Put A Savory Spin On Apple Pie With One Extra Ingredient

What's fall without apple pie? From Thanksgiving to Christmas and the cozy days in between, a Honeycrisp-kissed pie is a timeless, comforting sweet treat that's been enjoyed by fall-favoring foodies for centuries. Although a classic apple pie recipe is a tried-and-true masterpiece, shaking up traditions is part of what makes baking an art form. By taking an old-fashioned apple pie and infusing it with bacon, you'll have a one-of-a-kind autumnal dessert you won't soon forget.

Introducing bacon to apple pie gives the baked dish a savory, smoky flavor that contrasts with the sweet-and-tart taste of apples like a culinary yin and yang. The rich, buttery crust is the perfect backdrop for the complementary flavors, serving as a vehicle for their subtleties to arrive in a bold (but never brash) delivery to the taste buds. The crispy, crunchy aspect of the bacon provides the flaky pie crust and soft, tender apples with a textural contrast for a complex, satisfying mouthfeel. You can add bacon to the pie filling for a subtly integrated bacon flavor or weave bacon strips into a lattice for an artful, umami-blasted top layer that gives way to that familiar fruity sweetness.

Adding bacon to an apple pie is bold as it is, so there's not a pressing need for more upgrades. However, if you're feeling adventurous, some extra complementary ingredients and special approaches to preparing bacon can spruce up a bacon-infused apple pie without overwhelming the dish with stuffy flavors.

For instance, cheddar cheese and apple pie are a surprisingly perfect pairing, and they still work well together in the dessert when it's embedded with crispy bacon. While the rich yet sharp taste of cheddar is an obvious companion to savory pork, the refreshing sweetness of the apples adds dimension to the other ingredients' creamy and meaty flavors, culminating in an unexpectedly delicious and multi-dimensional treat. If cheddar isn't your preferred cheese, try infusing the pie with goat cheese crumbles for a tart flavor with pleasantly musky undertones.

Instead of using plain bacon in this savory-sweet pie, consider preparing it with candied bacon instead. Coat the bacon in brown sugar and chili flakes for a major flavor upgrade or lather the strips with sticky-sweet maple syrup, pumpkin spice, and pulverized nuts for a warming, autumnal finish. And, of course, you can't go wrong by topping this elevated pie with a heaping scoop of cooling, luxurious vanilla ice cream. So, after you finish serving your roasted Thanksgiving turkey this year, surprise your guests with a bacon-laced apple pie for dessert. Trust us, your taste buds will thank you.