Lucille Ball’s Apple Dessert Is as Easy as It Is Comforting

Before there was “Seinfeld” or “Friends,” there was “I Love Lucy.” The 1950s sitcom followed its lead character, played by comedy tour de force Lucille Ball, as she tried to break into show business. Audiences were clearly charmed by Ball, as it was the most-watched show in the United States for most of its run. While “I Love Lucy” is most known for its lead actress and slapstick humor, we can’t ignore the central role food played in the show.

There was the episode where Lucy added too much yeast to a bread dough, resulting in a massive “happy little loaf”; the episode when Lucy is catching hot biscuits with a baseball mitt and serving them to her husband’s boss for dinner; the time Lucy and Ethel come up with a “million dollar idea” that involved selling Lucy’s aunt’s salad dressing recipe. Take a closer look, and indeed, food is everywhere on the show.

It’s no surprise, then, that the comedian also had a few go-to recipes up her sleeve that she loved to whip out for friends and family. One of them happens to be an easy and delicious dessert that makes the most of in-season apples—without all the fuss of preparing a pie dough. Meet Lucille Ball’s Apple John.

What Is Apple John?

We’ve heard of apple pies, apple turnovers, and even apple empanadas, but what about apple john? The retro dessert essentially shares the same culinary foundation as a fruit cobbler, except it’s topped with biscuit dough. More accurately, it’s closer to an old-fashioned pandowdy. Ball’s recipe involves slicing apples thinly and throwing them in a baking dish with sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

While cobblers can be topped with a wide range of toppings, such as streusel, crumble, and biscuits, Ball leans into a store-bought shortcut that makes this recipe extra easy. She simply mixes Bisquick with sugar, melted butter, and milk to create a shaggy dough, then plops it over the baked apples.

When it comes to apple pie and adjacent desserts, Lucille Ball’s apple john is undoubtedly one of the easiest and least time-consuming recipes we’ve seen. The most work comes from slicing the apples, but that’s where we can turn to our trusty mandoline (be careful with your fingers), which reduces the prep time tenfold.

The best part of all this? While you won’t get the lovely contrast of gooey apples and crispy, flaky pie crust, you still have crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth biscuit bits that sop up the cinnamon-y apple juices wonderfully. Top it off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, and this recipe is an easy winner in our book.

How To Make Lucille Ball’s Apple John

This recipe was adapted from “The Dead Celebrity Cookbook” by Frank DeCaro, 2011.

Ingredients

• 8 cups apples, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons, sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 cups packaged biscuit mix
• 2 to 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup milk

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a large mixing bowl, toss together apples, 1/2 cup sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, lemon zest, lemon juice, and water.
2. Place the apple mixture in a greased two-quart casserole dish. Cover and bake for 1 hour, or until the apples are tender.
3. Remove the baking dish from the oven and raise the temperature to 450 degrees F (220 degrees C). Combine biscuit mix and the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, and then quickly stir in melted butter and milk.
4. Drop by rounded tablespoons around the top edge of the casserole and one in the center. Bake uncovered for about 12 to 15 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden and cooked through. Cool slightly.
5. Serve warm, topped with vanilla ice cream.