This is an old recipe from my grandmother, whom I believe got it from her
mother. I always loved it as a kid because it was like eating dessert with
dinner! (Plus we got "real" dessert too).
The apples were a gift from our neighbor. He bought a huge box at the farmers
market, ate his fill, and then passed some on to us. There was enough for a
couple of apple pies (one for us and one as a thank you for our neighbor), a
half-gallon of apple sauce, and plenty for eating. The scalloped apples were
inspired by those apples.
Scalloped Apples
NOTE: being an old fashioned recipe, it assumes the cook knows that the apples
are to be pared, cored, and chopped, and that the cooking time is until the
crumbs are browned on top.
Cook together till tender:
- 3 cups apples
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 cup water
Add:
- 1/2 lemon, juice and rind
- 2 cups soft bread crumbs mixed with
- 1 stick of butter, melted
Layer bread crumbs and apple mixture in a buttered baking dish. Have crumbs on
top. Bake at 350° (180°C).
Everything is already cooked, so I find about 20 minutes browns the crumbs nicely.
Does anyone else make traditional dishes from their holiday leftovers?
Recipe: Scalloped Apples © January 2025
10 comments:
Leigh, for many years when I lived at home split pea soup with ham was our Christmas Eve dinner. It was delicious.
That recipe sounds quite similar to apple crisp.
Of late, our leftovers from Christmas Dinner have most been so little that there was a second meal and that was about it.
That looks a lot like my dad's grandmother use to make for family get together and holiday meals! She lived until a 101 and was ornery and lucid until the day she passed and was a wonderful old fashioned cook. Oh, how I miss her cooking. Everything from scratch. We kids loved that 'scalloped apples' It truly like having two desserts!
I have never heard of scalloped apples but I can imagine how it tastes from just reading the list of ingredients.
We never had a lot of Christmas holiday leftovers. My family mostly spent the Christmas holiday down at the family cabin in Arkansas hiking and so never really created a huge feast. Our only tradition was a big breakfast on Christmas morning but that never created much leftovers.
For Thanksgiving though, there was always leftover turkey and my mom made a dish she called "Turkey Supreme". It was essentially diced up leftover turkey baked with rice and probably cream of mushroom/cream of chicken soups and perhaps an onion. I've never found a recipe for it nor have I ever tried to recreate it, but I always remember it being delicious.
TB, I read a cooking article once on the differences between fruit crisps, cobblers, and bettys, but I don't recall what they were. This recipe is very much like a crisp because of the toasted topping. Actually, it's a great way to use dried bread crumbs.
Kevin, did anyone save her recipes? I love those old recipes and am glad for all the ones I have handed down over the family generations.
Ed, I think the holiday leftovers are part of the tradition! My northern family always made a turkey pot pie, but when I moved to the south the tradition became turkey and sausage gumbo. Dan's mom always made turkey soup, but now he likes the sandwiches.
Leigh, I am not sure if any of the other children did or other relatives. I know a lot of dishes are lost to the future because of not saving recipes. I saved my mom's cookbooks and hand written recipes. I have forwarded on to my 6 siblings.
I think most old recipes have been updated to reflect modern ingredients and instructions. It's nice that you have your mom's cookbooks and hand written recipes. I treasure the Fanny Farmer cookbook my grandmother gave me, as well as the recipes she wrote out for me.
My mouth is watering! And I've used many a recipe that assumes the cook has a lot of basic knowledge...sometimes more than I actually had the first time I tried something new. But the process taught me to pay attention so I could trust my judgement in future :)
Quinn, that's a really good way of looking at it. Of course, nowadays, very few people actually learn how to cook, whereas in earlier days it was a standard household skill. Thankfully we have to internet if we have any questions!
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