I’m all about pie.
Put something delicious into a flaky, doughy, lightly brown crust, and I am here for it. Doesn’t matter if it’s teeth-rattlingly sweet or rich and meaty. Turnovers count. Cobblers make my heart happy. As do pop tarts. Hell, pizza is totally pie, right?
You have to get it right, though — that alchemical balance between dough and filling — too much of one or too little of the other, and it’s not a pie anymore. It’s pastry. Or soup.
The be-all, end-all fave dessert for me — the tender indulgence that makes me most happy — is a fruit pie served slightly heated so the insides maintain their structural integrity but still have a comforting warmth and gooiness to contrast with the delicate crunch of a flaky, buttery crust.
And I’m thrilled that nearby Colorado Cherry Company’s Caramel Bourbon Apple Pie hits all the notes hard. Tart apples melded into burnt sugar thickness with just the essence of whiskey, a toothsome crust that gives way with each perfect bite without crumbling entirely, and — damn — a cinnamon and oats crumble topper that somehow holds everything in place as you run your warm knife through it and down to the pan. It is not a delicate tune. It’s a power ballad.
A minimal nuking softens the filling just enough to allow for that perfect ratio of squishy to chewy while it fills the kitchen with a homey spiced scent that brings you back to Mom’s baking. Sure, maybe add a scoop of ice cream that slowly softens in perfect cadence with your progress — each spoonful a micro-skirmish of heat and chill. Or, fuck yeah, melt a thin slice of cheddar on top like a lush savory blanket.
Look, I won’t decline a complex dessert with 18 layers and two sauces and a cookie on the side. Give me a rich bread pudding drenched in crème or a chocolate concoction that ends with a stomachache if you eat the whole thing.
I’ll eat the whole thing.
But for the pure, lovely simplicity of a sweet delight, give me a perfect slice of pie, morning, noon, or night.