Back To Betty - The Apple Pies

The 1950 Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook features 5 recipes for Apple Pie.

4 of them use the standard piecrust recipe from pages 298-299 - if you don't own the book here are some links to crust recipes:

For Betty Crocker's vintage crust click here.

For Anne's Personal Piecrust recipe click here.

 

Reproduced here for educational purposes and to encourage people to go buy a copy of the original book.

No matter which recipe you choose, be sure to read through the first one at the top of the page because it discusses different kinds of apples.

The apples you use in a pie really, really matter. Use the wrong apple and no matter how carefully you do everything else the pie will be a disappointment. In the year 2020 we have an astonishing array of apples available to us but I still personally swear by the apples of my grandmother's day - Jonathans and Macintosh. In a pinch I will use Granny Smiths but they have to cook longer because they are firmer. There is also a mention here of adding lemon juice only if your apples are not tart enough. I've never had to add any lemon juice because I use tart apples.

1) "Apple Pie"

The first apple pie recipe on page 302 is the closest thing I've found to my grandmother's. It's pretty much the only apple pie we ever had growing up and is still my family's favorite.

Amazingly simple, it consists of thinly sliced apples, cinnamon sugar and butter.

If all your life you've been eating apple pies made with nutmeg and/or allspice you really should try this simple recipe that only uses cinnamon - it really lets the flavor of the apples shine through rather than disappearing in strong spices.

The fact that the apples in this recipe are sliced rather than cut into chunks makes a big difference in the the way the apples cook all the way through.

This is just a fabulous pie - if you want to impress everyone you know, making this pie for them will do it!

2) "Green Apple Pie"

This is basically the same as the standard apple pie recipe but with more sugar to compensate for the tartness of green apples and some flour added if the apples are extra full of juice.

3) "Deep Dish Apple Pie"

Until I tried this recipe I had no idea that a traditional "deep dish pie" does not have a bottom crust! I googled deep dish pies and "voila" Betty is right! No bottom crust!

This explains years of unsatisfactory deep dish pies with soggy bottom crusts - so much extra filling makes it almost impossible to get the bottom crust properly browned.

There are really only two differences between this recipe and the standard apple pie - the lack of a bottom crust and the addition of twice as much filling.

4) "French Apple Pie"

I expected this to be a traditional French apple tart or "tarte tatin" but it's not that at all. It seems to be more of an apple cobbler with a pastry bottom crust and a "crumble" topping. Because of the amount of sugar in the crumb topping the sugar added to the apples is cut down slightly. Otherwise this is still pretty much the same as the standard apple pie.

5) "Cheese Crust Apple Pie"

Now THIS one really intrigues me! It uses cheese in the crust (the top crust only) and seems to have some extra butter as well. I'll be making this one tomorrow and posting the review of the results :-)

Final Note: There is a tiny "All You Have To Do" at the bottom of the page that mentions using unpeeled apples to:"save time and work", "also vitamins and minerals", "adds color and flavor". Taking into account all the pesticides that often get used on apples I think I'll be skipping this tip....

As Always: If you own a copy of the Betty Crocker Picture cookbook (1950 edition) I hope I've inspired you to take another good look at it. If you don't have a copy they are pretty easy to find on ebay and other sources for old used books.

If you are just finding the blog for the first time you might want to explore the other articles on pie and Betty Crocker's 1950 Picture Cookbook. You can find them by clicking the "All About Pie" and "Back To Betty" categories in the right hand side bar.

Comments

[Marie Stenger]

I used to have that exact cookbook and I always loved the recipe for apple pie but when I moved I lost it and I would like to get another copy of the book

[Anne Morse Hambrock]

Marie, I bought a copy for each of my kids - I was able to find copies on ebay and they were not very expensive. I hope you can find one!