Easy Apple Pandowdy

Rosh Hashanah is September 15th and the preparations begin — the same preparations, the same recipes, the same table, the same everything except the one thing that is different: Marvin's chair is not at the table. I debated, again, whether to set his place, and I decided: yes, for the holidays. The holidays get the place setting. The holidays get the Haggadah at the empty chair. The holidays get the tribute, the acknowledgment, the insistence that he is still at this table even if he is not at this table. The holidays are formal enough for the gesture. The weekday dinners are not.

I am hosting twelve this year — David, Jennifer, four grandchildren, Rebecca, Thomas, Gloria, Janet, Harriet. Twelve. A good number. A manageable number. The number requires the leaf in the table but not the Bermans' folding table. I can work with twelve.

The round challah is planned. The brisket is ordered from Ira at the kosher butcher. The honey cake recipe has been perfected through last year's rehearsal and requires no adjustment. The apple slices and the honey dish are ready. Everything is in place. The year turns. The year always turns. The turning is the faith. The faith is the honey on the challah. The honey on the challah is the sweetness we ask for, the sweetness we hope for, the sweetness that may or may not come but that we dip the apple into regardless, because the dipping is the asking, and the asking is the prayer, and the prayer is: one more year.

The apple slices and honey dish are already on the table, but apples belong at the end of the meal too — not just as a ritual gesture but as a full, warm, unhurried thing you sit with after the brisket is gone and the grandchildren are still at the table. I started making this apple pandowdy because it is forgiving the way the holidays ask you to be forgiving: imprecise, a little broken on top, sweet underneath. Marvin would have taken a second helping. That is reason enough to make it.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

6 medium apples (such as Honeycrisp or Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar (for topping)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons honey, for drizzling

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 375°F. Lightly butter a 9-inch cast iron skillet or a 2-quart baking dish.
Prepare the apple filling. In a large bowl, toss the sliced apples with the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and cornstarch until evenly coated. Transfer to the prepared skillet and spread in an even layer.
Make the biscuit topping. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the cold butter pieces and use your fingertips to work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces remaining. Pour in the milk and stir just until a shaggy dough forms — do not overmix.
Top the apples. Drop the biscuit dough in rough spoonfuls over the apple filling, covering most of the surface but leaving some gaps for steam to escape. It will look uneven; that is correct.
Bake. Bake for 40–45 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the apple filling is bubbling around the edges. About halfway through baking, use the back of a spoon to gently press the topping down into the filling — this is the “dowdying” that gives the dish its name and its character.
Finish with honey. Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey while still warm. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream or softly whipped cream if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Easy Apple Pandowdy — The Sweetness We Ask For