Apple Galette

Sometimes I’m in the mood for an apple pie, but I don’t want to go to the trouble of making a full pie. The French created a perfect solution with the apple galette, which is a more casual type of pie. It has only one crust that doesn’t have to look perfect since the pastry edge just folds up around the fruit in whatever style it wants to fall. I brush the edges with an egg wash and sprinkle coarse sugar, which gives it a crunchy texture when you bite into it. Try this apple galette, eat it with your hands, and never make an apple pie again.

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Ingredients

Serves 6

Pastry:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 stick butter, cut into ½” cubes

• 1/3 cup cold water

Filling:

• 4 baking apples, peeled and sliced

• 2/3 cup sugar

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1/4 cup cornstarch

• 2 tablespoon butter, cut into ½” cubes

Additional Ingredients:

• 1 egg, beaten

• 1 tablespoon coarse decorating sugar (or regular sugar)

Process

Pastry: 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. To make pastry, blend the flour, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl with a fork. Add the chopped cold butter and blend with a pastry blender or two knives to cut the butter into the flour until it resembles cornmeal. Alternatively, you can blend it in a food processor by pulsing the mixture 20 times. Slowly add cold water and blend gently with a fork until the mixture comes together to make a ball. Place the ball of dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Wrap tightly, pressing the ball into a flat disk. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. 

Filling: 

Meanwhile, make the filling. In a large bowl, combine the apples, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cornstarch. Set aside.

Pie:

After chilling the dough, remove from refrigerator and place on a lightly floured board. Roll into a flat circle, about 1/8” thick. Place the rolled dough onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Place the filling onto the center of the dough, leaving a 2” border of dough around the filling. Scatter the butter over the apples. Fold the dough edge up around the filling, pleating it as necessary. Brush the dough with the egg and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before slicing.