YS :: Recipes :: Rustic Free-Form Apple Tartlets

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Yield: Select
Prep time: Under 15 Minutes
Cook Time: Under 15 Minutes
Course: Select

Ingredients:
Instructions:

Tart Dough
1 1/4	cups  unbleached all-purpose flour
2	tablespoons  granulated sugar
1/4	teaspoon  table salt
8	tablespoons  unsalted butter (1 stick), cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4	ounces  cream cheese (cold), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2	teaspoons  lemon juice from 1 lemon
1 - 2	tablespoons  ice water
Apple Filling
1 1/4	pounds  Granny Smith apples (about 3 medium)
1 1/4	pounds  McIntosh apples (about 3 medium)
2	tablespoons  lemon juice from 1 lemon
1/4	cup  granulated sugar
2	tablespoons  granulated sugar
1/4	teaspoon  ground cinnamon
2	egg whites , beaten lightly

See Illustrations Below: Making Individual Tarts

1. In bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade, pulse flour, sugar, and salt to combine. Add butter and cream cheese; pulse until mixture is sandy, with small, pebblelike curds, 10 to 12 one-second pulses (mixture should not form cohesive ball). Turn mixture into medium bowl.2. Sprinkle lemon juice and 1 tablespoon ice water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to evenly distribute water and lemon juice into flour mixture until small portion of dough holds together when squeezed in palm of hand (see illustration 1), adding up to 1 tablespoon more ice water if necessary. (Mixture will look dry even after liquid is incorporated.) Turn dough onto clean, dry work surface; gather and gently press together into cohesive ball, then flatten into rough disk. With chef’s knife or dough scraper, cut dough into 6 equal pieces, shaping each piece into disk about 3 inches wide. Place disks in single layer on flat dinner plate, wrap plate in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes (can be refrigerated up to 2 days).3. Remove dough from refrigerator (if refrigerated longer than 30 minutes, let stand at room temperature until soft and malleable). Working one at a time, roll out disks between 2 sheets of lightly floured parchment paper into circles approximately 6 inches wide. Remove top layer of parchment; trim bottom layer of parchment into rectangles about 2 inches larger than dough. Stack rectangles with parchment on plate; cover plate with plastic wrap and refrigerate while preparing fruit.4. Adjust one oven rack to highest position and other rack to lowest position; heat oven to 400 degrees. Peel, core, and cut apples into 1/4-inch-thick slices and toss with lemon juice, 1/4 cup sugar, and cinnamon. Arrange parchment-lined dough rounds in single layer on work surface. Following illustrations 5 and 6, arrange about 1 cup apple slices, thick edges out, in circular mound, leaving 1-inch border of dough. Fold dough border up over filling, pleating dough to fit snugly around apples. With cupped hands, gently press dough to filling, reinforcing shape and compacting apples (see illustration 7). Using parchment lining, slide 3 tartlets onto each of 2 cookie sheets. 5. Bake tartlets until pale golden brown, about 15 minutes. Brush crust with beaten egg whites and sprinkle apples with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Return tartlets to oven, switching positions of cookie sheets; bake until crust is deep golden brown and apples are tender, about 15 minutes longer. Cool tartlets on cookie sheets 5 minutes; using wide metal spatula, remove from parchment and transfer to cooling rack. Cool additional 5 minutes; serve.


STEP BY STEP: Making Individual Tarts

1. Squeeze some dough in the palm of your hand. It should hold together.	2. Work dough together lightly to form 6-inch disk. Cut disk into 6 equal pieces, then round and flatten each slightly to form small disks, about 3 inches in diameter.
3. Place individual disks between squares of parchment paper and roll out into 6-inch circles. Lift and realign sheets of parchment as dough becomes thinner.	4. Slice apples 1/4 inch thick.
5. Arrange apple slices in even circle over dough, leaving free a 1-inch perimeter of dough for fluted edge.	6. Fill in center with additional slices, lending support to circular wall of apples.
7. Fold outer lip of dough snugly inward over apples and cup with hands to compress and shape.	8. Grasping parchment edges, transfer each tartlet to baking sheet.