Tuesday, July 23, 2013

New England-Style Blueberry and Apple Pandowdy


From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...We are home again, a bit jet-lagged, several pounds heavier and brimming with a trove of memories that rival the weight of Midas' gold. The two munchkins you see above managed to keep us all entertained with their curiosity, good natures, and general love of silliness. You can imagine the giggles that erupted when they learned there was a dessert called a pandowdy. They quickly put the word to their own use and their latest epithet is pandowdy do-do head. I suspect our Pilgrim forefather's are rolling in their graves with each utterance of the new curse.


A pandowdy is a fruit dessert that is sweetened with maple syrup and topped with a layer of pie crust, biscuit dough or a mildly sweet cake-like batter. The crust is obviously where variations come into play. After it is baked, most folks break up the crust and push parts of it into the fruit mixture to give the dessert a messy or dowdy appearance. Pandowdy is an old New England dish that was born of necessity. It uses extremely basic ingredients and the use of syrup harkens back to the days when white sugar was expensive or unavailable. I cheat a bit and use both sugar and syrup in my version of the recipe. Despite that, this is not an overly sweet dessert. I like to serve it warm with a good vanilla ice cream or a dollop of sweetened whipped cream. I hope those of you who have never prepared this simple dessert will give it a try. I know you will enjoy it. Here is how it is made.


Blueberry and Apple Pandowdy...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
5 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1 cup blueberries
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter or spray an 8 x 8-inch baking dish.
2) Combine apples, blueberries, maple syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon in a large bowl. Mix well. Transfer to prepared baking dish. Cover dish with a sheet of aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
3) Meanwhile, combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt in another bowl. Whisk to combine.
4) Combine milk, egg, butter and vanilla in a large measuring cup. Pour into dry mixture and stir to combine.
5) Spoon batter over apples and bake for an additional 30 minutes. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

If you have enjoyed your visit here, I hope you'll take a minute to...

Follow Me on Pinterest      







One Year Ago Today: Pan Grilled Shrimp with Barbecue Spices













Two Years Ago Today: Thai-Style Green Beans














Three Years Ago Today: Flank Steak with Garlic and Parsley Sauce














Four Years Ago Today: Tomato Brunch Sandwiches

17 comments :

Merisi said...

Pandowdy me up, Scotty!

Thank you, Mary, for this wonderful recipe.
They image of the two munchkins digging into this dessert brings a smile to my face.

Wishing you endlessly beautiful summer days,
Merisi

My Little Space said...

Your grandchildren are always happy kids. I'm sure you're having a fabulous time with them.
Blessings, Kristy

Lynn said...

Sure sounds like a great dessert Mary! Welcome home, glad you had a fun trip:@)

Unknown said...

Welcome back, Mary!! Glad you had such a great time.. your grandkids are adorable!!!
This dessert sounds delicious... love the flavors of blueberry and apple together!

Anonymous said...

such a beautiful desert!The munchkins are adorable!

Kim said...

In Quebec, we have a couple of desserts that are similar to pandowdy! So, technically, I think I already made some... Why not test again? Just to make sure...

Susan Lindquist said...

Mmmmm! Good! We picked loads of berries over the weekend! This is a real traditional dessert here in New Hampshire ... we also make it during high summer with peaches and blueberries ... so good! bet your grandsons gobbled it right up!

Welcome home, Mary! Glad you had such a great time!

Tricia @ Saving room for dessert said...

pandowdy do do head - so funny! Sounds like cobbler too - wonderful, fruit filled and delicious. So happy you have a wonderful vacation :)

Melinda said...

Those two are a couple of cuties and the dessert doesn't look too bad either.

:)

David said...

Mary, I'd totally forgotten the term 'pandowdy'...even though my mother used to make it fairly regularly. Thanks for the recipe and the reminder! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Gloria Baker said...

I love this Mary and I love the pictures!!

Joanne said...

Your grandsons are so cute! And this pandowdy is WAY delicious.

Rambling Tart said...

Laughing so hard at pandowdy-do-do-head :-) That's SUCH a little kid thing to do. :-)

Pondside said...

That looks delicious - the perfect dessert for a crowd, winter or summer.

QembarDelites said...

I am sure your grandsons enjoyed this very much, looks delicious! Reminds me of fruits buckle.

June said...

I hope the boys don't mind if I copy their "pandowdy do-do head" and use it myself. We've more work happening on the house and I seem to have used up all the other less appropriate curse words. LOL Your grandsons are adorable.

scrambledhenfruit said...

Fruit desserts are my weakness, and this one looks wonderful. I've never made a pandowdy, but my dad always used to sing a song about "shoo fly pie and apple pandowdy, makes your eyes light up and your tummy say howdy!" Glad you had a good time with those precious grandsons! :)

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Printfriendly