Cobblers and scruffs, chips and crumbs, bucklers and betties – what are all these desserts?

With a little help from Wayne Brachman’s American Desserts, we thought we’d give you the answers, since you’re dying to know.

Shoemakers: Cobblers are desserts with a syrupy fruit filling topped with cookies or cake.

Dowdy Bread: These have pie crusts on top that are broken off and dipped in the fruit filling after baking.

French Fries and Crumbles: These familiar desserts have pie-like fillings with streusel toppings, often with nuts. A crisp is a crumble and a crumble is a crisp.

Buckles: Buckles are cakes that sink, rise, and fold as they bake. Our Caramel Swirl Crumb Cake is truly a buckler – the caramel topping is folded across the cake as it bakes.

Betties: We remember the apple betties of our childhood. Betties are layered desserts of fruit and crumbs.

Cakes: These are sponge cakes, often rich or sweetened, that are topped with fruit and whipped cream. Our Strawberry Shortcake recipe is an authentic shortcake recipe, not a white cake recipe topped with strawberries and cream.

Growls and depressions: These are fruit dishes and dumplings cooked on the stove. Supposedly, the fruit “grunts” as it cooks, and the dumplings “slump” into the filling. (We’ve made these camping, but have never heard the “grunt” of the fruit.)

Now you know.

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