Lightened Up Apple Brown Betty

Old fashioned Apple Brown Betty is a recipe that's been around for a very long time. Fresh apples and stale bread make the most delightful apple dessert. Easy to make too!

 

I was looking for a warm and comforting dessert to serve last week, and I'm not sure why, but Apple Brown Betty came to mind.  I did have a bowl full of golden delicious apples sitting on my counter, begging to be turned into something delicious.  Maybe that's what triggered my mind into make this dish.

Something about soft, sweet, warm apples nestled in moist buttery goodness that makes my heart skip a beat.

Apple Brown Betty is easy enough to make and it uses ingredients that are common to most everyone's pantries; Bread, apples, brown sugar, butter. I scoured the internet looking for recipes for this simple, yet company worthy dessert.  I read several and then came up with my own lightened up version. By using whole wheat reduced calorie bread and using less butter and sugar than most of the recipes I read, I was able to cut the calories in half compared to most of the recipes I was finding.

You may need to adjust baking times to cook the apples to your liking depending on how thin you slice them and what variety you use. As aforementioned, I used golden delicious and sliced them rather thin, so 30 - 40 minutes did it for my dish...but you might need to go less or more depending on how you like your apples done.  Serve with some frozen vanilla yogurt or some light whipped cream for an even more decadent treat!

Lightened Up Apple Brown Betty

Servings - 6    Serving Size - 1/6th of recipe   Points Plus per serving - 6 Points+

Calories - 205.2,   Total Fat - 8.2g,   Carb. - 37.7g,   Protein - 2.7g,   Fiber - 4.2g

4 medium sized (approx. 3" diameter) golden delicious apples (or apple of your choice), peeled, cored and cut into slices

5 slices of reduced calorie whole grain bread ( I used Sara Lee Delightful-whole wheat)

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

juice of half a lemon

1/4 cup water

1.  Heat oven to 375 degrees F.  Spray an 8" x  8" glass baking dish with cooking spray.  

2.  In food processor, break up pieces of bread.  Process into coarse bread crumbs.  Dump into medium bowl and combine with melted butter.  

3.  In another bowl, combine the apple slices, brown sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice.  

4.  Layer the breadcrumbs and the apples in the dish, beginning with breadcrumbs, then apples, then breadcrumbs again, then apples and ending with breadcrumbs.  Pour water over the top.  Seal with foil and bake in oven for approx. 20 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 10 to crisp up top layer of breadcrumbs.  ( depending on how you like your apples done, you might want to adjust bake time to obtain the degree of softness you like on your apples) 

5.  Eyeball out 6 servings (easy to do if you use an 8x8" square baking dish).  Serve warm with low fat frozen vanilla yogurt or light whipped cream.  Nutrition information above does not include frozen yogurt or whipped cream.  

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Apple Brown Betty where have you been all my life?  I mean, comfort on a spoon does not get any easier than this folks! 

As you can tell from the photos, I didn't take the crusts off the bread before I processed them.  I never do when I make fresh breadcrumbs, but I think I might do so next time I make this dish.  I think a more consistent crumb would make a prettier dish overall.  Taste wise, I don't think it matters.  

I will definitely be making this dish again.  Such an easy way to satisfy your sweet tooth when you want something warm and yummy!