Once you’ve picked your apples and brought them home you can make delicious apple treats. Maybe make something from your country’s cuisine. Or try this simple version of an apple pie!

Free Form Apple Tart

photo by Gaetan Lee

Pastry – 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 cup cold butter cut into 10 pieces, 3 tablespoons ice water, 1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon peel, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice.

Filling – 4 large apples, (about 1.5 pounds) peeled, 1/4 cup granulated sugar mixed with 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 2 tablespoons butter, confectioners sugar (optional).

Directions: Mix butter and flour with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add water, lemon peel and juice. Stir until dough holds together. Gather dough into a ball, flatten, wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate 30 minutes or just until firm enough to roll out.

Meanwhile, peel and cut each apple in half from top to bottm. Remove core and stem ends. Turn halves cut sides down and slice thin. Heat oven to 425 degrees. On lightly floured surface roll dough into a 13 inch round. Edges can be uneven. Transfer to ungreased cookie sheet. Leaving a 2 inch border, arrange apples in concentric circles from outside toward the middle. Sprinkle with sugar-nutmeg mixture, then dot with butter. Fold edges of pastry over apples. Bake 15 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake for 35 minutes longer or until apples are tender and pastry is golden. Slide tart onto wire rack to cool. Before serving, dust with confectioners sugar.

YUM!!! I’m going to make mine today!