Photo and recipe by Kelly Yandell, themeaningofpie.com
Topped with spiced apples and crumbles of sausage, this fancy version of cinnamon toast is breakfast comfort food at its finest. Experiment with varieties of breads and apples. We recommend a thick crusty bakery bread, which will get crisp on the edges and stay soft in the middle. Honeycrisp apples keep their shape when cooked and add nice flavor.
4 Servings
1 pound breakfast sausage
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 thick slices of bread
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
2 apples, cut in ⅓” chunks, skins on
6 tablespoons real maple syrup
In a nonstick skillet, crumble and cook the sausage until it is fully cooked. Remove the sausage to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain. Clean the skillet. Melt the butter in skillet and then remove from the heat.
In a small bowl, mix the cinnamon, sugar and salt. Place each slice of bread in the melted butter and turn it once, so that each slice is lightly coated on each side with butter. Place the bread on a cookie sheet lined with foil and sprinkle on both sides liberally with the cinnamon sugar.
Preheat the broiler. Return the pan of butter to medium high heat (there should still be ample butter in the pan) and add the chopped apples.
Sauté apples until they are softened, but still slightly firm, and golden on the edges, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the maple syrup. Allow it to bubble and thicken and coat the apples. Keep warm.
Meanwhile, broil the cinnamon toast on one side until it is browned and bubbly, about 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully turn the bread with tongs and then broil on the second side also. Be careful not to burn.
Remove the toast from the oven. For each serving, top each piece of cinnamon toast with a fourth of the sausage, a fourth of the apples and a generous spoonful of the hot buttery maple syrup. Serve immediately.
KELLY YANDELL is a writer and photographer based in Dallas. She has contributed to Edible Dallas & Fort Worth since 2011. Her website (themeaningofpie.com) celebrates practical dishes and comfort foods, while her photography portfolio can be found at kellyyandell.com. Kelly is an attorney and is the vice president of the Advisory Board of Foodways Texas, an organization founded by scholars, chefs, journalists, restaurateurs, farmers, ranchers, and other citizens of the state of Texas who have made it their mission to preserve, promote and celebrate the diverse food cultures of Texas.
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