a generous splash of sherry, this rustic dish is sure to please modern tastes as well. Equally delightful: Apple Pie with Rum Raisin Sauce.
The three recipes are from the Washington Apple Commission.APPLE BROWN BETTY
4 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
4 sweet apples, such as Fuji or Golden Delicious, cored and thinly sliced
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger or 1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons dry sherry, optional
Whipped cream for serving, optional
Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter a 2-quart casserole or baking dish. Stir together bread crumbs and butter; set aside.
Combine apples, brown sugar, lemon juice, ginger and cinnamon, mixing until well-blended. To assemble, spread 1 cup of the buttered bread crumbs in bottom of casserole; top with one-third of apple mixture. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon sherry over apple, if using. Spread another cup of bread crumbs and top with half of remaining apples and another tablespoon of sherry. Make a third layer of bread crumbs and top with remaining apples and sherry. Spread remaining bread crumbs on top of apples.
Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes; uncover and bake 30 minutes longer. Cool until warm and serve with whipped cream, if using. Makes 6 servings.
- Nutrition facts per serving: 9 g pro., 73 g carbo., 19 g fat, 4 g fiber, 626 mg sodium, 45 mg chol., 498 cal.
RUM RAISIN SAUCE
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup dark rum (optional: rum flavoring or syrup flavored with almond extract)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons cornstarch
In small bowl, combine 1/3 cup raisins and 1/4 cup dark rum; set aside 20 minutes. In small saucepan, over medium heat, combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water. Stir until mixture comes to a boil. Boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in rum and raisin mixture, 1/4 cup orange juice, 1 tablespoon butter and 2 teaspoons cornstarch. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and cool until warm. Makes about 1 cup.
APPLE PIE WITH RUM RAISIN SAUCE
6 Fuji apples, or other sweet apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pastry for double-crust 9-inch pie
Rum Raisin Sauce (see recipe)
Heat oven to 425 degrees F. In large bowl, toss the apples with sugar, flour and cinnamon.
Fill bottom of crust-lined pie pan with apple mixture. Place top crust over apples; seal and crimp edges. With knife, cut eight 1-inch long vents in top crust. Bake 15 minutes; reduce temperature to 350 degrees F and bake 40 minutes longer. Meanwhile, prepare Rum Raisin Sauce.
Cool pie at least 20 minutes. To serve, cut pie into eight wedges; top each wedge with 2 tablespoons warm Rum Raisin Sauce. Makes 8 servings.
- Nutrition facts per serving: 3 g pro., 40 g carbo., 13 g fat, 3 g fiber, 276 mg sodium, 0 mg chol., 337 cal.