Apple Butter Tarts Recipe 45

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the crust: Combine the butter, flour, and salt in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture looks like Parmesan cheese. Drizzle in half the cold water and pulse until the mixture forms a rough ball, adding the remaining water if needed. Remove the dough from the food processor, form into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• For the filling: In a small saucepan, melt the butter and cook it until it starts to brown and begins to smell like hazelnuts. Transfer the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer equipped with a paddle. Add the sugar and beat together on medium speed. Gradually add the flour. Once the flour has combined, add the eggs one at a time. Beat in the vanilla bean seeds.
• For the apples: In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the apples and sugar and cook until the apples start to soften, 6 to7 minutes. Pull the pan off the burner and add in the brandy. Return to the fire and flambe, if desired, or just let the alcohol burn off. Toss in the raisins.
• To assemble: Remove the dough from the fridge 15 minutes before ready to use, this will allow the dough to soften and come to room temperature.
• Dust a clean work surface with flour. Roll the dough out 1/8-inch thick and lay it in the tart pan with lots of overhang on the sides. Schmear half the filling into the bottom of the tart pan and top with the apple mixture. Fold the extra dough over the top of the apples. Brush the dough with the egg wash.
• Bake the tart in the oven until the top is golden brown and slightly crispy, 45 to 50 minutes.

Steps:

• Make the crust: Combine the flour, confectioners' sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Scatter the butter pieces on top, and pulse until the butter is the size of small peas. Add the egg yolk and vanilla extract, and pulse until incorporated. Pulse in the water, about 2 teaspoons at a time, until the dough starts to hold together. It will appear to be a bit crumbly, but should hold together easily when pressed.
• Lightly butter a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, and pour the dough mixture into it. Press the mixture evenly on the bottom and up the sides of the pan. (Use a lightly floured straight-sided measuring cup to help press the dough into the corners of the pan.) Reserve extra dough to repair any cracks after the shell is baked.
• Freeze the formed dough in the pan until completely firm, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Line the tart shell with a piece of aluminum foil, making sure to tuck it into the corners and over the edges. Bake the shell for 20 to 25 minutes or until the dough appears dry and lightly golden. If the dough puffs up while baking, gently press it back into the pan with an offset spatula or similar tool. If necessary, repair any cracks with the remaining raw dough. Cool slightly while you prepare the apples.
• Cut the apples from their cores in 3 pieces: Stand the apples up, with the stems facing up, and, using a sharp knife, cut 1 face of the apple, then rotate the apple about 120 degrees, slice again, and finally slice the last piece from the core. You should have a triangle-shaped piece of core left and 3 pieces of apple with flat bottoms.
• Reserve a smaller piece of apple, and carefully slice all the other apples into very thin half-moons, about 1/8-inch thick. (A mandoline makes this move quickly, but, if you are using a knife and working slowly, it's a good idea to squeeze a little bit of lemon juice over the sliced apples to prevent browning.) Make sure to keep the slices together as you cut to make the assembly easier.
• Once the apples are sliced, build the tart: Sprinkle 1 tablespoon flour and 1 tablespoon sugar on the bottom of the blind-baked tart shell. Starting at the outer edge, arrange the apples in tight concentric circles, overlapping each slice about halfway over its neighbor. Take care to stand the apples up vertically, with the cut edges down and the peel edge pointing up. Pack the rows very tightly, stopping periodically to check your work.
• As you move toward the center, the apples will become trickier to bend into place. If you find the slices are breaking, slice the reserved piece of apple even thinner to make it easier to bend. Roll the last few slices into a circle and tuck it in the center.
• Sprinkle the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and a pinch of salt over the apple slices. Take care to sprinkle the sugar between the apple slices, rather than on top. Scatter the butter pieces on top, and bake the tart for 40 to 45 minutes or until the apples begin to brown just slightly on the edges and the crust is a deep golden brown. Check the tart periodically to make sure the shell is not over-browning at the edges. If it is, cover the edges with foil.
• Cool the tart on a rack for about 10 minutes, then prepare the glaze: In a small saucepan, warm the jam and a few drops of water over medium-low heat until it is runny. Use a pastry brush to very gently brush the warm tart with jam. Avoid brushing jam on the crust, but a thin layer all over the apple slices. Serve warm or room temperature.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry out to a rectangle about the size of this magazine and trim the edges to neaten. Place the pastry on a baking sheet and scatter with the almonds and 1 tbsp sugar. Score perforated lines to make 6 equal-size sections (this will make the tart easier to cut). Arrange each half of apple, sliced, in its own section of pastry. Can be made up to this stage the night before, covered with cling film and chilled in the fridge.
• Scatter the remaining sugar over the apples, dot with butter, then bake for 50-55 mins until the pastry is biscuity brown and the apples are tinged and soft. Cut the tart into 6 squares, dust with icing sugar, if you like, and serve hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1 1/4 cups sugar, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Mix in eggs and vanilla extract until dough forms a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour but not more than 1 day.
• While the dough is chilling, prepare the apple filling.
• In a medium bowl, toss diced apples with sugar and cinnamon. Mix in walnuts.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease 16 3-inch tart pans. Remove tart dough from the refrigerator and let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before rolling out.
• Knead dough briefly on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 16 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 6-inch circle, and carefully fit one circle into each tart pan.
• Spoon an equal amount of apple mixture into each tart pan. Fold pastry over filling. Place filled tarts on a baking sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Melt apricot jam and brush over finished tarts, if desired.

Steps:

• Prepare and refrigerate the pie dough.
• Roll the dough as you would for most pies, about ⅛-inch thick or a tad thinner. Don't worry about keeping it nice and round like you normally would.
• Using a 4-inch-diameter cookie or biscuit cutter, cut the dough into as many circles as possible. Line each cup of a standard 12-cup muffin pan with one of the circles, gently nudging it down into the bottom creases of the pan. Try not to stretch the dough as you work; it can help to use something blunt, like a narrow jar, to nudge the dough. The top edge of the dough circle should come to about the middle of the cup. Gather the scraps and reroll the dough if you need additional ­circles. Chill the pan in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Adjust one oven rack so it is in the lower position, and preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Combine the sugar, maple syrup, and butter in a mixing bowl. Whisk briefly. Add the egg, vinegar, vanilla, and salt, and whisk again.
• Set the muffin pan on your work surface. If you're using the fruit or nuts, put a few pieces in as many of the shells as you wish, but don't crowd them. Use a ladle or ¼-cup measuring cup with a handle to divide the filling evenly between the shells.
• Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the filling bubbles and darkens somewhat.
• Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes, then carefully run a butter knife around the edge to loosen each tart. Let the tarts cool in the pan, then remove. Store, refrigerated, in a single layer in a covered tin or container, but let them come to room temperature before serving.