Make an apple rose tart
If your Thanksgiving dinner is a little smaller this year,
it needn’t be any less special. I’m always happy to host a few friends after the main meal for dessert and coffee. Thanksgiving is an exciting time to bring out your treasured holiday pieces.
I search through my cupboards and use what I have when it comes time to set the holiday table. My grandmother’s linens, my mother’s silver and my Furnivals Quail transferware dishes, a gift from my mother’s friend Odessa, have pride of place on my table, as they did on my more elaborate family Thanksgiving dinner tables in years past.
APPLE TART ROSES
Makes 12
Prep time: 30 minutes
Bake time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
Frozen pie crust dough or 1 portion dough
from your favorite pie crust recipe
6 honeycrisp apples
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 4 Tablespoons butter
½ cup packed light brown sugar
Directions:
1. Chill a muffin tin while you prepare
your dough.
2. Thaw your frozen pie curst or prep the
pie crust dough recipe of your choice.
3. Roll out the dough on a lightly-floured surface and using a 5-6 inch round cookie cutter, punch out rounds to form the bottoms of the tarts.
4. Remove the muffin tin from the refrigerator and carefully press each round into the muffin wells. Then return it to the refrigerator while you prepare your filling.
5. Core the apples. Using a mandolin or a very sharp knife, cut the apples into half-moon slices about 1/16-inch thin. Place the slices in a large bowl, add the lemon juice and toss to coat.
6. In a small saucepan, add the sugar and butter and cook over medium-low heat, stirring until the ingredients are melted and combined. Pour this mixture over the apple slices and toss to combine. Let them rest for 5-10 minutes to allow the apples to soften.
7. Test the apples for pliability. If you need to soften them further, microwave them in 15-second increments, testing for softness in between each increment until they bend and flex easily to shape into your muffin wells. Strain the apples and discard the liquid.
8. To form the roses, arrange about 8 apple slices in a continuous line, with each slice overlapping, until your line is about 12 inches long. Starting at one end, roll the apple line into a round coil about the size of your muffin well. Carefully transfer the apple coils to fit inside the muffin well atop your crust. Refrigerate.
9. Arrange a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat to 350° F. Bake until the crust is golden and the apples have cooked, about 30 minutes. If the apples start to brown faster than the pie crust, lightly place aluminum foil on top.