Can I use different types of apples?

Yes! Braeburn, Granny Smith, or Honeycrisp all work well. Tart varieties like Granny Smith balance the sweetness, while sweeter apples like Honeycrisp add extra natural sugar.

Do I Need a food processor For Pie Crust?

You can mix the dough by hand using a pastry cutter or fork. The goal is to keep the butter pieces small but still visible to create a flaky crust.

Can I make Pie Crust dough ahead of time?

Yes, the dough can be made and frozen for up to a month. Just thaw it overnight in the fridge before using.

What is the difference between a crostata, a galette, and a tart?

A Crostata and Galette are really the same things. They are a free-form pastry that can be filled with sweet or savory fillings. For our Crostata recipe, we will be using apples as the filling. A tart is a bit different. While essentially the same, it is defined by the pan used. While Crostatas and Galettes are baked on open sheets, the tart is baked in a tart pan, surprisingly enough.

Rustic Apple Crostata Recipe

Name: Rustic Apple Crostata Recipe
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 3 min
Total time: 1 h 3 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 stick (½ cup) of unsalted butter + 2 Tablespoons; 1 ¼ Cups white all purpose flour; ½ Tablespoon sugar; ½ teaspoon salt; ¼ Cup ice cold water (approximate); 2 Medium Braeburn Apples; ⅓ Cups sugar; 1 Tablespoons flour; ½ teaspoon cinnamon; ½ teaspoon nutmeg

Description

This Apple Crostata is as impressive as pie, but only half the work. This is such a delicious apple recipe that celebrates Italian desserts, apple desserts, and pies. We use a great homemade butter pie crust and fill it with real apples.

Ingredients

Units Scale

1 stick (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter + 2 Tablespoons
1 1/4 cups white all purpose flour
1/2 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup ice cold water (approximate)
2 Medium Braeburn Apples
1/3 cups sugar
1 Tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

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Instructions

Cut 1 stick of butter into 1/2-inch cubes
Place into freezer for 20 minutes
Place 1 ¼ cups flour, ½ tablespoon sugar, and salt in food processor and pulse a few times to mix.
After butter has been in the freezer for 20 minutes, add to food processor and pulse 5-6 times. The goal is to mix the butter into the flour. The cubes of butter should be no smaller than peas.
Move flour mixture to large bowl
Add water to flour 2 tablespoons at a time. Toss with fork. We want to get to the point when you take your hand squeeze a handful of flour, it should stick together.
Work dough until it sticks together somewhat well and is in a disk. We don’t want the butter to fully incorporate. If you need to add more water, you can, but do so only very sparingly.
Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in freezer for 20 minutes
Add ⅓ cup sugar, 1 Tablespoon flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg to large bowl
While freezing, peel and finely slice apples.
Mix apples and the sugar mixture.
Preheat oven to 425° Fahrenheit
Take dough out of the freezer and unwrap
Get to your zen place. Roll out the dough.
Use large glass bowl to cut a uniform dough. I use a large glass Pyrex mixing bowl that measures 12 inches in diameter.
Place rolled dough on cookie sheet
Place apple mixture in the middle
Add 2 tablespoons chopped butter on top of the apple mixture.
Fold the dough over (see images)
Put in oven for 2o minutes
After 20 minutes, use tinfoil to cover middle part.
Bake for 10 minutes and check. Is apple filling bubbling and crust golden brown? If so, remove from oven.
Allow to rest for two hours.
Cut and serve.

Notes

Of course, you could forego the dough making and use a store-bought pie crust.
One mistake I found that is fairly easy to make in this Apple Crostata recipe is to try and use too much fruit. I used two large Braeburn apples in my recipe. We want to be able to fold our edges over the filling and make it look nice. It can be tempting to pile on the apple mixture but don’t. Yes, the filling is awesome, but a balanced crostata recipe is a beautiful crostata.