The GFCF Apple Week Recipe Experience: Apple Cobbler

It's Apple Week here at the GFCF Experience!





Todays feature is quick and flavorful recipe for apple cobbler. But first - a little more about this great fruit of nature.



Variety is the spice of life



Even as far back as 8000 BC, people were recognizing that apples are a diverse species. As many as 25 different varieties of apples were recognized back then, and more were being created as these species were brought together and were cross-pollinated. Notables such as Pliny the Elder described many different varieties of apples in their writings. The early Greeks even had discussions about grafting and budding and how to optimally grow apples.



Today, there are over 10,000 recognized varieties of apples, with over 7000 grown in the United States. Which is interesting, considering that the number of edible apple species native to the United States is...zero.



Apples in the United States



When the English settlers first landed in the United States, they discovered that the only apples growing here were inedible crabapples. Fortunately, they came prepared, having brought seeds of their favorites fruits, including apples, with them. And soon there were apple orchards,or, as they were called back then, winter bananas.



But there were few apples. And that's because there were no honeybees for pollination. Honeybees didn't arrive until 1622 in Virginia, and after 1630 in Massachusetts. By 1640, most landowners in America had established apple orchards.



As the colonies becames the United States, won their independence from England, and began to expand westward, apple trees went west as well. The most famous person associated with this expansion is John Chapman, better known to all of us as Johnny Appleseed. John's goal was to have the land yield so many apples that no one would go hungry, and he spent the last 40 years of his life traveling the western frontier, planting apple trees and establishing orchards and nurseries to take care of the apples. It's estimated that Chapman traveled over 10000 miles of frontier land as the legend says, without no knife, and without no gun, planting apple trees. Other would follow John's lead and by the end of the 1800s, apples could be found throughout the area we know today as the lower 48 States.



During the western migration of the apple tree, people discovered that the fertile land and climate in the shadow of the Cascade Mountains provided ideal growing conditions for apples. Today, the State of Washington produces over 60% of the nation's apples, and a staggering 4 -5 times more production than any other state.



Today's Featured Recipe: Apple Cobbler



The various elements of this recipe are my favorite bits of a variety of different apple cobbler recipes I found on the web, including a recipe that is President Obama's favorite, according to the First Lady. I really liked the idea of letting the apples sit with the sugars and spices for a couple of hours before cooking to draw out some of the natural juices and blend the flavors together. The topping is rather minimalist in nature - you can certainly increase the topping ingredients in proportion if you desire more. I used an 8" x 12" x 2" pan - a 9" x 9" x 2" pan would work as well.



I made this recipe this past Saturday afternoon - it was gone by that evening!!!





APPLE COBBLER

an Original GFCF Experience Recipe



Ingredients



For the Filling:



8 Granny Smith or other tart apples, peeled and diced into roughly equal-sized pieces

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 Tbsp GF all purpose flour

1 tsp GFCF vanilla

1 Tbsp CF Butter (I used Earthbalance Buttery Sticks)



For the Topping:



1/2 cup GF all purpose flour, sifted

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 Tbsp CF Butter

1 large egg, slightly beaten



In a bowl, combine the apples, 1/3 cup sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 1/4 tsp salt. Shake or stir to coat the apples evenly with the sugars and spices. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 2 hours.



Preheat the oven to 375°.



Spray an 8" x 12" x 2" baking dish with GFCF cooking spray (or lightly butter the pan with CF butter). Add 2 Tbsp flour and the vanilla to the apples and shake or stir to evenly combine. Spread the apple mixture evenly into the baking dish.



For the topping, combine the flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using two knives or a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg and stir until the batter is smooth. Drop the batter in 12 evenly-spaced portions over the apples (it will spread while cooking).



Bake at 375° for 30 - 40 minutes or until the apples are tender and the crust is golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool for a few minutes before serving.



This dish tastes good either served warm or cold!



Did you know - Apples are a member of the rose family!



The history and statistics presented were obtained from the following sources:



What's Cooking in America



The U.S. Apple Association