What’s Cooking Wednesday: La Fuji Mama’s Apple Brown Betty

Although the old adage says, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” addressing the health benefits of including apples in your diet, we, as women, would be wise to include folic acid in our recitation of health proverbs.  Folic acid plays a key role in spinal cord development during the first three weeks of pregnancy, and as a result, women need to pay attention to their eating habits before and during pregnancy, to ensure that they obtain the nutrients necessary to help prevent birth defects.

Most women don’t realize that enriched grains, such as white bread, tortillas, pasta and cereal, are all critical sources of folic acid.  In fact, enriched grains contain two times as much folic acid as their whole grain counterparts.

This recipe for apple brown betty sets you on your way to having your apple a day while also supplying you with enriched grains by using white bread cubes, all while letting you enjoy a lighter dessert.  The apple brown betty is like combining a lightened-up version of a bread pudding and apple cobbler, so you can have your treat and eat it too!

La Fuji Mama’s Apple Brown Betty

(Makes 6 servings)

Ingredients for the filling:

• 3 medium Fuji apples, peeled, cored, and cut into thin wedges
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon orange juice

Ingredients for the topping:

• 3 cups cubed enriched bread
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Lightly grease a 9-inch shallow baking dish.

Prepare the filling: Toss the apple slices with the 1/3 cup brown sugar and orange juice in a medium size bowl.

Prepare the topping: Toss the breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice together in a bowl until blended.

Sprinkle 1/ 2 cup of the topping in the bottom of the prepared baking dish, then top with half of the apples.  Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the topping over the apples, then top with the remaining fruit.  Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

While the apple betty is baking, toss the remaining topping with the pecans and melted butter until combined.  After 30 minutes, remove the betty from the oven and sprinkle with the bread and pecan mixture.  Return the betty to the oven, covered with foil, and continue baking until the fruit is bubbling and the crumbs are browned (about 30 to 40 minutes more).  Let cool for about 20 minutes before serving.

About the blogger: Rachael Hutchings writes the blog La Fuji Mama and is a guest contributor for Six Servings. Rachael has eaten her way around the world and often features recipes that are a fusion of different tastes, influenced by the variety of places she has lived and visited.  She is a mom of two who believes that food shouldn’t be dumbed down for children and shares ways to make time spent in the kitchen and at the dinner table a delicious and educational experience.