The context missing here is that apples weren’t nearly so sweet prior to breeding in the late 1800’s. Colonial-era apple pie was closer to what we might think of as a mashed potato pie, it was a savory dish. The “American as apple pie” thing comes from the late 1700’s/early 1800’s when apple pie was a regular weeknight meal for working-class Americans, it wasn’t seen as a dessert until much later.

This is also why potatoes are called “pommes de terre” in French (apples of the earth).