Growing up in the 50s, you could always count on dessert each and every night, or at least that is how it was in our house and the houses of my friends.  Most nights, we would wait anxiously to see what homemade treat would come out of the kitchen after dinner.  Lots of dessert recipes circulated amongst my mom and her friends.  It is quite amazing that there were not many overweight children back then.  I am not sure exactly why that was so, but I was one of the few that was overweight, and I attribute it to the fact that I was not as physically active as most of the kids in the neighborhood, and portion control was not practiced in our household.

One of my favorite desserts was Apple Crisp (warm) and vanilla ice cream.  My mom does not remember who gave her this recipe, and oddly, there is no name on the original.  It is scribbled on a pad that advertises the drug Doriden.  If you look closely at the recipe, you will see this.  Doriden (Glutethimide) was a popular drug in the 50s, used to treat insomnia.  It must have been quite popular if my mom had a pad readily available in the kitchen to take down recipes.  Hmm… perhaps these 1950s housewives were swapping more than recipes in their kitchens.  Why couldn’t they sleep?  Weren’t they living the Donna Reed Show or Leave it to Beaver???

Anyway, this is another one of those recipes that comes out of the “dessert” folder every single year, after my first bite into a MacIntosh apple.   The smell of it baking in the kitchen brings me back to my childhood and the excitement of that nightly dessert.  And of course there is a pan story. The 9 by 13 inch Corning Ware baking dish that I still bake this in, was a gift to me from my Aunt Addie in 1974.  She knew that this was the perfect size for this recipe, and Corning Ware was a big favorite back then.  I think of her every time I butter the pan, and only use it for Apple Crisp.  This pan even moved to London with us in 1983.  When I made the Apple Crisp there, it brought me back home, if only for a short moment.

Yes, you can see that these recipes were used for over 50 years.  I experimented and finally re-wrote it with these measurements in 1984.  I hope you enjoy!!  And let me know what is the strangest thing you ever wrote a recipe on.

Mom’s Apple Crisp

6 or 7 large MacIntosh apples, thickly sliced
1 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp lemon juice

Mix above ingredients together gently then put into a buttered 9 by 13 inch baking pan.

Topping

1 egg, beaten
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 pound butter, melted

Mix the above ingredients together.  Spread on top of apples.

Bake for 30 to 45 minutes in 350 degree oven until golden brown.