If you’ve never made an apple brown betty, this simple recipe will convince you to put all those other apple desserts to the side. Similar to an apple cobbler or apple crisp, but even easier, this fall dessert is the perfect way to use up in-season apples. With layers of baked apples and a sweetened crumble topping, an apple brown betty topped with vanilla ice cream is an absolute cold-weather must.
What Is A Brown Betty?
A brown betty is a variation on a classic crisp or crumble, but with some slight differences. In this traditional dessert, fruit—usually apples, but other fruits can be used—is baked in layers with sweetened, toasted crumbs that turn golden and crumbly when done.
How To Make An Apple Brown Betty
INGREDIENTS
- Apples: Crisp, slightly tart varieties work best in this dessert. We love Granny Smith when baking, so they were our first choice here— but you can also use Pink Lady or Honeycrisp if that’s what you have on hand. If you can find Mutsu apples, they would also work deliciously.
- Country Bread: Similar to sourdough, this is a rustic, artisanal loaf with a thick, chewy crust and nutty flavor. It’s sturdy enough to absorb the liquid in the dish and still serve as a crisp top layer.
- Sugar: You’ll mix light brown sugar with the apples to complement their sweetness without overpowering them. Granulated sugar will do the trick in the bread topping mixture.
- Cinnamon: A quintessential spice in this recipe! Feel free to add others like nutmeg or allspice if you like too.
- Melted Butter: Used to congeal the bread topping into puddingy deliciousness.
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
To begin, preheat your oven to 375°. Cut your bread into one-inch cubes. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse bread until coarse crumbs form—the texture should look chunky. Transfer your breadcrumbs to a large baking sheet and spread into an even layer using a rubber spatula. Toast em’ until golden, about 5 to 7 minutes.
After your bread crumbs are toasted, transfer them to a bowl and mix with melted butter and granulated sugar.
Peel, core, and slice your apples. Toss them in a bowl with lemon juice.
In another bowl, stir to combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
Now for the fun part! Add half the apples to the bottom of an 11″x 7″ baking dish. Top with an even layer of 1/2 the brown sugar mixture and half the bread crumbs. Repeat this step with the remaining mixture, alternating so you end with a topping of bread crumbs. You want bread crumbs on top to give your dessert a crispy exterior!
Now, cover your dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes (the foil will keep the dish from drying out). After 40 minutes, remove the foil and bake until bread crumbs are golden and apples are tender, 8 to 10 minutes more.
Enjoy your dessert served warm with ice cream!
Full list of ingredients and directions can be found in the recipe below.
What’s The Difference Between An Apple Crisp And An Apple Brown Betty?
Both are very similar apple desserts, but the difference mainly comes down to the crumble topping: Instead of the flour-and-oat mixture used in an apple crisp, an apple brown betty uses breadcrumbs for its crumbly, delicious topping. The toasted breadcrumbs are the star of the show in this recipe, and we’ve found that making them homemade is an absolute must—the varieties in shape and size give the dish a completely irresistible texture.
Made this? Let us know how it went in the comment section below!
