An apple galette is a no pressure, no pretensions apple pie ~ just buttery, flaky pastry meets perfect in-season apples with a hint of sugar and spice. No fancy pastry skills required for this favorite fall dessert.
If you’ve never made an apple galette, it’s high time!
I always try to keep a simple pie crust in my freezer just so I can whip something like this up. A fruit galette takes very little effort, there’s no mixing up or cooking of a separate filling, you just toss the fruit with the sugar and spices and plop it right in. It’s so much lighter and less fussy than a big deep-dish pie. It’s perfect for a comfy night at home, and it’s something you can make just because.
This simple recipe lets the important ingredients (tart fall apples and buttery flaky pastry) shine.
This recipe is inspired by Jacques Pepin’s famous Country Apple Galette, but I used my trusty simple pie crust recipe that never fails me. In the apple filling, you’ve got the classic combo of apples and cinnamon, but instead of plain sugar, this tart is sweetened (very lightly) with a combination of brown sugar and honey, giving it a really nice, rustic flavor vibe. There are only a few tablespoons of sugar in the whole thing, which makes it practically a breakfast food in my book.
How to make no fail pie crust from scratch, the easy way
If you haven’t made a pie dough from scratch before, don’t be intimidated, it’s easy!
- Put your flour, butter, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor (fitted with the metal blade.)
- Pulse the machine repeatedly until the butter is distributed and the mixture is crumbly.
- Add ice water through the top of the machine as you pulse, then briefly process until the dough comes together in a lump.
- Remove to a floured board and divide the dough in half.
- Form into two flat disks, about an inch thick. Wrap well and refrigerate until needed.
Why does the food processor make the best pastry? For one thing, it works fast. This keeps the butter cold, which is what you want because those cold bits of butter create a flakey pastry. Making the dough super quickly also prevents gluten from forming which results in a tender pie crust.
See that little freckly, sugary topping on the pastry?
That’s my beloved Sparkling Sugar at it again, making all my baked goods look just a little cuter and more tempting. I love it sprinkled on everything from muffin tops to cakes, and it makes super dramatic and sparkly sugared fruits like cranberries.
faqs
Can you use readymade dough?
Yes, you can use refrigerated dough, or even frozen puff pastry. For the puff pastry you’ll need a higher cooking temperature, check your package for details.
Can you use different fruits?
Other fall fruit like persimmons or pears would work perfectly!
Can you use readymade apple pie filling?
Yes.
What else can I add to the filling?
I’d like raisins and/or walnuts. You can even soak the raisins in brandy beforehand. You might sweeten with agave, or maple syrup.
Sometimes I’ll spread a thin layer of apple butter onto the pastry before adding the apples.
More simple fall desserts to impress (yourself) ~
- Maple and Mascarpone Fall Fruit Tart
- Fresh Ginger and Pear Cake
- Flourless Pumpkin Spice Cake
- Homemade Gingerbread Ice Cream
Apple Galette
Ingredients
For the pie crust (makes 2)
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup ice water
For the apple filling
- 4 medium-large apples, sliced (and peeled if you prefer)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 Tbsp honey (plus extra for drizzling over the finished galette, if desired)
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold or room temp, cut into small pieces
Instructions
For the pie crusts
- (This recipe also makes 2 pie crusts, which is perfect because pie dough freezes beautifully. Just pop one in the freezer and you're halfway to your next galette or other fall pie.)To make the pie crusts, add the flour, butter, sugar and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times until the butter is broken up and no large pieces remain.
- Slowly add the ice water through the top of the food processor and continue to pulse until the dough comes together in a single lump.
- Remove the dough from the food processor and divide in half. Roughly shape each half into a disk about an inch thick. Place one half in the fridge until ready to roll out for the galette, and freeze the other half for later.
For the galette
- Preheat oven to 375F and line a large baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- Toss the sliced apples with the brown sugar, spices, and salt. Set aside.
- Place the pie dough on a lightly floured surface, and roll it out into a large circle about 14 inches in diameter. It should be fairly thin, but not too difficult to handle without tearing.
- Gently move the rolled out dough to your prepared baking sheet. Put about half of the sliced apples into the center of the circle of dough, and spread them out evenly, leaving about 1 and a half inches of space all around for folding the dough over the apples. You can simply place all the apples into the center of the dough and spread them out evenly, or you can take the other half and arrange them in an overlapping circular pattern like I did here.
- Drizzle 1 Tbsp of honey over the apples and dot with the butter. Fold the excess pie crust over the filling.
- Lightly brush the edge of the pie dough with milk or cream, and sprinkle with coarse sparkling sugar, if desired.
- Place the galette in the oven and bake for about 40-45 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and the apples are cooked through.
- Drizzle or brush another tsp or 2 of honey over the finished galette while still warm for a glossy top. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Notes
5 Comments
Bonnie from Spanaway, WA
October 8, 2020 at 1:32 pmExcellent recipe and a great way to use homegrown apples, even if they are somewhat tasteless (because you add the flavor from the recipe). I used premade store-bought pie dough (raw), and didn’t bother to roll it out larger. I just filled it, folded it over, brushed and baked it. The excess apples I put in a glass bowl and baked them alongside the galetter. We ate them as dessert too with Cool Whip or ice cream. They could be mashed for applesauce.
Robyn
September 18, 2020 at 6:15 amGood morning Sue
Believe it or not we are not fans of honey… could I use maple syrup instead?
Thank you
Love and blessings
Robyn
Sue
September 18, 2020 at 6:18 amYes, for sure, maple syrup would be amazing.
Marian
September 18, 2020 at 6:15 amThis looks wonderful! I know most everyone has a food processor but at age 76, I really don’t want to own one. Would have to make the pie dough the old fashioned way. I’m not that ambitious.
Sue
September 18, 2020 at 6:19 amOf course Marian, you can do the pastry by hand, a lot of folks would say that’s the best way!