Emily Stevens
I’m going to be honest. When I remembered that I had to make pie crust from scratch on a Tuesday afternoon in October I was far from elated. The entire day I considered backing out; maybe I should choose a different recipe? I thought; would it be so bad if I used the store-bought stuff? I asked friends. Even my mother, the home cook I aspire to be, told me that making your own pie crust “just isn’t worth the effort.” Yet there I was a few hours, later rolling out dough on my floured Vouté countertops. I can pretty confidently say I was the only student on campus making pie crust during midterm season. At some point this recipe became less about making an Apple Galette and more of a mission to answer a simple question: is making your own pie crust worth it? To me and my mother’s surprise, the answer was undoubtedly yes. This homemade crust recipe comes out flaky and buttery like a croissant. It was the first time I have ever eaten a slice of pie and been more interested in the crust than the filling. Don’t get me wrong, the version with store-bought crust was still tasty, but homemade crust wins this round.
Freshly Picked Apple and Cranberry Galette
Filling:
3-4 apples sliced thinly
¼ cup fresh cranberries
1 tbsp. Orange juice
1 tsp. orange zest
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
Crust: (may substitute store-bought)
1 ¼ sticks Butter, cubed and cold
1¼-cup flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tsp. salt
4-6 Tbsp ice-water
Sugar to sprinkle on top
1 egg whisked
Begin by whisking flour, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl. Add cold cubed butter, toss with the flour, and use your hands to flatten and break up the butter. Continue until a sandy mixture forms with some remain chunks of butter. Add the ice water in increments to the bowl mixing and kneading lightly until a shaggy dough forms. Turn onto a floured surface forming into a round disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and let chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 375. While the dough is chilling, slice apples adding to a large bowl. Fold in orange juice and zest, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar. Mix in the cranberries and set aside.
Remove chilled dough from fridge and roll out onto a baking sheet fit with a sheet of parchment paper. This galette can be made in circular or square shape depending on preference. Arrange apples and cranberries in the center of the dough leaving a 1-2 inch border.
Fold edges of the dough over the fruit on all sides. Brush the crust with a beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and apples are cooked through. Let cool before eating and serve with vanilla ice cream.
Gusto Journal 