Slump

This is an apple slump to wake me up from my blogging slump. I have good excuses: we installed bamboo floors in our condo; school started; and my crankiest cat, Lily, is on two medications and is wearing an Elizabethan collar and she is not happy. Because we continue to have large summer harvests from our CSA I have been doing a lot of cooking, but it has been more my go-to recipes than classic cooking.

But with an overabundance of apples in my kitchen this recipe for "apple slump" from 1964's The Bisquick Cookbook. This dessert is in the "Real Old Fashioned Favorites" section, and is an alternative version of their "apple pan dowdy." In addition to using up apples, it gave me the chance to use one of the kitchen tools that we rarely get to use: the apple peeler/corer/slicer. During a Pampered Chef party my husband got to demo this and thought it was the coolest kitchen gadget ever and the only one worth buying, never mind that it has somewhat limited utility to him it was a must have. He has used it a few times, always for the same recipe, but mostly it sits in the back of a cabinet. Because we have limited cabinet space in our tiny kitchen this seems like something I may give away, but it takes up little space and really does the job of peeling, coring and slicing apples (and potatoes) like nothing else can.

Now, you may ask yourself what role Bisquick has in a kitchen where whole foods are the center of most recipes. Regular Bisquick contains partially hydrogenated oil, and both regular and the "Heart Smart" versions contain bleached flour. I have tried the "Heart Smart" version and it is easy and convenient but decide some time ago to just make my own when I need it. For this apple slump recipe, I just made a quick batch using this recipe. I used a mix of regular and white whole wheat flour although I think straight whole wheat may have worked just fine. I'll try that next time.

The recipe in the book is pretty easy but I did make a couple small changes, like sprinkling the slump with cinnamon sugar, and decreasing the original amount of sugar given (mostly because I was using sweet apples, but I probably would have decreased it anyway). I also used soy creamer instead of cream and it worked fine.

Apple Slump
Adapted from "The Bisquick Cookbook," 1964.

6 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/4 c sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
a little extra sugar and cinnamon mixed together

Shortcake dough:
2 cups Bisquick, or substitute
3/4 cup cream
2 Tbs sugar

Heat oven to 400. Place sliced apples into a greased 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

Make shortcake dough by stirring together Bisquick, cream, and sugar. Knead 8-10 times. Flatten the dough and lay it over the apples. Prick the dough a few times to allow steam to escape. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 40 minutes.

(Interesting note from the book: "Louisa May Alcott's house was named for the original of this famous old dessert, 'Apple Slump,'--really an upside-down dowdy.")