Showing posts with label apples. Show all posts
Showing posts with label apples. Show all posts

Monday, September 14, 2009

Apple Tart


Apples are everywhere right now--the Farmer's Market has apples at every turn. This quick Apple Tart is easy to make and would be a great dinner party dessert. In researching Apple Tart recipes I came across Ina Garten's version. I used her butter crust which actually turns out to be a lot like a shortbread cookie--very rich and buttery. It's really quick to make in the food processor, easy to roll out and looks really fancy if you use a fancy cutter on the edges.After I had made the crust I noticed that she says she uses frozen puff pastry when she is in a hurry--go figure! I thought the recipe was really easy BUT it isn't anything like puff pastry and I think the dessert would be totally different. I'll try it with the puff pastry dough next time.

To make her pastry from scratch, you just throw the ingredients into the processor, roll it out, cut the edges, then refrigerate it while you cut up the apples. So easy, why would you ever use readymade crust?



Tart Crust a la Ina Garten
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
12 tablespoons butter, cold
1/2 cup ice water
Place flour, salt and sugar in food processor and pulse until crumbly. Add butter and pulse until crumbly again. Add ice water and pulse until dough just comes together. Empty processor bowl onto floured board and knead slightly into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour. Roll out with rolling pin until it reaches approximately 11x14 (size of full cookie sheet), trim with fluted pastry cutter or pizza cutter so that it is a rectangle shape. Dough will be about 1/4" thick. Stick it back in frig until apples are ready.
Apple Tart
1 tart pastry crust recipe or frozen puff pastry thawed
4-6 apples (more or less depending on size)- use a crisp, tart apple
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup liquer of some kind (Calvados, Triple Sec, ?)
1/2 cup jam of your choice-peach,orange
a little butter

Preheat oven to 400. Roll out the pastry to approximately 11x14 (or size that will fit on your cookie sheet). Place on parchment sheet on cookie sheet. Refrigerate until apples are prepared. Peel and core apples and slice into 1/4" slices. Overlap apple slices on crust on the diagonal until pastry is cover completely. Sprinkle with sugar, dot with a little butter and bake for 45 minutes on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper until apples and crust are brown. Mix jam and liquer together and micro until warm, then stir. Use pastry brush to brush jam mixture over apples after removing from oven, To serve, use a pizza cutter to cut into squares and top with whipped cream. Yummy. This freezes well, cut into squares and wrap tightly in aluminum foil. Open tin foil wrapper to reheat in oven.









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Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Coconut/Pecan/Peach Pie--again???




Coconut/Pecan/Peach Pie--again??? This pie was so good that I needed to make another one before peach season ends here in Colorado. This time we ate a couple of pieces and I put the remaining pieces in individual freezer containers for peach pie cravings in the (probably not to distant) future. Oh summer is starting to wane, can you stand it? It has been so great this summer in the high country of Colorado--lots of wildflowers, great temperatures, plenty of rain and so far no wildfires. But it's time to start thinking apples!! This little town is the center of apple country in Colorado and the yearly Applefest is coming up in September. I have three old apple trees in my yard & the apples are starting to turn red so it won't be long. I'm searching for apple pie recipes and will have several up soon. Enjoy the last of summer.~Annie
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