Apple Brown Betty

I'm not usually one to make homemade desserts beyond the birthday cake. As you can probably tell by my aversion to precise measurements, baking is not really a talent of mine, plus I don't want to keep cookies and brownies around the house.

I decided to try a slow-cooker Apple Brown Betty. True to form, I dind't follow the recipe I found on Allrecipes precisely. It seemed like it didn't have enough cinnamon and 10 slices of bread was just too much, at least for the bread I used. I don't think I've ever had a brown betty before, so maybe some of my modifications make it unauthentic, but here's what I did:

Slice 3 apples, thinly. I used two braeburns and one granny smith. Place in the bottom of the Crock Pot. Cube 6 slices of bread and toss with 3/4 cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, a dash of salt, and 1 teaspoon nutmeg. Place the bread mixture over the apples. Melt 1/2 cup butter (one stick) and pour on top of the bread. Cook on low for 3 hours, or until apples are tender. Stir partway through, mixing the bread cubes with the apples and juice they give off.


One of the things I love about looking at recipes online, at Allrecipes and other sites too, is to review the comments for suggestions on how to make the recipes better. Many people complained about the amount of bread (and yes, next time I will use even less than the 60% of what the recipe calls for) -- one suggestion was made to stir the mixture together. What a difference that made! This allows the bread to soak up some of the apple juices and spread the sugar and seasonings around. I'd also consider adding nuts or raisins next time.

All in all, though, this was really easy and really good. It's so basic and just perfect for a day like today.