One of my goals for this week was to make an apple pie (or rather individual tart pies) for the two of us because I am not making any apple pie for Thanksgiving. I, for some reason, had the thought that something would be missing minus this dish for the season.
Spoiled is how I would describe myself as a youngster, there were always pies and desserts around without my contribution and it carried with me for the holidays that they would simply exist. Now that I am away from family, I only have myself to rely on to extinguish my cravings that is until I arrive home for Christmas and New Years and lets face it, I am a food enthusiast so I might be expected to make a few things. Fine by me- give me an oven, a recipe and cooking equipment (maybe a glass of wine) and I will make whatever you desire.
My desire was fulfilled thanks to Real Simple’s pie crust (which I had posted before but provided again) and Martha Stewart for the filling and topping ideas.
Apple Pie Tarts
Serves 4 individual tarts or 1 11-inch pie/tart
Ingredients:
Pie Crust (from Real Simple by Sara Quessenberry)
1/4 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling the dough
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water (Add an ice cube to keep the water cold but don’t add cube to mix)
In a food processor, pulse the flour, butter, sugar, and salt until the mixture resembles coarse meal with a few pea-size clumps of butter remaining. Add 2 tablespoons of the water. Pulse until the mixture holds together when squeezed but is still crumbly (add more water, a little at a time, as necessary). Avoid overprocessing, which will make the dough tough.
Place the still crumbly mixture on a sheet of plastic wrap. Shape it into a 1-inch-thick disk, using the plastic wrap to help. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour. (The dough can be frozen at this point for up to 2 months.) If frozen, place the dough in the refrigerator the day before and then at room-temp the day of baking.
Day of: Place the dough on a floured piece of parchment or wax paper. Using your knuckles, make indentations around the dough (this will help prevent cracking when you roll the dough out). With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into an 11- inch circle (work from the center outward, and use the parchment to rotate the dough). Flour the rolling pin, parchment, and dough as necessary to prevent sticking.
Loosen the dough from the parchment and carefully transfer to an 11-inch pie plate (I had enough for an 11-inch pie plate), tart pan or 4 individual tart pans. Fit the dough into the plate. Trim the dough.
With the index finger of one hand, press the dough against the thumb and fore-finger of the opposite hand; continue around the perimeter of the crust. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days before using.
Day of: If you are making a full size pie or tart, follow these instructions, otherwise, skip to filling. Take a fork and puncture the bottom of the crust. Prebake at 350 for 20 minutes and cool. Use any leftover dough to make a lattice or other topping.
Apple filling:
2 tbsp all purpose flour
8 apples of choice (Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Empire, etc.), peeled, cored and sliced
¾ cup sugar
juice of 1 lemon
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
2 tbsp butter
Mix all filling ingredients and place over crust.
(Optional) Crumble Topping:
6 tbsp butter, melted
¼ cup brown sugar
½ cup flour (you could make half of this amount oats)
pinch of salt
Mix all ingredients together and crumble over the pie/tarts before baking.
Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl, combine apples, sugar, lemon juice, spices and flour. Toss and spoon mixture into pie or tart pan(s), dot with butter and cover with crust if you wish. Cut steam vents on top and crimp edges together. Brush with egg and sprinkle extra sugar over the top. Bake about an hour and then cool.
