Happy Pi Day! Ever since high school math class when we celebrated this very special holiday by bringing in as many homemade pies as possible, I've tried to keep the tradition alive. This year it wasn't high on my priority list with trying to plan St. Patrick's Day and our vacation next week, but at the last minute I remembered and scraped something together.
On a side note, Caden got his hair cut today! I was really impressed with what they did this time despite all of his awful cowlicks. He looks quite handsome! Much better than that crazy person hair he was sporting yesterday.
Wanting to make something a little smaller than a full pie, I decided to make a Rustic Cinnamon Apple Tart. Not exactly a pie, but if it has a pie crust and a pie type filling...I think it counts.
As usual, Caden was quick to pull up a chair and offer his help. After pouring the flour in, however, he decided he couldn't give up his afternoon ipod time to bake. Ipod time is much more precious.
I slightly adapted this recipe from Fine Cooking. I thought the directions were very overcomplicated, so this is my simplified version.
For the dough I combined 1 1/2 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons of sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Then I cubed 11 tablespoons of butter and combined it all until it reached a crumby consistency. Then I mixed in 1 egg yolk and 3 tablespoons of whole milk until the dough stuck together.
Next I formed the dough into a thick disc, wrapped it in plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge while I prepared the filling.
For the filling I chose to use four large Fugi apples sliced very thinly. I then thoroughly coated them with a mixture of 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of flour, and a pinch of salt.
Putting the tart together was then very simple. There's no perfect way to do it and it's a rustic tart anyway, so it doesn't have to be exact. I just rolled the dough out until it looked about the size of my pizza pan. I transferred it over, filled the middle with the apples, and folded the edges of the crust over the top. Then I brushed egg over the crust and covered the whole thing with 2-3 tablespoons of turbinado sugar. Then bake it at 350 degrees for 55 minutes.
It came out of the oven looking just about perfect!
However, I couldn't resist finishing it off with a nice caramel drizzle. The apples didn't look so naked anymore and it pushed the yummy factor right over the edge! :)
I'll save this recipe for another day, but I just have to add that I tried another new recipe tonight for Sweet Potato Chips. I'm not really big on sweet potato anything, but these were delicious!
The race was on between Greg and I to eat as many as we could as fast as possible. They were so spicy and tasty!
Okay, back to the pie! It turned out really well. Apple pie is my favorite, but I hardly ever make it. This recipe was simple and fast and will definitely be added to my list of make agains! The crust was absolutely delicious. I can't wait to try it doubled in other pie recipes. Yum, yum!
