Maybe it’s because I’ve made this apple dessert only at Hillan’dale and only with apples right off the tree or maybe this really is “the one and only apple crunch” recipe that one should ever use. This recipe is from a great little cookbook Happiness Is a Kitchen in Maine: Recipes from Real Women by Paula Boyer Rougny, whose comment is “Don’t even think of using another crunch recipe.” I certainly agree!
5-7 (or more) apples*
¾ c rolled oats
¾ c brown sugar
½ c flour
½ c (1 stick) butter
*You may substitute wild Maine blueberries, or peaches, or mix an apple/pear/cranberry crunch, or whatever you wish.
Pare, core and slice apples into a buttered shallow baking dish.
Preheat oven to 350o.
Mix dry ingredients.
Work in butter with fingers.
Pat over top of apples.
Bake 35-45 minutes. (If your crunch contains cranberries, bake for the full 45 minutes.)
A knockout when served with vanilla ice cream.
A note about Happiness Is a Kitchen in Maine: I picked up this charming cookbook years ago (at the Well-Tempered Kitchen in Waldoboro, now in Camden, a fabulous little kitchen store… but that’s another story for another day!). Happiness Is a Kitchen in Maine is a great read and I heartily recommend it! From classics like Béarnaise Sauce and Congo Bars to her friends’ recipes like Glop and Goo Casserole for Twelve, these recipes are easy to follow and fun to read.
I especially enjoy the author’s comments that appear throughout the cookbook. For example, she introduces the recipe for the aforementioned Glop and Goo Casserole with “Nancy says people in Boothbay Harbor call this Aunt Martha’s casserole. Do not put it together on the day you plan to serve it. The glop won’t be intermingled with the goo.” And how can you not like a cookbook that devotes an entire page to “Hurrah for Beans”?!!
This gem is published by Peapatch Press in Woolwich, Maine, and Betsy Fear’s pen and ink drawings are a perfect complement to the very down to earth recipes.