Apple Tart - A - Alphabet Challenge

Welcome to my new idea, the Alphabet Challenge. Over the next 26 weeks I plan to make a dish that starts with a letter of the alphabet. It can be any type of cuisine but it MUST start with the letter of the week. I hope you follow along with me until the end of the year!

To start us off I decided to make an apple tart for the letter A. This tart is made in the French style and was super easy to make. I've modified this recipe a bit from one of my favorite chefs Ina Garten. If you're in a hurry, you can skip making the pie crust from scratch and utilize frozen puff pastry or frozen pie crust. 

Ingredients:

*Pie Crust Recipe Below

For the apples:

4 Granny Smith apples 1/2 cup sugar 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, small diced 1/2 cup apricot jelly or warm sieved apricot jam 2 tablespoons brandy Directions 1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. 2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pie dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into squares or rounds of your size choice. I suggest 4-6 inch pieces so each guest gets their own tart for a fancier feel. Place onto the parchment lined sheet pan and place in the fridge while you prepare the apples. 3. Peel the apples and cut them in half through the stem. Remove the stems and cores with a sharp knife and a melon baller. Slice the apples crosswise in 1/4-inch thick slices. Place overlapping slices of apples diagonally down the middle of the tart and continue making diagonal rows on both sides of the first row until the pastry is covered with apple slices. (feel free to have some fun here and make your own design with the apples). Sprinkle all tarts evenly with the full 1/2 cup of sugar and dot with the butter. This will caramelize the apples in the oven. 4. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown. Rotate the pan once during cooking. If the pastry puffs up in one area, cut a little slit with a knife to let the air out. Don't worry! The apple juices will burn in the pan but the tart will be fine! When the tart's done, heat the apricot jelly together with the brandy and brush the apples and the pastry completely with the jelly mixture. Loosen the tart with a metal spatula so it doesn't stick to the paper. Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature. I highly suggest serving this with a scope of ice cream. If you want to get really fancy, you could do a creme anglaise sauce. You can also be lazy and melt some premade vanilla ice cream which is also creme anglaise and drizzle over the top.

Pie Crust Recipe can be found using my Apple Pie Recipe.