Apple brown betty is a delicious and comforting fall dessert – no oats required. Top it with vanilla ice cream, and it will knock your socks off!
It took me several attempts to come up with what my family thought was a perfect version. I hope you love it as much as we do!
Apple Betty Challenges I Fixed:
- Original recipes called for using day old bread and either cubing or pulsing it in a food processor. Not only was it a hassle, the topping didn’t hold together well and wasn’t very buttery or flavorful. (Think apples with cinnamon sugar toast crumbled on top.)
- Some recipes call for putting half of the topping on the bottom. While I love that for my double crumb apple crisp, I didn’t love it for this dish. I felt like the bottom was soggy, and the apples didn’t have enough crunchy topping.
- My first attempt at the topping wasn’t crispy enough. It just melted into the apples and left pools of butter. I upped the amount of flour, and it made a huge difference!
- I tried cutting butter in with a pastry blender, and I tried using melted butter. Using a food processor let to the best topping that held together well and got nice and crunchy.
- Most recipes call for adding lemon juice to your apples. This would probably work great with sweeter apples, but since I like baking with Granny Smiths, orange juice worked better. And I found that using less made for better texture.
Why is it called a Brown Betty?
Like most vintage recipes, the name of this dessert is somewhat of a mystery. Some believe it got its name from the original baker — an African-American woman named Betty.
Others say it simply got its name either because it calls for brown sugar, or because the topping is a lovely brown color.
The tasty apple dessert originated in America, and the name was first printed in 1864 in the Yale Literary Magazine.
Since then it has risen in popularity, and even has its own food holiday. That’s right, October 5 is National Apple Betty Day!
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST APPLE BROWN BETTY
- PREP – Butter or spray a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. Preheat your oven to 375°.
- APPLES – Peel and core the apples. Cut them into 1/2″ slices. Toss them with the orange juice and spread them in your pie pan.
- TOPPING – In a food processor or blender, combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Cut the cold butter into chunks and dump in. Pulse a few times until the butter is broken into small pieces. Continue pulsing until the mixture turns a darker brown color and starts clumping together.
- BAKE – Spread the topping over the apples. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until the apples are tender and the topping is golden brown.
- SERVE – If you have patience, wait for 5 minutes for the apples to cool a bit. We served ours immediately with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Definitely a must!
Leftovers?
If you happen to have any leftovers, they will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days before the topping starts to get soggy.
You can either cover your pie dish with plastic wrap, or transfer the leftovers to an airtight container. Just make sure the brown betty is completely cool before you cover it, or it will get soggy real fast!
Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave or in the oven in an oven safe container. Or you can simply eat it cold. We definitely prefer it warm though. 🙂
APPLE BETTY VARIATIONS:
- If you don’t have granny smith apples, you can use another crisp apple. Fuji, jonagold, honey crisp, and braeburn apples work well. Golden delicious apples can be used, but they tend to get softer.
- For a more traditional dish, you can place half of the crumbs on the bottom of the pie pan. We like our topping crunchy, but you may prefer some crumbs mixed in with your apples.
- If you are using a sweeter apple, or just like things on the tart side, replace the orange juice with lemon juice. Fresh or bottled will work.
- Instead of serving with vanilla ice cream, try my cinnamon ice cream. Delish! And of course a dollop of whipped cream is also tasty.
- Feel free to adjust the spices to your liking. We enjoyed the combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. But you can use just cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, or any fall spices you have on hand.
- If you don’t have a pie pan, you can bake this dessert in a square baking dish, or casserole dish.
A FEW MORE AWESOME APPLE RECIPES:
- Apple Crumble Muffins
- Cranberry Apple Crisp
- Best Dutch Apple Pie Recipe
- Apple Cookies (with butterscotch chips)
- Double Crisp Apple Crisp
- Caramel Apple Crisp
- Dutch Apple Bread
- Mini Apple Muffins
BEST APPLE BROWN BETTY RECIPE!
Brown Betty
Ingredients
- 5 cups sliced granny smith apples or other tart, firm apples
- 2 Tbsp orange juice
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ cup cold salted butter cubed
Instructions
- Spray a 9" pie plate with non stick cooking spray. Preheat your oven to 375°.
- Peel and core the apples. Cut them into 1/2″ thick slices. Toss them with the orange juice and spread them in your pie pan.
- Combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in a food processor or blender. Cut the cold butter into chunks and dump in.
- Pulse the mixture a few times until the butter is broken into small pieces. Continue pulsing until the mixture turns a darker brown color and starts clumping together.
- Spread the topping evenly over the apples in the pan.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until the apples are tender and the topping is golden brown.
- Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Nutrition
Not only is this brown betty wonderfully delicious, it is so easy to whip up. It definitely needs a place in your line up of fall desserts!
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Apple Betty has a special place in my heart as my (Irish) mother, Maura, always cooked this for us as a treat in the 70s. I think her recipe was similar to this but she would top the crumble with orange rind and little shavings of Irish butter. And please don’t attempt to “spread” the topping as suggested. This is a crumble. You must lightly sprinkle the mix over the dish before cooking. Keep it light and airy. She sadly passed away at age 96 just two years ago but a taste of this comfort will always remind me of her.
Aw, I’m so happy to hear that this recipe reminds you of your angel mother. I love the idea of adding orange zest, I bet that is delicious!
Tried this Apple Brown Better, topped it with vanilla ice cream and it was so delicious! This apple dessert is definitely a must try, my kids devoured it in they’re asking me to make this recipe again asap.
Haha, your kids must be like mine. Mine have also been asking me to make it again! 🙂
This Apple Brown Betty is a game-changer. No oats, just pure, comfort. Top it with vanilla ice cream, and it’s amazing! Took a few tries, but I nailed it.
Yes, it’s great especially if you discover at the last minute that you are out of oats!
Enjoyed this for dessert last night and it did not disappoint! Turned out perfectly crunchy, buttery, and delicious; easily a new fall favorite recipe!