Apple Cookbook (20 page)

4 large apples (Rome Beauty, Winesap, Ida Red)

1½–2 cups blackberries

½ cup granulated sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

½ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup (1 stick) butter

1
. Preheat oven to 400°F and grease a deep 2-quart casserole dish.

2
. Peel, core, and cut the apples into ¼-inch slices. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Place in the baking dish, and add the blackberries.

3
. Combine the granulated sugar and 2 tablespoons of the flour. Mix into the apple slices and blackberries.

4
. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the remaining 1 cup flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

5
. Sprinkle over the apple filling and bake for 30 minutes, or until the crumbs are golden brown. Serve warm with English Custard Sauce (page 152) or heavy cream.

Yield: 8 servings

When I lived in Westchester County, New York, Tom and I belonged to Bedford Audubon’s birding group. After sampling some of my recipes on a number of our outings, he finally gave me his recipe for “the best apple crisp.” Tom serves his crisp warm with heavy cream. It is sinfully delicious
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9–10 medium apples (Northern Spy)

2 tablespoons honey

¼ cup apple juice or cider

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ cup (1 stick) butter

1
. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 2-quart casserole dish.

2
. Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples. Place in the dish, drizzle with honey, and add the apple juice.

3
. Mix the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl. Cut in the butter with two knives or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over the apples.

4
. Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 30 minutes longer.

Yield: 8–10 servings

“Slump” is a New England name for a fruit dessert topped with a sweet dumpling mixture. On Cape Cod, traditionalists call slumps “grunts.” In other parts of the country, they fall under the heading of “cobblers.” No matter what they’re called, they all taste good
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4 medium apples (McIntosh, Golden Delicious)

2 cups rhubarb, cut into 1-inch pieces

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup all-purpose flour

1½ teaspoons baking powder

3 tablespoons butter

½ cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1
. Preheat oven to 400°F; grease a 2-quart baking dish.

2
. Peel, core, and slice the apples into ½-inch pieces. Place in a saucepan and add the rhubarb, ¾ cup of the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Cover the dish and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the apple slices are tender but not falling apart.

3
. In a medium-sized bowl, sift the flour and baking powder. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles crumbs.

4
. Stir the milk and vanilla into the crumb mixture until just blended. Do not overmix.

5
. Pour the hot apple-rhubarb mixture into the greased dish and spoon the dough in dollops over the top.

6
. Bake for 25–30 minutes, until golden. Serve warm with English Custard Sauce (page 152) or whipped cream.

Yield: 8 servings

A cobbler topping is somewhere between cake and biscuit batter, so it develops a slightly crusty texture. This apple apricot flavor is one of my favorites, especially with a bright touch of orange juice
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1 cup dried apricots

½ cup orange juice

5 large apples (Jonagold, Fuji, Braeburn, Gala, or a mix of several)

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon brown sugar

½ teaspoon ground allspice

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

3/4 cup (1½ sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1½ cups sifted all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1
. Halve the apricots, place in a medium-sized saucepan, and cover with the orange juice.

2
. Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 2- or 2½-quart baking dish.

3
. Peel, core, and cut the apples into ¼-inch slices. Add to the apricots along with ½ cup of the brown sugar, the allspice, cloves, and ginger. Mix well and simmer for 10 minutes.

4
. In a medium-sized bowl, beat the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Stir in the vanilla.

5
. Stir the flour and baking powder into the bowl and beat until blended.

6
. Put the apple mixture into the baking dish and cover with the batter. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1 tablespoon brown sugar.

7
. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

Yield: 8 servings

Working every day at Haight’s Orchard in Croton Falls, New York, Barbara didn’t have much time for fancy cooking. Her recipe for apple cobbler is simple and superb
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6 large apples (Jonathan)

1 cup flour

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 egg

5
¹
/
₃
tablespoons butter

1
. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 2-quart baking dish.

2
. Peel, core, and cut the apples into ¼-inch slices.

3
. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon. Beat the egg lightly and stir into the sugar mixture. Spoon on top of the sliced apples.

4
. Melt the butter in a small pan and drizzle over the batter.

5
. Bake for 45 minutes.

Yield: 8 servings

Brown Betty calls for alternate layers of bread and apples. On one of her visits home, my daughter Wendy made some lemon cupcakes, ate one, and then departed. What to do with the leftover cupcakes? I cut them into cubes and layered them in an Apple Brown Betty. It was so delicious I’ll do the same again. This recipe is based on the traditional layers of bread
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3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

6 slices bread or 3 cups cake cubes

½ cup (1 stick) butter

3 tablespoons lemon juice

4 large apples (Rome Beauty, Winesap, Cortland, Jonathan)

¼ cup apple juice or cider

1
. Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 2-quart baking dish.

2
. In a large bowl, mix the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Crumble in the bread.

3
. Melt the butter, add the lemon juice, and stir into the crumbled-bread mixture.

4
. Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples.

5
. Cover the bottom of the baking dish with a layer of the crumbs (about one-third of the mixture), add half the apples, a layer of crumbs, the rest of the apples, and the remaining crumbs.

6
. Pour the apple juice over the top, cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for 20 minutes longer. Serve warm.

Yield: 8 servings

This is my mother’s basic recipe for fruit crumble. It’s like a crisp, but not as rich. She uses it with apples, rhubarb, blackberries, raspberries, gooseberries, and whatever else grows in her garden. From the old school, Mother likes to use tart apples in her pies and crumbles
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6 medium tart apples (Granny Smith, Rhode Island Greening, Twenty Ounce)

1/3 plus ¼ cup sugar juice of ½ lemon

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons butter

additional sugar for sprinkling (optional)

1
. Preheat oven to 400°F and grease a 2-quart baking dish.

2
. Peel, core, and cut the apples into ½-inch slices. Place in a saucepan with 1/3 cup of the sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Cook over low heat, stirring once or twice, for 10 minutes, or until the apple slices are tender but not falling apart. Spoon into the baking dish.

3
. Combine the flour and the remaining ¼ cup sugar in a small bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle on top of the apples. (I like to sprinkle the crumbs with 2 teaspoons sugar.)

4
. Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Yield: 8 servings

For a really decadent crunch, crisp, or cobbler, drizzle a few tablespoons of melted butter over the top before popping it into the oven
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4 medium apples (Granny Smith, Newtown Pippin, Northern Spy, Braeburn)

1 cup golden raisins

¼ cup orange juice

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ cup (1 stick) butter

1
. Preheat oven to 400°F and grease a 2-quart baking dish.

2
. Peel, core, and slice the apples into ¼-inch pieces.

3
. In the baking dish, combine the apples with the raisins, orange juice, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, allspice, and orange zest.

4
. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the flour, the remaining 1 cup sugar, oats, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle on top of the apples and raisins.

5
. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden.

Yield: 8 servings

This is another fast and easy recipe from the files of the U.S. Apple Association. It appeals to me because I love sweetened condensed milk, and because it can be thrown together in the blink of an eye. You don’t need to peel the apples if they have thin skins
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5 medium apples (a mix of your favorites), peeled, if desired, cored, and sliced (about 6 cups)

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened, condensed milk

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1½ cups biscuit baking mix

½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons cold butter

½ cup firmly packed brown sugar

½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1
. Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly oil (or use a cooking oil spray) a 9-inch-square baking dish.

2
. Combine the apples with the condensed milk and cinnamon in a medium-sized bowl.

3
. Measure 1 cup of the biscuit mix into a medium-sized bowl and cut in ½ cup of the butter with two knives or a pastry blender until it resembles large crumbs.

4
. Stir in the apple mixture and spoon the batter into the baking dish.

5
. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ½ cup biscuit mix with the sugar and cut in the remaining 2 tablespoons of cold butter until crumbs form. Stir in the nuts.

6
. Sprinkle the nut mixture evenly over the apple batter and bake for 50–60 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

7
. Serve warm with vanilla yogurt or ice cream.

Yield: 8 servings

The whipped cream folded into the filling makes these very special party crêpes. However, I actually prefer whipped dairy topping because it is not as rich as real cream
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4 small apples (McIntosh, Golden Delicious)

¼ cup apricot jam

¼ cup sugar

3 tablespoons golden raisins

2 tablespoons slivered blanched almonds

1 tablespoon apple juice or water

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

8 crêpes (pages 20–21)

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon sherry

1
. Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples. Place in a pan with the jam, sugar, raisins, almonds, apple juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix together.

2
. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for 10–15 minutes, or until the apples are soft and the mixture is thick. Let cool.