crustless-apple-pie

Ingredients
4 large apples
2 tablespoons rendered bacon fat (or butter)
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 – 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Topping
whipped cream
– or –
vanilla ice cream
Directions
If you’re making this for kids, you’ll probably want to peel the apples. I prefer the texture from the peel, and the color looks much better. Either way, cut them into eighths and cut out the stem and seeds.
Now you can ask the question you’ve been thinking since you read the ingredients: Bacon fat? Yes, bacon fat. Butter works, but it scorches easily. If you use butter, add about a half-teaspoon of salt with the sugar. Melt the fat over medium heat in a non-stick pan.
Once the fat is melted, carefully lay in enough apples to cover the bottom of the pan, then pour in the rest. (You want to do the a layer first so the fat doesn’t splatter when you dump it all in.) Then stir or toss the apples to coat them all evenly.
Add about a half teaspoon of cinnamon — just enough for a light dusting over all the apples — plus a tablespoon of sugar, and give it another stir.
Put a lid on, turn the heat down very low, and leave it covered for about 15 minutes. Stir once halfway through.
Check to see that they’re fork tender. (Make sure you let all the steam from the bottom of the lid run back into the pan. You’ll need that liquid later.) If they’re still crunchy in the middle, simmer for another five minutes at a time until they’re soft all the way through. Then taste. Add more cinnamon if it needs it.
Now add another tablespoon of sugar and stir. With the liquid that has come out of the apples, plus the sugar you just added, you’ve got the makings of a nice syrup. Leave the lid off, turn the heat up to medium, and stir constantly as the liquid thickens up. Don’t leave it alone, it can burn very easily.
Arrange a single layer of apples in a plate. Add a scoop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Spoon a little bit of the syrup over the top.