‘Apple’ pie a sweet Fool’s Day trick

Happy April Fool’s Day. Did anybody “get” you yet today? This is too good an opportunity to pass running this Mock Apple Pie by you. Not designed originally as an April Fool’s joke, Mock Apple Pie (and other mocks such as mock cherry and mock mincemeat) have been around a lot longer than the Ritz crackers called for in some of the recipes.

The success of the Mock Apple Pie depends on the trick that the right combination of flavors and textures can play on the mind. The crackers have the texture and even appearance of well-cooked apple and the sugar provides the sweetness of fruit. Acidity comes from the lemon and cream of tartar and the illusion is completed by the traditional apple pie seasonings cinnamon and nutmeg.

People have been making apple pies out of crackers for at least 150 years. Stories vary about the origin. Was it pioneers with no apples on hand? (But why they would have lemons baffles me a little. Or did they use vinegar?) Or was it a coping strategy for out-of-season baking? After all, spring rolled around and the apple supply dwindled until there were none, and it stayed that way until the early apples ripened in later summer. This strategy also gave us vinegar pie, which tastes and looks for all the world like lemon meringue, perfect for lemonless households.

This is, of course, a purely carbohydrate construction: Pie crust encasing a cracker-based filling is a little like a french-fry sandwich, which, by the way, actually exists. In any event, it is fun to make and, shucks, it’s only once a year.

Don’t be alarmed when the mixture you put into the crust looks sloppy and completely unlikely to congeal. It really will work. I used pilot crackers, but you can use a soda or butter cracker.

Mock Apple Pie

Sufficient pastry for a two-crust, 9-inch pie

1 3/4 cups water

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

Juice of a lemon

Grated peel of half a lemon

1 3/4 cups of very coarsely broken crackers (pilot, butter or soda crackers)

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 tablespoons butter

Bring the water, sugar, and cream of tartar to a boil. Reduce temperature and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Roll out half of the pastry to line the pie plate and preheat the oven to 425 F.

Add the lemon juice, peel and coarsely broken crackers to the sugar and lemon syrup and allow crackers to absorb some of it. Spoon it into the pie plate. Sprinkle the spices over the top. Dot with bits of butter. Roll out the top crust and place over the filling, crimp the edges, and slash the top in a few places as for other apple pies. Bake for 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Cool and serve a la mode with vanilla ice cream. Ask everyone if they know what it is made of. April Fool’s!

Looking for …

One Easter morning when I was a child, I remember our family going to have breakfast with some friends of Polish heritage. We had a sweet bread that had hard-boiled eggs in the shell baked into it. We ate it with kielbasa, and my memory of it was that it was delicious. I haven’t a clue what the name of it was, but if this sounds familiar to one of you, I would love the recipe to share for Easter.

Send queries or answers to Sandy Oliver, 1061 Main Road, Islesboro 04848. E-mail tastebuds@prexar.com. Tell us where recipes came from. List ingredients, specify number of servings and do not abbreviate measurements. Include name, address and daytime phone number.