{Lightened Up} Apple Brown Betty

The cast of characters… literally!


Knives are tools that take practice and we use with caution.


Making cubes.


Check out the focus.


Moms may need to skin the apples for the kiddos. :)  


Chatting away, making memories.


About 5T is what I had left in my butter dish (1/3 cup).  I just sliced them thin.


The assembly begins.


Using a buttered 8x8 dish, layer the bread, apples, brown sugar, then butter slices (x2).


Lastly, spoon several tablespoons of water along the top.


Simple… Comforting… Perfection!
Did you know? The Apple Brown Betty was first mentioned in print in 1864. The original recipe used applesauce and cracker crumbs. Also, the Apple Brown Betty was one of the favorite desserts of Ronald & Nancy Reagan in the White House.
{Lightened Up} Apple Brown Betty

• 4 sliced of whole wheat bread
• 2-3 granny smith apples
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 5 T butter
• 4-5 T water
• a few dashes of cinnamon between layers
• Bake at 375 covered with foil for 40 mins.
• Remove foil and bake for an add’l 10 mins.
  • Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.  
  • Double the recipe for a 9x12 pan.

At first, I wasn’t sure about the wheat bread but it actually gives a great texture, yet it still feels light and crunchy in all the right places. The original recipe called for more than TWICE the amount of sugar and butter.
This lightened up version seemed to satisfied our sweet tooth plenty. However, feel free to add as much or as little sugar/butter as you’d like!
I love the fact that this recipe is very forgiving. For a baking recipe, there’s not a whole lot you can mess up here. Plus, I always seem to have these ingredients on hand so this scrumptious dessert is definitely a keeper!    
The girls enjoyed it so much, they wanted to make sure I included this as part of the future family cookbook I pass along to them. :) So sweet!