With the fall apple harvest underway, market...

With the fall apple harvest underway, market produce sections and roadside stands are bursting with fruit. There’s no better time to try some less familiar varieties, not only for eating but for cooking.

One of the easiest and most satisfying apple desserts is a Brown Betty. It differs slightly from a crisp because the crumbs are spooned in alternating layers with the fruit, instead of just being sprinkled over the top.

The traditional New England recipe calls for just apples, but the variation we photographed combines them with blackberries.

Tart-flavored apples have a higher acid content and are typically preferred in recipes that involve cooking. The heat softens the fruit and can alter its flavor.

APPLE-BLACKBERRY BROWN BETTY

3 cups soft bread crumbs

1/3 cup melted butter or margarine

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 cups peeled, thinly sliced cooking apples

2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries

1/4 cup water

Cream, whipped cream or ice cream, optional

Adapted from “The New Doubleday Cookbook” by Jean Anderson and Elaine Hanna (Doubleday; 1975, 1985). If fresh blackberries aren’t available and you don’t want to use frozen fruit, two additional cups sliced apples may be substituted for blackberries.

Toss bread crumbs with butter. Set aside.

Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, lemon peel and lemon juice in mixing bowl. Add apple slices and blackberries and gently fold to combine.

Spread 1/3 of bread crumbs in buttered 2-quart casserole. Cover with 1/2 fruit mixture, then another 1/3 bread crumbs. Repeat layering, using remaining 1/2 fruit and 1/3 bread crumbs.

Drizzle with water. Cover and bake at 400 degrees 30 minutes. Uncover and bake additional 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

Serve warm with cream, whipped cream or ice cream.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Each of 6 servings, without cream, whipped cream or ice cream, contains about:

342 calories; 242 mg sodium; 28 mg cholesterol; 11 grams fat; 60 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 2.25 grams fiber.

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KITCHEN TIP:

The following varieties of apples--some available throughout the country, others only in regions where they are grown--are well suited for this dessert:

Akane, Cortland, Elstar, Fuji, Gala, Royal Gala, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Gravenstein, Idared, Jonagold, Jonathan, Melrose, Matsu/Crispin, Newtown Pippin, Rome Beauty, Spartan, Stayman Winesap.