Dorothy Dean presents: apple kuchen

Apple season is around the corner.

To celebrate the changing of the seasons as well as Washington state’s official fruit, watch chef Leroy Payne prepare a classic Dorothy Dean recipe: apple kuchen.

The vintage recipe is just one of the many found in Wednesday’s Spokesman-Review Food section, wrapping the weekly coupon inserts. The newspaper began reissuing the old recipes earlier this year.

Dorothy Dean has much deeper roots.

Women who headed The Spokesman-Review’s Homemakers Service used the alliterative pseudonym for nearly 50 years – from 1935 to 1983.

Dorothy Dean offered recipes that were budget-friendly and easy to prepare. Instructions weren’t elaborate, usually running just a few, simple lines. And people loved that no-nonsense, three-hole-punch approach to home cooking endured. Readers still call the newsroom, looking for replacement leaflets or specific recipes – or to say thank you for re-launching the vintage recipes.

The Spokesman-Review has been reissuing Dorothy Dean recipes since the end of February, renewing the chance for this generation of home cooks to build a treasure trove of recipes, tried-and-true and time-tested.

This week, Payne, of Spokane Cooks and Spokane Talks Online, walks readers and viewers through apple kuchen. The dessert will appear in the newspaper’s Dorothy Dean section Sept. 6.