CRISPS, BETTIES, COBBLERS, AND BUCKLES

THERE IS AN ASTONISHING ARRAY OF OLD-FASHIONED American desserts that consist of fruit baked with bread, cake crumbs, flour and butter, oats, crackers, and the like. In the days when home cooks were frugal, these desserts were an easy way to use up stale leftovers while providing a bit of variety in terms of texture and flavor.

Most of these simple desserts have funny names that are hard to keep straight. While regional differences exist, most American cookbooks agree on the following formulations:

BETTY: Fruit is combined with buttered bread (or sometimes cake) crumbs and baked. Similar to a crisp, except that crumbs are usually layered with fruit instead of all on top. Also called a brown betty.

BUCKLE: Fruit is mixed with simple yellow cake batter and baked. Cake batter can be topped with streusel crumbs.

COBBLER: Fruit is topped with a crust, which can be made from cookie dough, pie pastry, or biscuit topping, and baked. If made from biscuit or cookie dough, the topping can be dropped over the fruit for a cobbled appearance.

CRISP: Fruit is topped with a "rubbed" mixture of butter, sugar, and flour, then baked. Topping often includes nuts or oats.

CRUMBLE: An English term for crisp, usually made with oats.

GRUNT: Fruit is topped with biscuit dough and baked covered so that biscuits steam rather than bake. Texture is akin to dumplings and is often gummy. Sometimes made on top of the stove. Also called a slump.

PANDOWDY: Fruit is covered with pastry dough and baked. Dough is cut, scored, and pressed into fruit. Sometimes crust is pressed into fruit during baking; other recipes "dowdy" the crust after baking.

PLATE CAKE: Fruit is topped with rolled biscuit dough and baked. When done, dessert is flipped and biscuit topping becomes bottom crust.

SHORTCAKE: Often grouped with crisps, cobblers, and such, the fruit for this dessert is not baked but macerated and then layered between split biscuits with whipped cream. (See chapter 4.)

SLUMP: See grunt.

NOTES ON RECIPES

The baked fruit desserts in this chapter all taste best when served warm but not hot. If these desserts come out of the oven as you sit down for dinner, they should be at the right temperature when you are ready for dessert. A dollop of whipped cream (see ) or ice cream adds a pleasing creamy, cool contrast.

Each recipe in this chapter is designed to serve four to six, but all may be doubled and baked in a 13 by 9-inch pan. When doubling the recipe, you may need to increase the baking time by five minutes to ensure that the center cooks through completely.