Apple Brown Betty...

"She could peel an apple in one long curly strip."  That's the quote I always think of when I'm peeling apples.

Unfortunately, I only ever get about this far before it breaks.

Usually I quarter the apple, then cut the core from each quarter, then peel the quarter.  I find it easier, and it doesn't give me an inferiority complex because I can't do it all in one strip.

Today I made Apple Brown Betty for Sunday dinner dessert.  I remember my mother making Apple Brown Betty when I was a kid.  It was one of the very few things that she made from a store-bought mix instead of from scratch.  

I used Pioneer Woman's recipe for the most part, but I played fast and loose with ingredients and amounts as I wanted to double it to feed a crowd and to use up a bag of apples that has been taking up space in my fridge without being eaten and a loaf of homemade cinnamon bread that had been hiding in my freezer for about a year.

I peeled and sliced about ten smallish Gala apples very thinly.  I cut the cinnamon bread into thin slices, and then cut those slices into small cubes.  Got out my bag of dark brown sugar and two sticks of salted butter.  I used about a tablespoon of the butter and rubbed it into the baking pan with the wrapper to cover generously.

I sprinkled about 3/4 c of loose brown sugar (not packed) over the bottom of the pan.  Then I spread about 1/3 of the apple slices over that.  Then I spread about 1/3 of the cubed cinnamon bread over the apples.  Then I repeated those layers twice more (3 layers of each total) ending with the cubed bread on top.

Then I cut the butter into very thin pats and place them side by side over the bread cubes to cover completely.

This is easier when using very cold butter and a very thin bladed paring knife.  Today my favorite paring knife for this job was in the dishwasher, so I used a not-so-favorite one and pouted to myself the entire time.

I used two 1/2 cup sticks of butter for this job.  I used about a tablespoon to grease the pan, and ended up with another tablespoon left over at the end.

Sprinkle a little more brown sugar over the top of the buttered top, and then sprinkle about six tablespoons of water over the top of the whole thing.  I covered the pan with foil and baked it at 375͒ F for 45 minutes.  Then I uncovered it and let it bake about 5 or 10 more minutes.

I forgot to take a photo till after it had been tucked into.  We served it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and it was a hit with the troops.  I thought it was just a tad too sweet, in the way of desserts that don't have a smidge of salt added to the recipe, if you know what I mean.  It was a nice warm dessert for an autumn day, and it made the house smell lovely.

Now, if you are the first to tell me what movie the opening quote of this post came from, I will send you a Christmas ornament.  :)