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Apple-Pear Brown Betty Recipe

Excerpted from ‘Jacques Pépin Cooking My Way: Recipes and Techniques for Economical Cooking’

AARP

Published July 16, 2024

Apple-Pear Brown Betty is an easy dessert that can be made in minutes.

Tom Hopkins

When you have leftover bread, cake or pastries and some fresh fruit, this is an easy dessert that is made in minutes. This recipe is just an outline, as you can be creative depending on what you find in your refrigerator.

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Apple-Pear Brown Betty

Serves 4

Ingredients

8 to 10 ounces leftover bread, pastry, croissant, Danish, whatever you have on hand, cut or torn into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup golden raisins
½ to ¾ cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons apricot preserves or applesauce
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
¾ cup orange or apple juice
1 ripe pear, peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large apple, peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces
Sour cream, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly butter a 6-cup gratin dish or other shallow ovenproof dish. In a medium bowl, combine the bread or pastries, cinnamon, raisins, sugar, preserves, butter and juice. Add the pear and the apple and stir well to combine. Let sit for 10 minutes to allow the bread to soften.

Spread the mixture in the prepared gratin dish and bake until the apple and pear are cooked through and the top is golden, about 45 minutes. Let sit for at least 15 minutes before serving. To serve, spoon into dishes and top with a dollop of sour cream.

Reprinted with permission from Jacques Pépin Cooking My Way: Recipes and Techniques for Economical Cooking by Jacques Pépin, photographs by Tom Hopkins, Harvest Books, 2023.