What's In a Name?

This month I've been focusing on baking with fresh fruits.  There are a variety of ways to do this.  You can make a cobbler, a betty, a crisp, or even a pandowdy.

I've never made a cobbler but I love to eat them.  This deep-dish pie gets its name from the drops of biscuit dough that you put on top.  When its done it looks just like a cobblestone road.

The pandowdy.  It is usually an apple dessert that has a pastry like biscuit topping and is served with light cream or a sauce.  To make it "dowdy" you break up the topping by stirring it into the filling just before serving.
 
A betty is topped with soft bread cubes instead of dry cubes or biscuit dough.
  
I love to make crisps.  My favorite is a blueberry crisp when blueberries go on sale the beginning of June and the end of August.  Crisps are topped with a crunchy oatmeal, brown sugar, and flour mixture.

This solved a lot of confusion for me and I hope it helped you too.  

Also, I thought I might share my favorite crisp recipe:

1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg/ginger/ or cinnamon
1/4 cup butter 
1/4 cup granulated sugar
5 cups blueberries


Mix blueberries in with 1/4 cup of granulated sugar.  I usually use a little less than this because I don't always use 5 cups of blueberries.   

Cut the butter into the quick oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon until it resembles coarse crumbs. 

Put the crisp topping over your fruit and pop it into a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. 



**All ingredients and definitions were found in the Better Homes and Gardens: New Baking Book.**