APPLE TARTS

I love this because it’s relatively quick to prepare, pretty inexpensive and does not take a long time to cook … so the kitchen doesn’t heat up too much. 

I use my toaster oven (I have a large one).  It doesn’t use as much power, heats up and cools down quickly.

INGREDIENTS:         

      1                            Pre-made refrigerated pie crust

      2                            Medium apples (your favorite)

      1 Tbsp                   Lemon juice (fresh, if you have it)

      ¼ Cup                    Brown sugar

      1 tsp                       Cinnamon

      ¼ tsp                      Ground Ginger

      1/8 tsp                    Nutmeg

      2 tsp                       Cornstarch

      1 Tbsp                   Sugar (Turbinato, if you have it) for the topping

     

      Spray Cooking Oil

      A little water

DIRECTIONS:

-     Line the pan you be using with aluminum foil and spray lightly with your cooking spray. (You don’t have to line it, but it does make cleaning the baking pan much easier.)

-     Take the pie crust from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature.

-     Peel, core and dice the apples into small pieces. 

-     Place the diced apples in a saucepan with all the other sugar except the sugar that will be used for the filling and combine well.

-     Cook over medium heat until the apples have released their juice and the mixture starts to thicken.

-     Take it off the heat and taste (carefully – remember it’s very hot).  Add more sugar and spice if needed and let it cool.  (If it’s too thick, you can add a little water.)

-     Take the crust from the package – unrolling it and gently flattening the edges.

-     Carefully fold the crust in half, lightly pressing on the folded edge to make a mark.

-     Open the crust and cut down the mark the folding left.  You now have 2 pieces.

-     Now fold each of the halves and mark as you did the whole crust.

-     Open each of the halves and cut on the mark.  You now have 4 equal size pieces.

-     Spoon about 2 Tbsp of the apple mixture in the center of each piece of dough.

                        Note:    I only fill one piece of dough at a time, keeping the other pieces covered with a cloth or paper towel, so they don’t dry out.  Don’t worry if you have filling left over, as there is a simple use for it.

-     Slightly wet the edge of one of the pieces of dough (so they will stick to each other) and pinch the edges together to seal.  Do this to each of the 4 tarts.  The shape of the tart isn’t important, so don’t worry if you think they aren’t perfect.

-     Lightly spray the tops of the tarts with your cooking spray and sprinkle the white sugar (or Turbinato Sugar) on top.

                        Note:    I finally splurged and bought Turbinato Sugar because it stays crunchy –  not dissolving when baked.  My store offered it in a 1 lb. package making it affordable.  After opening, I put it in a re-purposed spaghetti sauce jar.  It lasts a long time because so little is used at any one time.

-     Bake at 425° for 10 minutes.  Check the tarts.  If not brown enough or if you don’t see the filling bubbling, lower the temp to 350° and continue cooking for another 3 to 4 minutes.

-     You can serve them warm or after they’ve cooled – your choice.

Any unused filling is simply made into a topping for ice cream by adding a little more water, returning it to the heat and cooking until the apples are soft and the mixture has cooked to a medium consistency.

Good Cooking!!

http://www.redgage.com/rene

Thank you, Redgage!