Mary, my wife, rolled over this morning and asked the ongoing question: “What’s for breakfast?” “What about pie?” Apple pie. She remembered what was in the refrigerator, left over from last night’s dessert. Can we have apple pie and coffee for breakfast? Of course, we are, after all, two consenting adults.
We made coffee, warmed two big pieces of apple pie, laid a slice of cheddar on top (vanilla ice cream would definitely have changed the direction toward dessert) and reveled in the taste of warm apples, tart and sweet inside a two layers of buttery crust. A perfect breakfast, watching the snow come in outside our garden. Mugs of strong, hot coffee to temper the sweet/savory buttery breakfast.
When bound by rules of distancing, staying home when possible, wearing a mask, and keeping away from all of your friends, pie for breakfast feels revolutionary. But, if you don’t get the revolutionary vibe, the sweet and tart pie with shards of cheddar cheese are a taste treat worthy of a “special breakfast.”
Apple pie and cheese for breakfast is the perfect antidote for a year of isolation and the start of a Covid-19 winter.
Makes 1 heaping 9 inch pie
10-12 apples, cored and sliced (use a mix of apples, some that are firmer and some that will soften during cooking)
1 ¼ to ½ cups of sugar (you may have to adjust the amount of sugar depending on the type of apples used)
3 T Boiled apple cider
2 T lemon juice
2 pinches of salt
Slice the apples about a ¼ inch thick, mix with all of the other ingredients thoroughly. It will produce some liquid when it has been mixed sufficiently. You should taste an apple slice or two at this point. Adjust sugar, etc. to taste.
1 t cinnamon
Make a 2-crust all butter pie crust recipe (use your own recipe or use the one on this site)
Pile as much of the apple mixture into the dish after lining it with the bottom crust. Pile as much as you can. Add the top crust. Crimp and brush with a beaten egg (a burnished golden brown crust is the “icing” on this pie. Don’t forget to make slits in the crust to let the steam out. Bake at 360 for about 45 minutes, or until a knife slides down through the apple slices.
Note: The idea behind this apple filling is to have it taste like apples. The lemon juice helps enhance the natural tartness of the apples without saying “LEMON.” The cinnamon enhances the natural warm spiciness of some of the best varieties of apples, without saying “CINNAMON.” The butter in the crust just makes it better. Doesn’t butter always do that?