Apple Betty
Apple Betty is an easy dessert to make especially if the young kids want to help out. I’ve always loved visiting the apple orchard in the autumn, seeing the crisp apples on the trees ready to be picked, and the beautiful fall colors.
I like to keep McIntosh apples in the refrigerator because there are so many quick desserts that can be made with them, not to mention they are yummy to eat all on their own. Although, I have made this recipe with other varieties like, Gala, Fuji, and Cortland and it has been just as delicious. You can experiment with different varieties of apples and let us know your favorite, in the comments below. Enjoy this traditional Apple Brown Betty recipe.
Recipe Snapshot
EASE: It’s very easy to make, using everyday ingredients.
PROS: The combination of flavors are simply heavenly.
CONS: It is so delicious you’ll want to make it all the time.
WOULD I MAKE THIS AGAIN? Definitely.
Ingredients List
Preparation Tips
Tip 1
- Peel, core, and cut the apples into thin slices. If using an apple corer and slicer, the apple sections may need to be cut in half, so as to make thinner slices.
- Put the apple slices into the ungreased pie plate and then add the lemon juice and toss.
- For the crumb topping, mix the dry ingredients together before adding the butter. Always mix dry ingredients before adding wet ingredients so that your baked good will cook and taste perfect.
Tip 2
- Use cold butter for the crumble topping. Warm butter will make a mushy mess and not give the best result.
- Cut butter into thin slices and mix it into the dry ingredients before using the pastry blender, or two knives to cut the butter.
- Using a pastry blender or two knives cut and mix the butter, until a crumb like texture as in the photo.
Tip 3
- I usually place the pie plate onto a baking sheet lined with tin foil before pouring the crumble topping on top. This way the stray crumbs will land on the baking sheet and not the counter top.
- Spread the topping evenly over the apples.
- The tin foil will also catch any drips that may spill over while baking.
Substitutes
- Lemon Juice: Orange juice can be substituted for the lemon juice in this Apple Brown Betty recipe, it will change the flavor slightly, but be just as tasty.
- McIntosh Apples: There are a lot of wonderful varieties of apples that can be used instead of McIntosh apples. Any cooking or semi baking apple can be used, for example: Fuji, Cortland, Gala, Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Golden Delicious. Let us know what your favorite apples are for this dessert in the comments below.
Apple Betty: Frequently Asked Questions
Both Apple Crisp and Apple Brown Betty are classic old fashioned American desserts made with apples, but they are different. Apple Crisp typically is made with sugar and spices mixed with the sliced apples, topped with a crunchy crumble mixture of butter, brown sugar, flour, oats and sometimes nuts. On the other hand Apple Brown Betty, also known as Apple Betty, just has a bit of lemon juice mixed into the apple slices and is topped with a flour, brown sugar, butter mixture. This gives Apple Brown Betty a softer and more pudding like texture.
Yes, Apple Betty can be frozen for up to 2-3 months. Let the Apple Brown Betty cool completely at room temperature, then cover the top with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Place in an air tight container or resealable freezer bag, and place in the freezer. When you are ready to serve this delicious dessert, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight. Before serving, reheat in the oven at 350 F for 15-20 minutes.
Cooking apples are usually more tart, larger, and firmer than regular eating apples. Cooking apples tend to keep their texture, and shape while cooking, which makes them ideal for an Apple Brown Betty recipe, and other baked goods like pies, cakes and tarts.
DID YOU KNOW: You can adjust the serving size and automatically recalculate the ingredient quantities, by hovering or clicking on the underlined number at the bottom of this recipe e.g. servings: 1, and drag the slider to the desired quantity.
This recipe includes a kitchen timer. Click on the underlined time in the recipe to start the timer.
Handy Tip: Prepare Ahead!
Preheat oven before starting to prepare the recipe. Use an apple corer and slicer to speed up the process, and then slice apple sections once more to make them thin enough.
Apple Betty
Equipment
- 1 Pie plate
- 1 Mixing Bowl
- 1 Apple or potato peeler
- 1 Apple corer and slicer optional
- 1 Paring knife
- 1 Set of Measuring spoons
- 1 Set of Measuring cups
- 1 Liquid Measuring cup
- 1 Pastry blender optional
Ingredients
Crumb topping
- ¾ cup flour all-purpose
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 8 tbsp butter cold and cut into small slices
Filling
- 4 cups apples cored, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 °F.
- In a small or medium size bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, and salt.
- Add butter and using a pastry blender or two knives, cut mixture until it is the texture of coarse meal.
- Peel, core and thinly slice apples. Put apple slices into a pie plate. Add lemon juice to apples and toss.
- Put crumb topping on top of apples.
- Bake for 50 minutes or till topping is golden and apples are bubbling and soft.
- Let cool slightly, and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Notes
calculated by an online nutrition calculator.
Nutrition
