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Tag: apples (Page 2 of 6)

Apple and Pear Mini Galettes

Apples and pears are so delicious and abundant this time of year.  These little galettes are full of the quintessential fall flavors of succulent baked apples and pears, surrounded by tender pastry.  Because they are mini, they are just the right size for one person, and great for dessert, a snack, or even breakfast. Because the fruit is so fresh and flavorful, these galettes do not need a lot of ingredients.

At the height of autumn, there is so much beauty and bounty from nature.  And there are people who love the bounty and want to share it.  My daughter and I were at a farmers market in a nearby town recently, where we encountered a farm stand I had never seen before at this market.  The woman there had piles of pumpkins and squash, and baskets heaped with red, ripe tomatoes and beautiful pears.  Her prices were so low, she was almost giving the produce away, and I could tell she really wanted people to use and enjoy her fruits and vegetables.  I bought a basket of ripe, golden pears from her, though the price was so low it truly felt like a gift.  A couple of days later, my mother brought us a bag of apples from the iconic cider mill in the town where I grew up.  I have so many memories of going to that cider mill as a kid, of sitting along the river and drinking that fresh cider from paper cups and eating doughnuts from a paper bag.

apple and pear galettes on baking sheet with fruitAnyway, I knew I had to do something with this fruit to honor its goodness and the generous spirit in which it was given.  Since I am slightly obsessed with galettes this year, I wanted to try these two archetypal fall fruits in galettes.  I am so glad I did, because they tasted wonderful, and my kitchen smelled amazingly good while they were baking.  Also, since galettes are considered rustic, I don’t feel a lot of pressure to make them look perfect.  The taste is of paramount importance though, and the fruit stands out nicely.   My family smiled and ate them up.  Good thing I captured them in photographs before anyone else got home!

pear galetteI hope you are enjoying the abundance of fall and the joy of generosity.  Small acts of kindness can make someone’s day.  A beautiful basket of pears, a bag of fresh apples, a pear or apple galette, or even just a smile.  It makes me think of that bumper sticker that says, “practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty,” or something close to that.  Receive graciously. Pass it on.  I hope you all have a beautiful weekend!

pearsI am sharing these seasonal galettes with the lovely bloggers at Angie’s Fiesta Friday #89, co-hosted today by Mila @ Milk and Bun  and Kaila @ GF Life 24/7. raw apple and pear galettesapple and pear galettes with fruit and coffeeapple and pear galettes on purple bench 1heart rock

Apple and Pear Mini Galettes

  • Servings: 8
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Ingredients:

For the apple filling:

  • 2 cups of apple, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup of sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon (or to taste)

For the pear filling:

  • 2 cups of pear, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup of sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of flour

For the crusts:

  • 2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 2/3 cup of unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 6 to 7 tablespoon of cold water

For the egg wash:

  • one egg, beaten
  • 1 tablespoon of water

Directions:

Wash, peel, and thinly slice the apples.  In a small mixing bowl, combine the apples, sugar, cinnamon, and flour.  Wash, peel, and thinly slice the pears.  In another small mixing bowl, combine the pears, sugar, and flour.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and the salt.  Gradually cut in the butter with a fork or a pastry cutter, combining until the mixture has the consistency of peas.  Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the cold water over the dough, and gently toss with a fork.  Repeat until the dough is moistened, but not so wet that it is slimy.  If you add too much water, add a little flour.  Work the water through just until the dough is a nice, soft texture, but don’t over-work it.  Divide the dough in half, forming two balls.  Set one ball aside.  Divide the other ball into four smaller balls of about equal size.  On a lightly floured surface, flatten a small ball with the palm of your hand.  Then roll the dough from the center to the edges, forming a circle of about 6 inches in diameter.  Do the same thing with the remaining 3 small balls of dough.  When you have four 6-inch circles of dough, spoon the apple mixture onto the center of the circles, distributing it evenly and leaving about a 2-inch border of dough around the circles.  Gently fold the edges of the dough around the fruit, pleating all the way around the edges.  Transfer the galettes to one of the baking sheets.

Clean any residual dough off the floured surface, and sprinkle more flour on it.  Take the second large ball of dough and repeat the above process, making 4 six-inch circles of dough.  Spoon the pear mixture onto these four circles.  There may be a lot of pear juice at the bottom of the bowl, so try to spoon out the fruit, leaving as much juice as possible in the bowl.  Repeat the folding and pleating process and transfer the pear galettes to the other baking sheet.

In a small bowl, beat the egg and add a tablespoon of water.  With a pastry brush, brush the edges of the galette crusts with the egg wash.

Bake in a 425-degree oven for 15 minutes, or until the crusts are lightly golden and the fruit is bubbly.  Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired. Enjoy! 

Apple Pie with a Hint of Plum

This delicious pie showcases seasonal apples with a touch of extra sweetness from plums.  It is now the month of October and prime apple season here, as well as the very tail end of plum season.  I like to use apples in as many ways as possible at this time of year, and making pies is one of my favorite ways.  Apple pies are such an iconic part of celebrating fall.  I have a few juicy plums lingering in my kitchen from the end of summer, so I added a cup of sliced plums to the apple pie filling, to jazz it up a little.  It was a great combination, with the plums just adding a hint of a slightly different type of sweetness.  Too many plums, and the crust may have gotten soggy, but this was just the right amount.

apple plum pie with pie plate 3Pies symbolize so many different things to different people, but to me they symbolize celebration and comfort.  There were (and still are) always pies around at big family gatherings, and lots of the women in my family were and are great pie-makers, from my grandma, my great aunt and my husband’s grandma, to my mother and aunt, who still make incredible pies.

apple pie with plums 4Some people may think of making pies as old-fashioned, or overly domestic, but to me it is empowering to be able to make something that others love so much, and to be able to use fruit that grows so close to home, wrap it in a delicious pastry, and be able to nourish people in such a healthy, natural, and beautiful way.  While cherry pie was my father’s favorite, and my mother, my brothers, my kids, and I like pretty much every kind of pie, apple pie is my husband’s all-time favorite.  He loved the bit of plums in this pie as well.

raw pie crustPie crust can be a bit of a challenge, but it is a worthy challenge.  The recipe I am sharing below is one that works well for me.  Although it turns out slightly different every time, and some crusts are prettier than others, it always tastes wonderful.  I like to use unsalted butter from grass-fed cows for my pie crust.  I also sometimes make it with canola oil, which is good too.  If I use some whole wheat flour (which I like to do sometimes), the crust does not hold together as well, but it still tastes good.  If I want the crust to look extra-pretty, I use unbleached all-purpose flour.

apples and plums in bowlI hope you are all enjoying the beautiful fall weather, and the fruits and vegetables of fall too. This is such an incredible time of year!  “Give me the splendid silent sun with all his beams full-dazzling, give me juicy autumnal fruit ripe and red from the orchard.” ~Walt Whitman

Have a great weekend!

apples and plums in bowlpeeled applesapple plum pie in pie plateapple plum pie against blueThis week, Angie’s Fiesta Friday is co-hosted by Julie @ Hostess at Heart and Liz @ Spades, Spatulas, & Spoons. I look forward to checking out some inspiration there! 

Apple Pie with a Hint of Plum

  • Servings: 8
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Ingredients:

For the Filling

  • 5 cups of apples, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 cup of plums, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup of sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

For the Pie Crust

  • 2 cup of flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 2/3 cup of unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 6-7 tablespoons of cold water

Directions:

Wash, peel, and slice the fruit, and place it in a large mixing bowl.  Add the sugar, flour, and cinnamon, and stir to combine.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  In another large mixing bowl, combine the flour and the salt.  With a fork or pastry cutter, cut in the butter and combine, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs about the size of peas.  Gradually add the cold water, one tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork to combine. Add water and toss with fork until all the dough is uniformly moistened. Divide the dough into two equal-sized balls. On a lightly floured surface (I often flour a large sheet of waxed paper on my counter and roll the dough out on it–the dough doesn’t stick to it as much), press one of the dough balls down with the palm of your hand. Then roll it into a circle, from the center to the edges, about 12 inches in diameter.  Roll the dough onto a floured rolling pin and gently unroll it into a 9-inch pie baking plate.  Try not to stretch the dough too much.  If it tears, patch it with more dough.  Then roll out the second ball of dough, the same way as the first one.  Pour the fruit filling into the pie plate.  Ease that second 12-inch circle of dough from the floured rolling pin to the top of the fruit filling.  Gently fold the top crust under the bottom crust, all the way around the plate.  Then flute the edges as best you can.  Patch any tears with extra dough.  With a fork, poke several tiny holes in the top of the crust to allow air to come through. Sprinkle with sugar if desired.

Cover the edges of the pie crust with foil, to avoid over-browning. Bake in a 375-degree oven for 25 minutes.  Remove the foil, and then bake another 18-25 minutes, or until the crust is just golden and fruit is tender.  Allow to cool before slicing.  Enjoy! 

 

Blackberry Apple Crumble

blackberry crumble in bow 2This delicious jumble of a crumble came about by luck this week.  I don’t usually eat blackberries this time of year, but the grocery store I usually go to had organic ones on sale for a price I simply could not resist.  And blackberries just sounded so juicy and luxurious, a way to brighten up the body and soul in this bleak, bitter cold weather we are having.  The recipe below is a conglomeration of my favorite fruit crisp/crumble recipes, based on what I had on hand and what I thought my family would enjoy.  I cannot tell you how good, sweet and juicy these blackberries taste when baked with a bit of apples and topped with the brown sugar, cinnamon, oats, almonds and pepita (shelled pumpkin seeds) mixture.  The rich,velvety fruit contrasts with the crunchy, hearty topping.  And of course with their deep, indigo color, the blackberries are loaded with antioxidants.  After the excesses of the holiday season,  it is refreshing to eat a fruity dessert. It is quite a breeze to prepare, since the blackberries require no chopping, and while it’s baking away in the oven, making your kitchen smell wonderful, you can do other things.  My kids were home both yesterday and today because their schools were closed due to the extreme cold and blowing snow.  I was so happy to be able to throw this blackberry apple crumble together yesterday morning and have it turn out so well, though it was an adventure to find enough natural light to photograph this dish, because of the faint winter morning light.  Luckily, I have a porch, and out on the porch I went in the sub-zero temperatures with the steaming blackberry apple crumble to photograph.  The deep purple of the blackberries looked so pretty against the cold, white snow and the morning sky.  The sugar I had sprinkled on the blackberries before adding the topping looked just like snow.  The contrast made me think about how beautiful the light and dark look together, and how our lives are defined by all types of contrasts.  And that treating ourselves now and then to blackberries in the winter is good for us.  I have put this recipe in the category of desserts because it is sweet, but it is substantial enough to have with breakfast, as we did this morning.  Today I am going to be joining the Fiesta Friday gathering at Angie’s blog, The Novice Gardener, and will be taking this recipe over to share with the lovely bloggers there. blackberries and applesblackberries and apples in dishblackberry crumble 4blackberry crumble in bowl

Blackberry Apple Crumble

  • Servings: 4-6
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Ingredients:

  • 3 cups blackberries
  • 1 cup apples, peeled and thinly sliced (about 1 medium-sized apple)
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 3/4 cup rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds
  • 2 tablespoons roasted and salted pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Melt the butter in a small pan.  In a mixing bowl, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, almonds, and pepitas.  Place the blackberries and apple slices in a 1.5 quart baking dish (or a baking dish of a similar size).  Sprinkle the granulated sugar and cornstarch over the fruit and mix gently.  Stir the melted butter into the oat/flour topping mixture and then gently spoon the topping mixture over the fruit, distributing it as evenly as possible.  Bake for about 25 minutes.  This dish is delicious on its own, but also tastes good with vanilla ice cream.  Enjoy!

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