Read The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Online
Authors: The Editors at America's Test Kitchen
Tags: #Cooking
The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (348 page)
With a sharp knife, gently cut the dough into 6 pieces by making 1 vertical cut followed by 2 evenly spaced horizontal cuts (perpendicular to the first cut). This encourages a crisp crust and allows the juices from the apples to bubble up and caramelize.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
In its most basic form, apple brown betty contains only four ingredients: apples, bread crumbs, sugar, and butter. Sadly, this simple combination inevitably results in a soggy, mushy mess of a dessert—not the classic early American dish of tender, lightly spiced chunks of apple topped with buttery toasted bread crumbs. We decided it was time to give “Betty” a makeover. For a lightly sweetened, crisp crumb topping, we toasted white sandwich bread crumbs with butter and a bit of sugar. The combination of Granny Smith and Golden Delicious apples made for a not-too-sweet apple filling. Instead of baking the dessert, we prepared it in a skillet on the stovetop and cooked the apples in two batches to ensure even cooking. Adding brown sugar to the apples along with ginger and cinnamon gave the dessert a deeper, subtly spiced flavor. Some apple cider brought needed moisture and a further dimension of apple flavor; a bit of lemon juice brightened the filling. For a thicker filling, we added a portion of the toasted bread crumbs to the apples and reserved the remainder for sprinkling over the top.
SERVES 6 TO 8
If your apples are especially tart, omit the lemon juice. If, on the other hand, your apples are exceptionally sweet, use the full amount. When preparing the apples, put each variety into separate bowls since they’re added to the skillet at different times. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Leftovers can be refrigerated; topped with vanilla yogurt, they make an excellent breakfast.
BREAD CRUMBS
4 | slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn into quarters |
3 | tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces |
2 | tablespoons packed light brown sugar |
FILLING
¹⁄ | cup packed (1³⁄ |
¹⁄ | teaspoon ground ginger |
¹⁄ | teaspoon ground cinnamon |
Pinch salt | |
3 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
1¹⁄ | pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¹⁄ |
1¹⁄ | pounds Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¹⁄ |
1¹⁄ | cups apple cider |
1–3 | teaspoons lemon juice |
1. FOR THE BREAD CRUMBS:
Pulse bread, butter, and sugar in food processor until coarsely ground, 5 to 7 pulses. Transfer bread crumbs to 12-inch skillet and toast over medium heat, stirring constantly, until deep golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to paper towel–lined plate; wipe out skillet.
2. FOR THE FILLING:
Combine sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and salt in small bowl. Melt 1¹⁄
2
tablespoons butter in now-empty skillet over high heat. Stir in Granny Smith apples and half of sugar mixture. Distribute apples in even layer and cook, stirring 2 or 3 times, until medium brown, about 5 minutes; transfer to medium bowl. Repeat with remaining 1¹⁄
2
tablespoons butter, Golden Delicious apples, and remaining sugar mixture, returning first batch of apples to skillet when the second batch is done.
3.
Add apple cider to skillet and scrape pan with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits; cook until apples are tender but not mushy and liquid has reduced and is just beginning to thicken, 2 to 4 minutes.
4.
Off heat, stir in lemon juice, if using, to taste, and ¹⁄
3
cup toasted bread crumbs. Gently press apples into even layer and sprinkle evenly with remaining toasted bread crumbs. Spoon into individual bowls and serve.
Any applejack, or even brandy, can be used in place of the Calvados.
Substitute ¹⁄
4
cup Calvados for equal amount apple cider and add ¹⁄
2
cup golden raisins to apples along with cider-Calvados mixture.
Add ¹⁄
2
cup pecans to food processor along with bread, sugar, and butter and process as directed. Add ¹⁄
2
cup dried cranberries to apple mixture with cider.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Most recipes for apple crisp recipes yield unevenly cooked fruit and an unremarkable topping. We wanted an exemplary apple crisp—a lush (but not mushy) sweet-tart apple filling covered with truly crisp morsels of buttery, sugary topping. Our first few crisps contained unevenly cooked apples lacking any fruity punch. Stirring the fruit helped solve the texture problem, but reaching into a hot oven to do so was a hassle. Instead, we softened the apples on the stovetop—in a skillet. The shallow, flared pan also encouraged evaporation, browning, and better flavor overall. To improve the flavor further, we turned to apple cider, first reducing it to a syrupy consistency. As for the topping, we added brown sugar to white to play up the apples’ caramel notes, and swapped out some flour for rolled oats to give the topping character and chew. Chopped pecans not only improved the crunch factor, but added rich flavor as well. After a few minutes in the oven, our crisp was just that.
SERVES 6 TO 8
If your skillet is not ovensafe, prepare the recipe through step 3 and then transfer the filling to a 13 by 9-inch baking dish; top the filling as directed and bake for an additional 5 minutes. We like Golden Delicious apples in this recipe, but Honeycrisp or Braeburn apples can be substituted; do not use Granny Smith apples. While old-fashioned rolled oats are preferable in this recipe, quick oats can be substituted. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
TOPPING
³⁄ | cup (3³⁄ |
³⁄ | cup pecans, chopped fine |
³⁄ | cup (2¹⁄ |
¹⁄ | cup packed (3¹⁄ |
¹⁄ | cup (1³⁄ |
¹⁄ | teaspoon ground cinnamon |
¹⁄ | teaspoon salt |
8 | tablespoons unsalted butter, melted |
FILLING
3 | pounds Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, halved, and cut into ¹⁄ |
¹⁄ | cup (1³⁄ |
¹⁄ | teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional) |
1 | cup apple cider |
2 | teaspoons lemon juice |
2 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
1. FOR THE TOPPING:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Combine flour, pecans, oats, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt in bowl. Stir in butter until mixture is thoroughly moistened and crumbly. Set aside.
2. FOR THE FILLING:
Toss apples, sugar, and cinnamon, if using, together in large bowl; set aside. Bring cider to simmer in 12-inch ovensafe skillet over medium heat; cook until reduced to ¹⁄
2
cup, about 5 minutes. Transfer reduced cider to bowl or liquid measuring cup; stir in lemon juice and set aside.
3.
Melt butter in now-empty skillet over medium heat. Add apple mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until apples are beginning to soften and become translucent, 12 to 14 minutes. (Do not fully cook apples.) Off heat, gently stir in cider mixture until apples are coated.
4.
Sprinkle topping evenly over fruit, breaking up any large chunks. Place skillet on prepared baking sheet and bake until fruit is tender and topping is deep golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer to wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes; serve warm.
Substitute slivered almonds for pecans. Add ¹⁄
8
teaspoon almond extract to reduced cider with lemon juice in step 2. Stir 5 ounces raspberries into apple mixture along with reduced cider in step 3.
Substitute ¹⁄
2
cup shelled pistachios and ¹⁄
4
cup walnuts for pecans. Substitute ¹⁄
2
teaspoon ground cardamom for cinnamon in filling and add seeds from 1 vanilla bean to apple, sugar, and cardamom mixture.
Cook 6 slices bacon, cut into ¹⁄
4
-inch pieces, in 12-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel–lined plate. Pour off bacon fat from skillet and discard. (Do not wash skillet.) Stir bacon into topping mixture after adding butter. Omit sugar and cinnamon from filling. Toss apples with ¹⁄
3
cup maple syrup in step 2 and proceed as directed.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Simply substituting pears for apples in this classic American dessert is a recipe for disaster; pears exude so much moisture that a traditional crisp topping will sink into the filling and won’t get crunchy. We wanted to create a classic crisp—one with tender fruit and a crunchy, sweet topping using pears. We found ripe yet firm Bartlett pears to work best in crisp. To compensate for all the liquid they released in the oven, we added a slurry of cornstarch mixed with lemon juice. Even with the thickened juices, our standard fruit crisp topping washed down into the filling. A streusel-type topping, made by incorporating melted butter into the flour using a food processor, proved sturdier and kept its crunchiness. Adding nuts to the topping provided crunch. And keeping the topping to a modest amount prevented it from sinking down into the fruit.
See “CORING PEARS FOR PEAR CRISP” illustrations that follow recipe.