APPLE TART
Four lonely granny smith apples sat in my fridge with no love coming their way. Too sour to complement any of the hearty and savory foods I’ve been eating, and too cold on their own to contradict the bitterness of winter, these apples sat in negligence with only each other to keep themselves company. My mother decided it was time to do something about them and told me to make a classic winter dessert - apple pie. I convinced her otherwise.
This apple TART is incredibly easy to make, and so much less of a hassle in terms of ingredients for the filling. Especially in this case, since my mother bought pre-packaged pie crusts, this tart was probably one of the shortest and easiest recipes I’ve tried. Simple in appearance, simple in flavor, and simple in making - what more can you ask for?
(succulent or apple tart? also excuse the choppy apple peeling/cutting)
I’ve included the steps for making the dough from scratch, but I won’t have any notes for this process since I used the pre-made pie crust my mom bought. The pie crust box said to bake at 375°F, so I did that instead of 400°F and just kept an eye on the crust color as it baked to determine when it was finished. It took about the same time as listed in the recipe. Otherwise, this recipe is straightforward and I have no modifications to anything else! And it’s great served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Apple Tart
From Smitten Kitchen
Makes one 9-inch tart
Dough
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, just softened, cut in ½-inch pieces
3 ½ tablespoons chilled water
Filling
2 pounds apples (Golden Delicious or another tart, firm variety), peeled, cored (save peels and cores), and sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
5 tablespoons sugar
Glaze
½ cup sugar
To make dough: Mix flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl; add 2 tablespoons of the butter. Blend in a mixer until dough resembles coarse cornmeal. Add remaining butter; mix until biggest pieces look like large peas. Dribble in water, stir, then dribble in more, until dough just holds together. Toss with hands, letting it fall through fingers, until it’s ropy with some dry patches. If dry patches predominate, add another tablespoon water. Keep tossing until you can roll dough into a ball. Flatten into a 4-inch-thick disk; refrigerate. After at least 30 minutes, remove; let soften so it’s malleable but still cold. Smooth cracks at edges. On a lightly floured surface, roll into a 14-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Dust excess flour from both sides with a dry pastry brush. Place dough in a lightly greased 9-inch round tart pan, or simply on a parchment-lined baking sheet if you wish to go free-form, or galette-style with it. Heat oven to 400°F.
To make filling: Overlap apples on dough in a ring 2 inches from edge if going galette-style, or up to the sides if using the tart pan. Continue inward until you reach the center. Fold any dough hanging over pan back onto itself; crimp edges at 1-inch intervals. Brush melted butter over apples and onto dough edge. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over dough edge and the other 3 tablespoons over apples (can use less or more, I used less which made the tart only lightly sweetened). Bake in center of oven until apples are soft, with browned edges, and crust has caramelized to a dark golden brown (about 45 minutes), making sure to rotate tart every 15 minutes.
To make glaze: Put reserved peels and cores in a large saucepan, along with sugar. Pour in just enough water to cover; simmer for 25 minutes. Strain syrup through cheesecloth.
To assemble: Remove tart from oven, and slide off parchment onto cooling rack. Let cool at least 15 minutes. Brush glaze over tart, slice, and serve.