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    Home » Recipes » Amish Desserts

    Classic Amish Apple Grunt

    Published: Aug 5, 2022 · Updated: Aug 13, 2022 by Kevin Williams | 9 Comments

    Jump to Recipe

    "Apple grunt" is one of the worst names for a recipe that I've heard. But with Apples, cinnamon, and butter it makes for a mouth-melting autumn confection!

    Jump to:
    • 🙋 FAQ
    • 🍎 Classic Amish Apple Grunt
    • 📋 Instructions
    • 🍎 Amish Apple Recipes

    Classic Amish Apple Grunt

    🙋 FAQ

    Why Is it Called Apple Grunt?

    The answer that seems to be most common online is that the name probably came from the sound the pudding made as it bubbled and grunted beneath the biscuitlike topping. But one of our Mennonite readers told me this: I think that “grunt” in that recipe name is actually a PA Dutch word meaning something like earth or soil. The topping in the recipe resembles earth covering the apples.
    In Dutch I would say, “I wash the “grunt” off the freshly dug potatoes, before bringing them in.” So that, to this ear, seems like a much more plausible answer than bubbling pudding!

    Amish apple grunt is amazing. While I'm not sure why the recipe is called "apple grunt", it is a classic Pennsylvania Dutch confection commonly served during autumn. Anyone have any theories as to why it might be called that? It is a very good dessert, so someone might "grunt" their approval. Or perhaps as you carry in bushels of fresh apples from the orchard you'll be grunting. But beyond that I am drawing blanks. My mother had our family's monthly "Sunday gathering", where remembers of the extended Italian-American clan drop by for a noon meal, get up on family gossip, and visit. It is a delicious apple cake with a "built-in" cinnamony topping and she made the Apple Grunt for it once and it was well-received.

    It is not uncommon for Amish homesteads to have a few apple trees, just enough to provide enough fruit for homemade applesauces, canned pie filling, and some breads.  Homemade, hand-pressed apple ciders are also popular on Amish farms. Imagine the amazing taste of homemade apple cider.  And enjoy a cold glass with homemade apple grunt and you'll have enough apple flavor in your system to keep you happy for a long time.    The Amish tend towards the red apple vareities, but green apples are popular in pies.

    Amish Apple Grunt

    Lots of very basic ingredients in this recipe. You can pretty much any type of apple, but I am partial to Fuji or honeycrisp.

    Classic Amish Apple Grunt

    Butter, sugar, and eggs need to be creamed. "Apple season" in most USA Amish settlements begins in earnest in August and continues through to the first cold days of October or even early November.

    Loads of fresh apples available, these are apples I found for sale in an Amish store.

    grunt1.000

    You'll get something like this going into the oven (above).

    grunt2 (1)

    And something like this coming out. We made it more recently and, yeah, got something similar, so the recipe works!

    Classic Amish Apple Grunt

    🍎 Classic Amish Apple Grunt

    • ½ c. sugar
    • 2 tbsp. butter
    • 1 egg
    • 1 c. flour
    • ½ tsp. salt
    • ½ tsp. baking powder
    • 2 c. sliced apples
    • ½ c. sour milk or buttermilk
    • ½ tsp. vanilla
    • 6 tbsp. brown sugar
    • 1 ½ tbsp. flour
    • ½ tsp. cinnamon
    • 1 ½ tbsp. butter

    📋 Instructions

    1. Cream sugar and butter together; add eggs and mix.
    2. Blend flour, salt and baking powder together and add to mixture
    3. Mix soda with milk and vanilla; mix all together.
    4. Add apple slices and pour batter into a buttered baking dish. In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter, mixing until crumb texture; sprinkle over apple batter.
    5. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

    🍎 Amish Apple Recipes

    Lizzie Miller's Apple Coffeecake

    Fannie Petersheim's Apple Walnut Cake

    Deep Dish Apple Pie

    Baked Apple Pudding

    Classic Amish Apple Grunt

    Classic Amish Apple Grunt

    a delicious way to enjoy apples!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American, Amish

    Ingredients
      

    • ½ cup sugar
    • 2 tbsp. butter
    • 1 egg
    • 1 cup flour
    • ½ tsp. salt
    • 1 tsp. baking powder
    • ½ tsp. baking powder
    • 2 cups sliced apples
    • ½ cup sour milk or buttermilk
    • ½ tsp. vanilla
    • 6 tbsp. brown sugar
    • 1 ½ tbsp. flour
    • ½ tsp. cinnamon
    • 1 ½ tbsp. butter

    Instructions
     

    • Cream sugar and butter together; add eggs and mix.
    • Blend flour, salt and baking powder together and add to mixture
    • Mix soda with milk and vanilla; mix all together.
    • Add apple slices and pour batter into a buttered baking dish.
    • In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter, mixing until crumb texture; sprinkle over apple batter.
    • Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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    About Kevin Williams

    Hi, my name is Kevin Williams and I am owner of Oasis Newsfeatures and editor of The Amish Cook newspaper column.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Linda Soop

      August 19, 2017 at 9:03 am

      How much soda do you use in Apple Grunt❓

      Reply
    2. Christine

      August 19, 2017 at 10:46 pm

      In this recipe, step #3 says to add soda to milk and mix. What soda? This Grunt cake sounds great. That soda step has me confused.

      Reply
      • Kevin

        August 21, 2017 at 9:45 am

        Christine, I think that is just a typo and should have said baking powder, I have changed the instructions accordingly. Thanks!

        Reply
    3. Marla Racer

      August 19, 2017 at 10:52 pm

      What size pan for the Apple Grunt Cake? I would like to try it. Sounds good.

      Reply
    4. Jim

      September 27, 2017 at 9:05 pm

      Grunts are so named because of the faint grunting noises that come from the filling under the pastry whilst it is baking. It is probably the steam that is escaping from under the topping..

      Reply
      • Kevin

        September 27, 2017 at 9:43 pm

        Thanks, Jim...I learn something new everyday!

        Reply
    5. Susan

      August 05, 2022 at 12:09 pm

      Kevin, as a PA Dutch speaker I never questioned what “grunt” might mean in a PA Dutch recipe. It is merely a coincidence that g-r-u-n-t is also an English word with an entirely different meaning. Putting the topping on resembles earth or soil - and thus it was called “grunt” by our people.

      Here is another example of a word like that: we all know what “gift” is in English, but the very same word when talking PA Dutch means poison.

      Thanks for the Grunt Recipe!

      Reply
      • Kevin Williams

        August 05, 2022 at 12:17 pm

        Thanks, Susan, I thought of you when you wrote the post, I remember we had talked about "grunt", so I put that in the FAQ section of the post! Hope you and Delbert are well!

        Reply

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    Kevin Williams - The Amish Editor Amish Cook Column

    Hi There, I'm Kevin!

    Welcome to Amish365, where I share my knowledge of Amish cooking and culture! I’ve spent almost three decades exploring Amish settlements and kitchens from Maine to Montana and almost everywhere in between. I’ll occasionally throw in stories of my travels, journalism adventures (I’m a Pulitzer prize-nominated journalist), fascination with grocery stores and Kmarts, and much more!

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