Bacon Apple Pie

Have you ever heard of such a thing? Replace a traditional pie dough lattice with crispy bacon and the result is an absolute sweet & salty miracle!

Servings: Makes a 9-inch pie

Ingredients

• 9-inch pie shell, unbaked
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 6 cups granny smith apples (1 1/2 - 2 pounds, 1/2 inch thick peeled & sliced)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 8-12 slices uncooked Loveless Cafe Applewood Smoked Bacon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place the pie shell on a sturdy baking sheet and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, rub the brown sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves and lemon zest together with your fingertips until blended.
4. Add the apples and toss to coat.
5. Dump the spiced apple slices into the pie shell, including any sugar and juices that have accumulated in the bowl.
6. Weave the uncooked bacon on top of the pie filling, starting from the center and working your way out to the edges.
7. For a lattice topping you should have an over-under pattern with 4-6 pieces going vertically and 4-6 pieces going horizontally.
8. Trim the edges just to the edge of the crust.
9. Bake the pie in the middle of the oven for 1 hour. Check after 30 minutes to see how your bacon is browning.
10. After 1 hour turn up oven temperature to 400 degrees.
11. Continue baking for 15 - 25 minutes until golden brown and bacon is crisp.
12. Let pie cool for 1 hour before cutting.