For A Different Kind Of Apple Dessert Try This Beautiful Rustic Apple Tart

Craving a scrumptious fall holiday dessert that will delight your family and dinner party friends? Instead of the expected apple pie, this rustic apple tart deliciously surprises your holiday guests with a flaky crust and tender apple slices. At heart, a rustic apple tart is an apple pies without the pie pan. What makes rustic apple tarts better than traditional apple pies? They are less bothersome to prepare because you free-form the dough around the fruit filling on a baking sheet — no shaping or fluting the dough in a pie pan required. Another tasty bonus is that this rustic apple tart is brushed with warm, generously spiced apricot preserves for a glazy sweet finish. ALSO TRY: A traditional and easy deep dish apple pie Never made a rustic apple tart before? Soon you’ll be a pro, and we’re convinced you’ll start making rustic tarts as your go-to fruit dessert for every occasion. When it comes to pies, the filling is often the focal point. With rustic tarts, the golden flaky crust gets the attention. Round up the sweet-tart red apples. The best apples for baking offer a delicious balance of sweet and tart flavors and can hold their shape when baked. Our favorite baking apple picks are Jonagolds, Honeycrisps, and Braeburns. Red Delicious apples make an appealing raw snack, but in baking, they pale in taste comparison and will turn to unappetizing mush. Free-form apple tarts are more fun than apple pies! If you get stressed about evenly pressing pie dough into a pie plate and perfectly fluting the dough edges, you’re going to love making this rustic apple tart. You simply fold the generous border of dough over the apple slices without worrying about fancy edges.

Combine sugar and flour

In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons of sugar with 1 tablespoon of flour. Set aside. This mixture will get sprinkled on the dough when you roll it out.

Make the dough

Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, salt, and butter on low speed for 2 minutes. Slowly add ice-cold water until the mixture forms a dough and becomes a ball.

Form the dough into a disk and refrigerate

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough just 2 to 3 times and form the dough into a disk. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Roll the dough out

On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to a 16- to 17-inch round that is about 1/4-inch thick. Roll the dough around the rolling pin. This will help you transfer the dough to the baking sheet.

Place the dough on a baking sheet

Unroll the dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Make the tart

Sprinkle the reserved sugar mixture over the dough. Arrange apple slices in overlapping concentric circles, leaving a 3-inch border of dough.

Form and bake the tart

Fold the edges of the dough over the apples in a free-form fashion. Brush the apples with melted butter and sprinkle the tart with the remaining 1-1/2 tablespoons of sugar. Refrigerate the unbaked tart for about 10 minutes. Then, bake at 400 F for 1 hour or until the apples are tender and the crust is golden brown. Remove the tart from the oven and let cool slightly.