Autumn Apple Tart

I am obsessed with fall and even more obsessed with country roads, nature trails, farm stores and picking my own fruit. I looooove the outdoors and the feeling of being in the moment, alive, and free.  All while eating fresh picked fruit  and spending time with those I love.  This year I took my new rescue husky ‘Bandit’ and he loved it as much as I did.  We had so much fun frolicking through the trees that we didn’t end up with too many apples in the end of all three days (and 6 orchards). Luckily for me, my husband sees apple picking as a task so while I’m eating an apple with one hand and choosing the roundest, most perfect apple with the other, he’s already come back with a bushel of food. Don’t tell, but I don’t think he gets it.

So we’ve been dripping in sweet apple juice all season and now we are feasting on this delicious sweet apple tart.

Autumn Apple Tart

Crust:  Buy your favorite crust or use your ‘go-to’ recipe. Spread the dough on the bottom of the pan and push against the sides. Play around with different textures and thickness of crust.  

Filling: 
2 pounds (910 grams) apples (Golden Delicious or another tart, firm variety), peeled, cored (save the peels and cores), and sliced thinly
2 tablespoons (30 grams) unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons (39 grams) sugar

Glaze:
1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar

Set over to 350 degrees F.

Layer the apples on the dough in a ring starting two inches from the edge of the pastry if you’re using a galette-style, or start at the sides if you’re using the tart pan. Continue to layer the apples, circling inward until you reach the center. Fold any excess dough hanging over pan back into the pan, overlapping the dough; and crimp the edges with an inch between each crimp, or make your own design!

Brush melted butter over the apples and onto the edge of the dough. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of sugar over the dough and apples. Use a little less if you want your tart to be more… well, tart, and more sugar if you’d like a little extra sweetness.

Bake the tart in the center of the oven until the apples are soft and the edges of the tart are browned.  Bake for 45 minutes.

Now make the glaze: Put reserved peels and cores in a large saucepan, along with the sugar. Pour in just enough water to cover everything; then simmer for 25 minutes. Strain the syrup through a cheesecloth into a bowl to remove the apple bits. Discard the cores and peels.

Let cool for at least 15 minutes.

Brush or drizzle your glaze over the tart, slice into pieces, and serve with ice cream or alone. (If you want to skip the glaze which I sometimes do, your tart will still be delicious)

Recipe modified from Smitten Kitchen