Everyone has their favorite pumpkin pie recipe, so we don’t want to try convincing you to try ours! Instead, we suggest doing a yummy apple dessert like this Brown Betty recipe.

So what is a Brown Betty exactly? Think of it like an apple crisp, but instead of flour and oat topping, bread crumbs are used! We’ve found that homemade bread crumbs are a MUST for this simple recipe—the varieties in shape and size give the dish a completely irresistible texture.

Brown Betty

Yields: 8 servings

Prep Time: 10 min.

Total Time: 1 hour 20 min.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 5 large slices country bread, torn into large pieces
  • 6 tbsp. melted butter
  • 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
  • 5 large apples, such as Granny Smith, peeled and sliced
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • 3/4 packed light brown sugar
  • 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
  • Vanilla ice cream, for serving

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 375°. In the bowl of a food processor, process bread until coarse crumbs form. Transfer to a large baking sheet and spread into an even layer. Toast until golden, 5 to 7 minutes.
  2. When bread crumbs are toasted, transfer to a bowl and mix with melted butter and granulated sugar.
  3. Toss apples with lemon juice. In a separate medium bowl, stir to combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
  4. To assemble: add half the apples to the bottom of a large baking dish. Top with an even layer of 1/2 the brown sugar mixture and and 1/2 the bread crumbs. Repeat, using remaining ingredients, ending on bread crumbs.
  5. Cover dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
  6. Remove foil and bake until bread crumbs are golden and apples are tender, 8 to 10 minutes more.
  7. Serve hot with ice cream.