Baking with Betty

A very warm welcome to our friend, Heather Blake. I first met Heather at Malice Domestic, but she's such a sweetheart that in minutes, I felt like we had been friends forever. Heather has a new series coming out, the Magic Potion Mysteries! Isn't this cover beautiful? Makes me want to curl up with a cup of tea, a little apple crisp, and read.

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And now, here's Heather!

It was almost exactly twenty-three years ago to the day that I received a Betty Crocker cookbook as a wedding gift (Happy Anniversary, Mr W!). Over the years Betty and I have been through a lot. Most of the pages in my cookbook are stained from various recipe experiments. Some of the pages are torn. The cookbook has been at my side for endless stacks of pancakes. Many loaves of banana bread. One particularly disastrous quiche. I love that cookbook. When I started eating gluten free, I couldn’t just let Betty sit on the shelf, gathering dust. Instead, we adapted. Betty’s recipes, my tweaks. It works for us.

With leaves falling and a nip in the air, I’ve been craving apple pie like no one’s business. I’ve come a long way with my gluten free diet, but tackling pie crust is still a bit out of my league, so I turned to my next favorite apple recipe: apple crisp. It’s so good that I don’t miss the pie at all (and I’m not just saying that because I don’t want to make the crust!).

Gluten Free Apple Crisp ala Betty and Heather

First you need some apples. How pretty are these guys?

Betty says to use four. I used six. I’m a rebel like that. Peel them, slice them, and layer them in a greased dish. I use a 9x9 glass pan, but you can also use a pretty pie dish. I top mine with a little orange juice – don’t tell Betty, okay? I’m not sure she’d approve.

In a big bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients. Flour (I use King Arthur’s gluten free), oatmeal (I use Bob Red Mill’s GF Quick Cooking Oats), brown sugar, sugar (Betty doesn’t use this, but again, I’m a rebel), softened butter, cinnamon (I use more than Betty—seriously, can you have too much cinnamon?), nutmeg, salt (not in Betty’s recipe, but I think just about everything tastes a little better with salt).

Once you mix all deliciousness together, it will look like this little bit of heaven.

Spread it atop the apples, then put the dish into a 375˚ oven.

It’s ready for the baking:

You’re going to have to trust me on how amazing this smells while it’s cooking. The butter, the brown sugar, the apples... It’s absolutely mouth-watering.

After 30 minutes, the apples are tender and bubbling in their juices, and the topping is a beautiful golden brown.

All that’s left is to dish it out and add big scoop of vanilla ice cream. Betty and I hope you enjoy. (And if you happen to be reading A POTION TO DIE FOR, my new release, while eating this wonderful treat, I swear it makes it taste even better. Betty swears, too.)

Gluten Free Apple Crisp ala Betty and Heather

6 apples, peeled and sliced* (I use Granny Smith)

1/4 c orange juice*

2/3-3/4 c. packed brown sugar

1 Tbsp. sugar*

1/2 c. gluten free flour* (I use King Arthur’s)

1/2 c. gluten free oats* (I use Bob Red Mill)

1 tsp. cinnamon*

3/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt*

1/3 c. butter, softened (I use unsalted butter)

Preheat oven to 375˚. Place apples in a greased 8x8 (or 9x9) square dish. Sprinkle with orange juice. In a large bowl, combine all other ingredients. Spoon topping over the apples. Bake for 30 minutes. Can serve warm or cold. 6 servings.

*Tweaked by Heather

Heather Blake (aka Heather Webber) is the author of more than a dozen mystery novels and has been twice nominated for an Agatha Award. She's a total homebody who loves to be close to her family, read, watch reality TV (especially cooking competition shows), drink too much coffee, crochet, bake (mostly cookies), and occasionally leave the house to travel to the beautiful mountains in the northeast. Heather grew up in a suburb of Boston, but currently she lives in the Cincinnati area with her family and is hard at work on her next book.

Website: www.heatherblakebooks.com

FB: www.facebook.com/heatherblakebooks

Twitter: @booksbyheather