Today is the first day of fall, so it is time to think about apples. And yes, apple pie. Lately, I have been whipping up apple galettes when I don’t have enough time to make an apple pie. Last time I did, the whole family was sitting at the table, and Matthew took a bite of the galette and said, “I think I might like this more than your apple pie”.  Allow for a pause as I take in the information. Just so you know, apple galettes are so much easier to make than apple pies. What’s to love about an apple galette, aside from how quick and easy they are to make? First of all, the crust is pretty much guaranteed to be crispy, both top and bottom. Secondly, for those of us that love crust, I do believe there is more crust in the crust-to-fruit ratio. Thirdly, it bakes up so much faster, and you don’t have to wait as long to cut into it! And the rustic beauty of it will sweep you off your feet. And you only have to roll out one crust, not two. And you can use different fruit, like peaches or blueberries or whatever you have on hand. I’ve stopped counting.

This one is a peach galette.

Sure, you won’t have a lot of leftovers, since it serves 6, but that’s okay. Just make another one!

Apple Galette

• 1/2 recipe of your favorite pie crust dough* (For best results, make your own crust! This galette is so much about the crust, so you want it to be top notch.)
• 3 medium sized apples, whatever you have on hand
• Fresh lemon juice, a Tablespoon or two
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 Tablespoon flour
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch salt
• Milk for brushing the crust and sugar for sprinkling the crust

1. Preheat oven to 425°. (Also, make sure one oven rack is on the lower third of the oven, and one oven rack is in the middle.)
2. Take your disc of pie dough out of the fridge and let it sit on your counter while you prepare your apples: about fifteen minutes. It will be easier to roll out if it is not straight out of the fridge.
3. Peel and core your apples, and slice 1/4″ thick, then cut slices in half.
4. Toss apple pieces with lemon juice, sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt.
5. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
6. Roll out your pie dough on a lightly floured surface (don’t worry about jagged edges; they add to the charm) and transfer to parchment lined cookie sheet.
7. Put apples in center of rolled out dough, leaving a 2 to 3 inch border of crust all the way around.
8. Fold in the sides of the crust. Brush crust lightly with milk (or you can use a beaten egg white if you want sheen) and sprinkle with a bit of granulated sugar.
9. Bake on lower rack of oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, move the galette to the center rack and turn down the oven to 375° and continue baking for another 30 to 40 minutes, or until the crust is a deep golden brown, and the apple filling starts to bubble.
10. Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheet. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.  It is lovely served as is, or with vanilla ice cream.

Notes: *If you can, make your pie crust dough one day to several days in advance, then wrap the discs and put them in your fridge. That way you can whip up this apple galette at a moment’s notice.

**To crisp the crust the next day, you can reheat the galette in a 350° oven for about 20 minutes. Place a sheet of aluminum foil lightly over the top to keep from burning. This will even work when the galette is two days old, if it lasts that long.