Apple Cranberry Crostada Recipes

Steps:

• Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples, 1/2 cup sugar and cranberries; cover and cook until apples release their liquid, about 5 minutes. Remove lid and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until soft apples fall apart and juices thicken to a thin-syrup consistency, about 5 minutes longer. Pour onto a large-lipped cookie sheet or jellyroll pan and cool to room temperature. (Can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 5 days.)
• Adjust oven rack to low position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Open puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured work surface. Roll into a rectangle, about 10 by 16 inches. Transfer to a large cookie sheet. (I suggest lining the sheet with parchment paper; this ensures the crostada doesn't stick and allows easy cleanup.)
• Spread cooked apples over pastry, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold up pastry borders over apples. Unfold corners and form ruffled creases to keep dough from overlapping. Brush pastry border with egg white and sprinkle with the remaining 1 Tb. sugar. Bake until pastry is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with optional ice cream or whipped cream.

Steps:

• Make the tart dough: Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse to blend. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Add vanilla and water to processor, then slowly add flour and cinnamon sugar. Pulse just until a dough forms, adding a little extra ice water if necessary. Divide the dough in half, and shape each half into a 1-inch-thick round. Wrap 1 disk tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour; freeze the other for future use.
• Put a pizza stone or cookie sheet in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F for 45 minutes. Remove the dough from the refrigerator about 15 minutes before rolling to soften it slightly.
• Place the dough round between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll into a 13-inch round (about a 1/4-inch thickness), flouring the round lightly as needed to keep the dough from sticking. Remove the top sheet of parchment. Use the rim of a small round bowl to make 6 individual crostatas. Cut around the edge of the bowl, in the dough, with a sharp knife. Slide a pizza peel or rimless baking sheet under the bottom sheet of parchment, and remove excess dough from crostatas.
• To make the filling, combine the apples, sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a bowl and toss well. Add cranberry sauce and salt and toss again, briefly. Paint the edges of the crostatas with egg yolk wash. Fill the center of the dough rounds with the apples (about 1/2 cup each) in an even layer, leaving a border of about 1 1/2 inches. Fold the border up and over the apples to make a rim. Brush the rim with egg wash, then sprinkle with coarse sugar. Trim the excess parchment with scissors, and press sides together.
• Use the pizza peel or baking sheet to transfer the crostatas, still with parchment underneath, to the oven, sliding it, with the paper, directly onto the pizza stone. Bake until the crust is nicely browned and the apples are bubbling, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven with the peel or baking sheet and let cool on a rack for 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm. Note: This can be made hours ahead and reheated before serving.

Steps:

• For the pastry, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and toss quickly with your fingers to coat each cube of butter with the flour. Pulse 12 to 15 times, or until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the 1/4 cup ice water all at once through the feed tube. Keep hitting the pulse button to combine, but stop the machine just before the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and form into 2 disks. Wrap the disks with plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• Roll each pastry disk into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer them to 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
• For the filling, peel, core, and quarter the pears. Cut each quarter into big chunks. Toss the chunks with the orange zest. Divide the pear chunks between the pastries, covering the dough and leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cranberries over the top of each tart.
• Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and allspice in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts holding together. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the two tarts. Gently fold the border of each tart over the pears, pleating it to make a circle.
• Bake the crostatas for 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the pears are tender. Let the tarts cool for 5 minutes, then use 2 large spatulas to transfer them to wire racks.

Steps:

• For the pastry, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse 12 to 15 times, or until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water all at once through the feed tube. Keep hitting the pulse button to combine, but stop the machine just before the dough becomes a solid mass. Turn the dough onto a well-floured board and form into a disk. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Flour a rolling pin and roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to a baking sheet.
• For the filling, peel, core, and cut the apples into 8ths. Cut each wedge into 3 chunks. Toss the chunks with the orange zest. Cover the tart dough with the apple chunks leaving a 1 1/2-inch border.
• Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and allspice in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts holding together. Sprinkle evenly on the apples. Gently fold the border over the apples to enclose the dough, pleating it to make a circle.
• Bake the crostata for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden and the apples are tender. Allow to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.