Apple pandowdy is an American dessert that originated in the Eastern states. In its simplest form, it could be described as an apple pot pie as it consists of apples baked in a casserole with a layer of biscuit dough on top. The modern apple brown betty is similar, except that crumbles are used on top instead of a full dough, although some versions used crumbled bread.
Apple pandowdy has also been called flummery apple pot pie, apple Jonathan, apple Johnny, and apple slump. It is possible that apple brown betty was the name for this dessert in the South although brown betty seems to have been usually made with bread crumbs instead of biscuit dough.
Although during the 1800s, each cook would have their own recipe and make apple pan dowdy in their own way, the basic classic recipe starts with biscuit dough or shortbread made with flour, butter or shortening, salt, and water or milk.
The apples are mixed with sugar, molasses, and spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Other ingredients might be added at the cook’s discretion. There was a version popular in Maine that added salt pork to the apple mixture. A sauce or cream was often served as a topping.
The apple mixture was placed in a casserole dish and the biscuit dough was rolled out and placed on top of the apples. Some recipes called for the dough to be slumped over the sides (hence, apple slump) and others called for the dough to be tucked into the casserole along the edges.
Then, the pan dowdy was baked in an oven until the apples were soft and the dough was nice and brown.
There were recipes that placed apples between layers of dough and others that interrupted the baking to break up the dough and mix it into the apples before baking some more. Here is a vintage recipe for apple pandowdy.
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