Every Pennsylvania Kid Knows This Breakfast — Here’s How to Make It

If you're from Pennsylvania, then you already know about Scrabble. It's definitely one of the most misunderstood breakfast meals. Don't knock it till you try it. I like mine fried until it's nice and crispy on the outside, then layered with soft scrambled eggs and melty American cheese on buttery toast. Growing up in Philly, a Scrabble egg and cheese was always a favorite of mine, and honestly, it still is. This is Pennsylvania breakfast comfort food at its best. Hi, I'm Myra Evans from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and today I'll be showcasing a Pennsylvania classic, Scrabble. The Scrabble egg and cheese, of course, my way. Pennsylvania is known for a lot of foods, but a lot of people don't know about Scrabble. When you think Pennsylvania foods, you usually think Philly cheesesteaks, tomato pies, Italian hoagies, and even Hershey chocolate. But Scrabble belongs on that list, baby. My mother would always take me in town, downtown Philly, and we would always stop and get breakfast sandwiches in the morning, and my favorite sandwich on the cart was always the Scrabble egg and cheese. I like mine crispy, and sometimes if I was feeling funky, I would get a little grape jelly on it. But hey, that's debatable. We'll talk about that later. Scrabble has deep roots in the Dutch culture. It started as a way to use the entire animal, and over time it grew into a staple, a Pennsylvania staple, that good old crispy Scrabble. To me, Scrabble is pure Pennsylvania nostalgia. I love it, and I'll continue to make it. It's my guilty pleasure. So let's do this. I'm starting with the Scrabble. If you've never cooked Scrabble before, it comes in a loaf, so you'll want to slice it into pieces. The key for me is to get it nice and crispy on the outside while keeping it soft in the middle. I add a little oil to the pan and let the Scrabble cook for a few minutes on each side. Let it sit. Let it sit. No need to touch it. Let the crust form and then flip it. You'll know it's ready when the deep golden brown color is showing and it looks crispy. Once my Scrabble is done, I set it aside on a wire rack and get started on the bread. I like simple white or potato bread for this sandwich. Nothing fancy. I add some butter to the pan and toast the bread right in the butter until it's nice and golden. The buttery toast just makes such a difference. Next up are the eggs. I'll add a little more butter to the pan and then go on with the eggs. I season them simply with salt and pepper and scramble them until they are just right. You still want them to be soft because they're going into a hot sandwich. And for the cheese, I'm using American cheese. Now we build it. I start with a slice of cheese, then add crispy Scrabble, two or three pieces, the eggs, another slice of cheese, and more Scrabble, of course. And here's one of my favorite parts. I like to wrap the sandwich up and let it sit for a few minutes before cutting it. The little rest gives the cheese time to melt and lets everything come together. Crispy Scrabble, soft eggs, melty cheese. That's how I like my Pennsylvania Scrabble Egg and Cheese. And it still reminds me of those sandwiches I used to get when I was a little girl with my mom. Hope you try it.