Classic Recipes Get a Healthy Update

Recipe favorites bound in that famous gingham cover

Yesterday we applauded butter, today we remember it is a food to enjoy in moderation.  But our grandmothers didn't compose heart-healthy recipes by quite the same standards we use today.  So how do we adapt their flavorful recipes by modern science's recommendations? 

One way is to replace some of the fat in a baking recipe with applesauce.  The apple crumb pie recipe I pulled from the 1968 version of the Better Homes and Gardens "New" Cookbook is a good case in point.  The recipe begins straightforward enough.  Take 5 to 7 tart apples, easily found at a good price this time of year; pare, cut and core them and arrange them in a pie shell.  Sprinkle mixture of 1/2 C sugar and 3/4 tsp of cinnamon over the apples.

(Here's where the recipe gets its "healthy" twist.)  Cut 6 tablespoons of butter into 1/3 C sugar and 3/4 C flour.  This was changed to: 3 tablespoons of butter and 3 of homemade spiced applesauce.  Sprinkle mixture over the apples.  Bake at 400 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. 
The only real inconvenience here is that the new topping isn't as crumbly as the original, leaving you with sticky fingers as you plop it across the surface of the apples.

The finished product looks remarkably like its high-fat cousin and is sufficiently tasty!  You're on your own, however, when it comes to beating that temptation to drizzle carmel sauce over the top.

Happy adapting!