Chef Tom uses Yoder Smokers Wood-Fired Oven for a classic American treat - Apple Brown Betty. Enjoy the warm, caramelized flavors of this delicious dessert and satisfy your sweet tooth.
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- Day-old challah gets toasted low and slow, not just dried out. Letting the cubed bread sit uncovered overnight, then toasting it in the wood-fired oven for 20 minutes, builds real crunch and light smoke flavor into the crumbs before they're even processed.
- The topping is built from crumbs, not a streusel dough. Processing the toasted bread into breadcrumbs and mixing it with butter and sugar creates a lighter, crispier topping than a traditional pastry-style streusel.
- Dried cranberries get rehydrated before baking, not baked in dry. A quick microwave-and-rest in apple cider plumps them back up, so they add moisture and bursts of tartness instead of staying tough and chewy.
- Layering apples, cranberries, and crumbs twice builds even distribution. Repeating the layering process rather than dumping everything in at once ensures every bite gets a mix of fruit and crunchy topping, not just topping on top and plain fruit underneath.
Apple Brown Betty
Tom Jackson
Rated 4.3 stars by 4 users
Category
Dessert
Cuisine
American
Servings
8
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour 6 minutes
Calories
388
Chef Tom uses Yoder Smokers Wood-Fired Oven to prepare a classic American treat - Apple Brown Betty. Its wood-fired flavor enhances the caramelized flavors of the dessert, creating a warm, sweet treat to satisfy your cravings. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 3 lb granny smith apples, peeled, medium dice
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 cups toasted bread crumbs (from day old croissants & challah)
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, divided
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
-
1/4 cup Noble Saltworks Maple Smoked Turbinado Sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
-
1/2 tsp Noble Saltworks Whiskey Barrel Smoked Salt
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup apple cider/juice
- Vanilla ice cream
Directions
- Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 375ºF with the Yoder Smokers Wood-Fired Oven installed.
- To make the breadcrumbs, cube your challah and let sit on a wire rack overnight, covered loosely with a tea towel. The next day, after your grill is preheated, transfer the wire rack filled with cubed bread to the top of the wood-fired oven and close the lid of the pellet grill. Let toast for 20 minutes at 350ºF, then remove and let cool at room temperature. When cool, transfer to a food processor and process until broken down into crumbs.
- Combine the dried cranberries and apple cider/juice in a microwave safe container. Microwave for one minute. Let stand for 20 minutes to rehydrate the cranberries.
- Melt four tablespoons of butter. Reserve the final tablespoon for greasing the skillet. Combine the melted butter with the breadcrumbs, sugars, cinnamon and Noble Saltworks Whiskey Barrel Smoked Salt. Mix well.
- Using the last tablespoon of butter, grease a Lodge 10” Cast Iron Skillet.
- Add half of the apples to the skillet. Add half of the rehydrated cranberries to the apples. Sprinkle half of the seasoned bread crumbs over the fruits. Then, repeat the process, layering on more apples, cranberries and breadcrumbs.
- Transfer the skillet to the Yoder Smokers Wood-Fired Oven and bake for 30 minutes. If the topping is getting too dark, cover with foil and continue cooking until the apples are tender, about 45-55 minutes total.
- Serve hot, topped with vanilla ice cream.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why toast the bread cubes before turning them into breadcrumbs?
Letting the challah dry out overnight and then toasting it in the wood-fired oven builds real crunch and a light smoke flavor into the crumbs — something you wouldn't get from simply processing fresh, untoasted bread.
Why rehydrate the dried cranberries in apple cider instead of using them straight from the bag?
A quick microwave-and-rest plumps the cranberries back up with moisture, so they add bursts of tartness and softness to the filling instead of staying tough and chewy.
Why layer the apples, cranberries, and breadcrumbs twice instead of all at once?
Repeating the layering process distributes the fruit and topping evenly throughout the dish, so every bite gets a mix of both instead of a layer of plain fruit topped only at the very top.
Why cover the dish with foil partway through baking?
If the breadcrumb topping is browning too quickly, tenting it with foil protects it from burning while the apples continue softening underneath.
Can I make this without a wood-fired oven attachment?
Yes — a standard home oven at 375°F for toasting the bread and baking the betty will produce a very similar result, just without the additional smoke flavor.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
5 out of 5 — every step here, including toasting the bread and baking the betty, works identically in a home oven.
Recipe Highlights
Overnight-dried, oven-toasted breadcrumbs: This two-step process builds crunch and light smoke flavor that fresh bread alone wouldn't provide.
A crumb-based topping instead of streusel dough: Processing the toasted bread creates a lighter, crispier texture than a traditional pastry topping.
Rehydrating the cranberries: Plumping them in cider before baking adds moisture and tartness instead of leaving them tough.
Double-layering the filling: Repeating the apple-cranberry-crumb layers ensures even distribution throughout the dish.
Recommended Recipes
Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 9.28 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 388
- Carbs
- 53 grams
- Protein
- 4 grams
- Fat
- 19 grams
- Sodium
- 472 milligrams
