Can it be, already, the last full week of summer? Not only the last week of summer, but also the last post of the Summer 2019 Northwest Recipes series!
This summer, I have prepared foods from famous Washington restaurants of yore, from local ingredients, and from things I have never before purchased in hopes of exploring the culinary past of Washington State. From ice cream sundaes to beverages to steaks, I have nearly tried it all. However, I have not yet paid proper tribute to Washington’s most famous crop. And for this reason, I only found it suitable to end this summer with another recipe that features APPLES.
Settlers planted the first apple trees in Washington state in 1826 and found its soil and climate to be ideal. By 1889, the year Washington achieved statehood, commercial orchards were popping up all over the state. Currently, there are over 175,000 acres of orchards in Washington dedicated to apples.
And with that very brief history, I am pleased to present this summer’s final recipe: “A Skookum Apple Dessert.”
I have to admit, the title drew me in! Skookum, a Native American word meaning “bully” or “good” was also a very popular brand of apples from Wenatchee, Washington. I can’t help but wonder if this recipe perhaps came from a recipe book put out by Skookum Apples.
Upon first inspection, the recipe appears straight forward and similar to an apple crisp or Ozark Pudding. You make a cake base, cover it with applesauce and cinnamon, and then top it with a crumble and bake it. Once baking had commenced, I found the recipe to be a bit strange.
The batter was terribly easy to whip up. There is no creaming or sifting involved. Simply dump the ingredients in a mixing bowl, blend, and pour it into a pan (I used a 9×9″ casserole). The applesauce and cinnamon layer was simple enough. But when it came time for the crumble topping, things got weird.
Most crumble toppings contain butter, flour, and sugar (usually brown sugar). It’s blended together into a coarse, crumbly mixture and then sprinkled on top. But this mixture consisted of nothing but butter and white sugar, and the instructions directed that they be “creamed” together. While the resulting mixture was not the most sprinkle-able, I did my best to distribute it evenly over the top before placing the whole thing in the oven for 30 minutes.
30 minutes at 300 degrees was nowhere near enough! The entire dessert sloshed around when I tried to pull it out of the oven after 30 minutes! I ended up baking it for at least an hour total, removing it to cool when it was completely set and golden brown.
So, what exactly is this? It’s not really a pudding, nor is it exactly a cake. I suppose its squishy, almost gummy texture was properly deemed a “dessert.” The flavor is buttery and sweet with a hint of apple. I brought some to a coworker who thought it tasted like apple cobbler.
This recipe is many things. It’s sweet. It’s simple. It’s strange. And it’s good. While I wouldn’t say it is one of the best things I’ve ever had, I do think that I would make it again.
And now, one last recipe for you to try! Besides apples, there is another fruit I always associate with my state: blackberries! From the back of the Seafair Cookbook, from an additional section of recipes from Executive Mansions from U.S. states and territories, here’s Washington’s submission: Wild Blackberry Deep Dish Pie from the wife of Governor Langlie.
Thank you to everybody who joined me on my culinary quests this summer! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, and will try out some of these recipes on this blog. Stay tuned for the following weeks, where it will be business as usual here–filled with postcards and other fun things! Enjoy the last few days of summer while they last!
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