I never understood why people eat apple pie with cheddar cheese.

Until I made this cranberry pecan bread last year and proceeded to eat the entire loaf with apples and cheddar cheese.  Occasionally with a slather of apple butter.  Because I lived on apple butter last year.  And ate it with everything.  Including this apple turkey cheddar sandwich.

I wanted to recreate that apple cheddar melt this year, but I wanted to add a bit more savory elements to counter all the sweet.  Like bacon.

Because who doesn’t want to add bacon to just about everything?

Like chocolate bark.

Because, that’s a thing.  Seriously.  I was scrolling through Instagram the other day and saw chocolate bark with snickerdoodle cookie pieces, pecans, sea salt, and bacon.  Yes.  BACON!  At that moment I wanted to add bacon to everything.

Especially this sandwich.

I opted to use a cinnamon raisin loaf, mainly for the ease of not making my own bread –  anyone else feel slightly overwhelmed that Christmas is 3 days away and doesn’t have the time to spend 3+ hours on a loaf of bread!? But also because cinnamon and apples are such a great combination.

Butter is obviously spread on one side of the slice to get that awesome, golden, deliciousness, but I ended up spreading a spicy coarse mustard on the opposite side to counteract the sweetness of both the bread and the apples.

Crispy bacon, sliced honeycrisp apples, and smoked cheddar is then piled high before being topped with the second slice of raisin bread and cooked over medium low heat until the cheese is melty and the raisin bread is golden brown.

Sounds divine, doesn’t it?

So, on the 10th day of Christmas, I’m sharing with you: a bacon apple cheddar melt!

I guess I can also let you in on a little secret: I’ve been microwaving my bacon for the past couple of weeks now.  Mainly from pure laziness  but it seems to be the best way to get ultra crispy bacon without a mess.  Try it.  It won’t disappoint.

Bacon Apple Cheddar Melt

serves 1

• 2 slices cinnamon raisin bread
• 2 tsp. spreadable butter
• 2 tsp. spicy coarse mustard
• Honeycrisp apple, sliced
• smoked cheddar cheese, sliced
• 2-3 slices of bacon, cooked

Spread butter on one side of each slice of bread, and the mustard on the opposite side.  Place one slice onto a hot skillet.  Pile the apple slices, sliced cheddar cheese, and bacon onto the slice of raisin bread, and top with the remaining slice.  Cook over medium-low heat until cheese is melted, bread is golden brown, and sandwich is thoroughly heated.

 

 

And maybe some apple butter!?