Apple Tartlets
Recipe Courtesy of Melissa d’Arabian
3 - 4 Medium Granny Smith Apples (or other firm apples)
2 - 3 T Sugar for Sprinkling
1 - 2 tsp Cinnamon for Sprinkling
2 - 3 T Butter for Dotting
2 T Water
1 Egg Yolk
Dough for Crust (Recipe to Follow)
Caramel Sauce (Recipe to Follow)
Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples. Once the dough is done resting, roll out in between 2 sheets of wax paper until the dough is between 1/8 and ¼ inch thick. Using a large (3 - 4 inch) biscuit cutter, cut out 8 - 10 mini tartlet crusts and place on buttered baking sheets.
Place the apples on the crust decoratively, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and dot each tartlet with a small cube of butter. Mix egg yolk with water in a small bowl and brush the sides of the crust using pastry brush.
Bake at 375 degrees for 35 - 40 minutes until golden brown. Drizzle with caramel sauce and sprinkle with salt.
Prep Time: 90 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 8-10 Servings
Ease of Prep: Easy
Dough for Crust
1 stick of Unsalted Butter
1 c All Purpose Flour
¼ c Whole Wheat Flour
1 T Sugar
1 tsp Salt
8 T Ice Water
Cut butter into half inch cubes and chill in freezer for 10 - 15 minutes. Once cold, place butter in a food processor, add flour, sugar and salt. Pulse quickly on and off until mixture resembles coarse sand. Then add water and pulse quickly until the mixture starts to clump and the texture is like peas, but not yet sticky. Add more water, a teaspoon at a time, being very careful not to put too much in or to make the dough sticky.
Once the dough as pea-sized clumps immediately pour the mixture into a large, plastic, zip-top bag (or a large piece of plastic wrap). Very gently use your hands to shape the dough into a ball. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least one hour and up to one day.
Caramel Sauce
¾ c of Sugar
¼ c of Water
½ c of Half and Half
½ Vanilla Bean, Scraped
Place sugar, water, vanilla bean in medium sauce pan and stir to mix over high heat. Let the mixture melt without stirring, once the mixture bubbles and starts turning golden brown begin whisking quickly.
Add half and half in a very thin stream, whisking constantly. As sauce becomes caramel colored and starts to thicken remove from heat and let it cool.
1. What is your all-time favorite cookbook?
Silver Palate (the original). My mom gave it to me; it was my first "expensive" cookbook (it's in paperback, but it was the most expensive book I'd owned up to that point). A postscript: one of the authors of the Silver Palate now owns an inn in Michigan. My husband took me their on our "babymoon", and I now have a brandnew autographed Silver Palate. But I still used my yucky old food stained book from my mom.
2. Describe your signature dish.
My signature dish not a fancy one, but it is the only true family recipe my mom left me before she died: it is a simple marinated flank steak. She had gotten it from the electric company back in the early 70's (how it was from the electric company.....was a recipe card tucked in the bill? did she attend a class?... I'll never know).
3. Do you have a favorite cooking website? What is it?
epicurious.com
4. What is one food item that is a staple in your fridge or pantry?
Bacon in my freezer for making little lardons (slices easily when frozen, and a little goes a long way in flavor).
5. What is your favorite cooking tool?
Magic Bullet! I have a blender and food processor, but my magic bullet is in a category of its own... I LOVE it!
