Recipe: Apple Galette
Apple Picking and Baking
Our family has a tradition of going apple picking to mark the end of summer. It's always at least 80° when we make our annual trip to Julian, CA, but we do our best to channel those autumn vibes anyway. This year the apples were minimal on the trees, but we were still able to fill our bag with a beautiful mix of Gravenstein, Empire, and Pippin varieties.
Back home with our bounty, I knew I wanted to create something fun but low-effort—and a galette was the first recipe that came to mind. I used this lovely recipe from Food52, though I took the shortcut route with Trader Joe's pie dough (no judgment here).
Mini-Chandler was my sous chef for the afternoon, carefully cutting her own apple slices and serving as official taste-tester for both the apples and spices. Her enthusiastic approval meant we were ready to bake.
This turned out to be the perfect afternoon activity with our 3.5-year-old—simple enough to keep her engaged, delicious enough to make the kitchen smell like pure autumn magic. The final galette was a little tart (my lemon was particularly juicy, and these apples weren't the sweetest), but paired with vanilla ice cream, it was absolutely perfect.
Recipe: Apple Galette from Food52
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/2 cup (192 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 12 tablespoon (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, refrigerated until right before you use it, cubed
- 1/4 cup (or more) very cold water
Galette
- 3 large Honeycrisp apples, peeled
- 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- All-purpose flour, for the surface
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream (or milk in a pinch)
- 2 tablespoon raw sugar
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Directions
Instructions
Step 1
Make the crust: In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, and salt. Using your hands, toss the butter cubes into the flour mixture, working quickly and pressing the pieces between your thumbs and forefingers into pea-sized lumps. Stop once all the bits of butter are no larger than a piece of gravel—it’ll look like coarse meal.
Step 2
Drizzle in a little ice water in the middle and use your hands to gently toss from the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add a little more ice water and continue to toss (you’ll use about 1/4 cup of the ice water). Continue to toss until the dough holds together when pressed into a ball without big craggy cracks. Wrap loosely in plastic and chill in the fridge for about 2 hours.
Step 3
When it’s time to assemble, heat the oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment.
Step 4
Core the apples and cut into slices about 1/3 inch thick. In a large bowl, toss the apples, brown sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.
Step 5
Roll out the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface to a circle with an even thickness, about 12 inches in diameter. (No need to be overly precise here! We’re going for “rustic.”) Patch any cracks in the dough by pinching it back together, or pressing thin scraps from the edges over any big cracks. Using a dough scraper, wrap the dough around your rolling pin, then gently unfurl onto the prepared sheet.
Step 6
Arrange the apple slices in single rows overlapping (like fallen dominos), leaving about 2 inches of dough overhang on all sides. Fold the dough overhang over the edges of the fruit, using the scraps to mend any tears.
Step 7
In a small bowl, beat the egg and cream, then brush the crust with this egg wash. Sprinkle the crust all over with the raw sugar. Dot the apples with the remaining cubes of butter. Bake, rotating halfway through, for 35 to 40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the apple slices are softened and bubbling.
