Misnamed Apples

Be careful what you tell children. They will believe you.

My husband's mother has a quirky sense of humour and jokingly raised her family on Apple George. Andrew was in university before he found out -- the hard way -- that the rest of the English-speaking world calls it Apple Betty.

I brought a low-cal version of Apple George / Betty to book club recently. After a lengthy discussion on the differences between Apple Betty and Apple Crisp, I promised to post my off-the-cuff recipe. But our conversation got me curious. According to Barron's Food Lover's Companion, "betties are baked puddings made of layers of sugared and spiced fruit and buttered breadcrumbs." Oh dear. I think the recipe I'm about to relate is actually a crisp.

So to my book club friends and foodies who care about such fine distinctions, here's a recipe for a tasty but reasonably healthy dessert.

Apple Whatchamacallit (Apple Betty? Apple Crisp?)
Printable recipe

Bottom

• 5 or 6 large apples, peeled, cored and chopped
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg (more if you like nutmeg)
  

Topping

• 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/3 cup butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Toss apple pieces in cinnamon and nutmeg
3. Line buttered casserole dish with spiced apples.
4. Mix nuts, sugar and flour together.
5. Melt butter and blend into dry topping ingredients.
6. Sprinkle topping over apples.
7. Bake 1 hour uncovered.
8. Call it what you like and serve warm, cold or room temperature.