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The Melting Pot
Apple Pandowdy hero image coming soon
Founding Era - Colonial New England cooks
Sliced apples baked under a pastry or biscuit crust that is broken into the juices as it bakes.
Difficulty
Moderate
Prep time
25 minutes
Cook time
50 minutes
Total time
1 hour 15 minutes
Servings
8
Region
New England
Era introduced
Founding Era
Introduced by
Colonial New England cooks
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Apple pandowdy is pie's rougher, juicier cousin. Early versions used apples sweetened with molasses or sugar and covered with pastry or biscuit dough. During baking, the crust is ?dowdied? by pressing or breaking it into the bubbling fruit, letting the juices soak through. The dessert is homely in the best sense: practical, fragrant, and better served with a spoon than a pie server.
Drafted with colonial and New England pandowdy references from the National Park Service Abigail Adams apple pan dowdy article (https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/abigail-adams-apple-pan-dowdy.htm), Edible Boston (https://www.edibleboston.com/blog/apple-pandowdy-zdddd), and Bon Appetit history notes (https://www.bonappetit.com/story/goat-cheese-feud).
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