Apple Crunch

The hubby recently went grocery shopping and brought back a five-pound bag of red delicious apples.  I told him that was a lot and he said, "Dominic likes apples doesn't he?"  We all like apples here and we could probably eventually eat that many, but lately I have been thinking about making an "apple betty."  I started searching through my collection of cookbooks and found something in a cookbook published in 1938 by The Midland Flour Milling Company in Kansas City, Missouri, called an "apple crunch."  I've heard of buckles, cobblers, and crisps, but never a "crunch." One of the products the company produced was/is Town Crier Flour. I did a little research and couldn't find very much information on the company and whether Town Crier Flour is still being manufactured.  I'm not 100% sure where this cookbook came from.  My grandmother was from Missouri and her dad was a baker, so it makes sense that it might have belonged to her.  But, I did acquire some cookbooks that belonged to my mother-in-law and she did a fair amount of baking, so it might have been hers.  In the ingredient list, it had nutmeg or cinnamon with no measurement listed.  I guessed at how much to use and whether I should use cinnamon or nutmeg. Being a cinnamon gal, I picked that spice over nutmeg.  I love this cookbook because it has 300 recipes all using the Town Crier Flour.  I guess I have another 299 recipes to try!!!

Ingredients:

6 large apples, peeled and cored, sliced thin
1/2 cup white sugar

Topping:

1 cup white flour
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan and set aside.  In small bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon with large spoon until well blended. Using two knives "cut" in the butter until the mixture resembles small crumbs.  Set aside.  Peel, core and slice the apples and put in a single layer on the bottom of the baking pan.  Sprinkle the white sugar on top of the apples.  Cover evenly with the topping mixture.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until apples are soft and bubbly.  The hubby and I had this after breakfast, but it would be superb warm with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream on top for an after dinner dessert  :)