Back in 1975, Russell Baker wrote a now-legendary column in which he wryly commented on a multi-course banquet consumed by Craig Claiborne, then the Times's chief food writer, by disclosing his self-prepared gourmet meal, which featured such highlights as pate de fruites de nuts of Georgia, in which "A half-inch layer of creamy style peanut butter is trowled onto a graham cracker, then half a banana is crudely diced and pressed firmly into the peanut butter and cemented in place as it were by a second graham cracker."
Among the several main courses, "I prepared beans with bacon grease, a dish I perfected in 1937 while developing my cuisine du depression."
So it is in the spirit of cuisine du depression that I made a dessert that, as an avid reader of the backs of Ritz cracker boxes, I had long been curious about: Mock-Apple Pie.
There are indeed no apples of any kind in Mock-Apple Pie: the filling is a mixture of crushed Ritz crackers and sugar syrup. The recipe is straightforward and not particularly challenging.
It has a satisfying taste, over all, although I did not think it tasted particularly like apple pie. The lemon zest and juice that is added tends to become the dominant note, and I wonder if sneaking in a little apple juice wouldn't be more to the point. Still, it was enthusiastically received chez moi.
