As I was making apple crisp this afternoon I decided to look into the origins of various apple desserts. But since I’m tired this blog post will be coming to you courtesy of Wikipedia!

Timeline

Apple Pie – The earliest apple pie recipe hails from England in 1381! (If you’re interested in the controversy over who invented “pie à la mode” click here.)

Eve’s Pudding – This British dessert is made up of apples baked under a Victoria sponge cake. The earliest recipe dates from 1824.

Apple Cobbler – Cobblers (stewed fruit topped with batter, biscuit, or dumplings) originated in the British American colonies with the term “cobbler” recorded in 1859. Cobblers can be made with any type of fruit or berry and are also known as slumps, grunts, and pandowdy.

Apple Brown Betty – This dessert consists of alternating layers of apples and buttered bread crumbs or crackers. It first appeared in print in 1864.

Candy Apples – This treat was apparently invented by American candy-maker William W. Kolb in 1908.

Apple Crisp – This does not appear in the original Fannie Farmer Cookbook (1896). It first appeared in print in 1924 in both Everybody’s Cook Book: A Comprehensive Manual of Home Cookery and the Appleton Post Crescent. (If you want to learn more about Fannie Farmer, a picture book about her is reviewed in this blog post.)

Apple Crumble – Similar to apple crisp, but without the oats in the topping, this originated in Britain during World War II food rationing.

Recipe

For those looking for an easy fall dessert, here is my (I mean, my mom’s) apple crisp recipe: fill a 9×13 pan with peeled chopped apples, toss with lots of cinnamon, and cover with a mixture of 3/4 cup oats, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 cup cold butter (blended with your fingers). Bake at 375 degrees for up to an hour. Best served warm with vanilla ice cream!