Apple Brown Betty

Preheat oven

Preheat an oven to 400°F.

Season apples

In a large bowl, toss the apples with the granulated sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Arrange apples

Mound the apples in a roasting pan just large enough to hold them comfortably.

Roast apples

Roast, turning twice, until fork-tender, about 1 hour.

Drain and cool

Drain the apples, reserving the liquid. Let cool.

Puree apples

In a food processor, puree the apples, adding the reserved liquid as needed to make a thick applesauce.

Reduce oven temperature

Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F.

Prepare crumbs

In a bowl, toss the bread crumbs with the melted butter.

Layer bottom

Sprinkle half of the crumbs over the bottom of an 8-inch round or square baking pan.

Add applesauce

Pour the applesauce over the crumbs and sprinkle the remaining crumbs on top.

Bake

Bake for 20 minutes.

Combine ingredients

Combine 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature with 1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar, 1 tablespoon dark rum or brandy or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg.

Mix well

Mix well to blend. If desired, refrigerate before serving.

Plate and serve

Spoon into shallow bowls and top with the hard sauce, vanilla ice cream, or sweetened whipped cream.