These rustic Mini Apple Galettes are the perfect dessert for the fall and the holidays. The buttery galette crust is filled with tart-sweet apples and then baked until the crust is golden brown and the apples are tender. When they are done serve them with caramel sauce or your favorite ice. They make a great after-dinner treat for family or friends.
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Every year, Portland Nursery, a local plant store has an apple festival, where they have a large number of apple and pear varieties on sale. In addition, they have apple cider, apple strudel, caramel apples and other food for you to sample and buy. It's a great way to spend the weekend.
Some of these apple varieties I never see in the local grocery stores, so it's a great chance to try something new. I decided my first dessert would be an apple galette because it is simple. But then I decided to make mini apple galettes because if you're serving these at dinner or for guests it's nice for each person to have their own mini dessert.
The Apple Galette Ingredients
The galettes have two main components: the apple filling and the pie dough. The caramel sauce tastes really good on this galette, but is optional.
For the Apple Filling you will need the following:
- 2 Large baking apples
- White Granulated and Brown Sugar
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Nutmeg
- Lemon Juice
If you don't have brown sugar, you can use all white sugar.
For the Galette Crust you will need:
- All-Purpose Flour
- Unsalted Butter
- Ice-Cold Water
- Kosher Salt
- Granulated White Sugar
The pie dough can be made 2 days in advance and refrigerated or up to 2 months in advance and frozen. If the dough is frozen thaw it in the refrigerator the night before you want to roll it out.
Which Apples to Use for Galettes
There are apples that are good for baking, cooking for applesauce, and just for eating. For these galettes, I used one Granny Smith apple and one Golden Delicious apple. I love the combination of these apples in pies, galettes, etc. because of the tartness of the Granny Smith and the sweetness of the Golden Delicious.
Golden Delicious is not my favorite apple to eat, but I love them in pies. Plus, this is the combination my mother used for her apple pies and she made the absolutely best apple pie.
How to Make the Pie (Galette) Dough
Making pie dough is one of those essential baking skills that can be hard to master. Or at least it was for me. Growing up, my mother made the most amazing pies. The crust was always tender and flaky and the fillings were perfect. Anytime she used a square baking dish, I and my family rushed to get the corner pieces because those pieces had the most pie crust.
The pie dough for this recipe is made in a food processor, but below are my tips for making good pie dough.
Use cold ingredients. Your butter and water should be cold when they mixed into the dry ingredients. My mother sometimes chilled the flour. I haven't tried that technique yet, but it worked for her. I keep a jar that holds 2 cups of water in the refrigerator at all times so I know that I will have ice cold water whenever I need it.
- Don't overwork the dough. Working the dough too much will activate the gluten in the flour and create a dough that is harder to roll out and a finished pie crust that is chewy. Once the water is added only work it enough with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to work it into the other ingredients and then shape it into a circle or square for your recipe.
- Keep the dough cool. After chilling the dough, let it sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes to make it easier to roll out. Quickly roll out the dough and shape for whatever you're baking.
- Food Processor Method. When using the food processor to make pie dough don't over-process the dough. The butter should still be in fairly large pieces like the picture below.
Troubleshooting Pie Dough
If your pie dough becomes too soft and difficult to handle, return it to the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
If some of the butter starts to stick to your rolling pin as you are rolling it out, cover that piece of butter with a little flour and continue to roll it out.
How to Make Mini-Galettes
This recipe makes four galettes and rolling out the dough for four smaller ones is as easy as making one large galette. The pie dough is divided into 4 even pieces. Each piece should weigh about 90 grams.
I give you the weight to avoid having one piece of dough that is larger than another and then having galettes that are dramatically different sizes. Roll the dough out to 6-7 inch circles that are about 1/8-inch thick. Arrange the apples in the center and fold the edges of the dough over. Avoid overfilling the galettes. Because they are smaller it is harder to fold the dough over and have it stay in place if there are too many apples.
Baking the Galettes
Place the galettes on a half baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the dough with the egg wash and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar.
I like the crust for the galettes to be dark brown. I think the darker crust tastes a little bit sweet and is flakier. But if you don't like your crust as dark as I do, start checking for doneness about 10 minutes earlier and take them out of the oven about 5-7 earlier than indicated in the recipe. The crust should be firm and because the galette crust is open you should see layers of baked crust.
I loved serving these with caramel sauce, but they also taste good with ice cream, whipped cream or just plain. If you make this recipe please let me know how it tastes. If you post to Instagram please tag me @bakesbybrownsugar or use the hashtag #bakesbybrownsugar.
Happy Eating!!
More Pie and Galette Recipes
If you love apple desserts here is a list of some of my favorite apple recipes on the blog:
- French Apple Tart
- Double Apple Hand Pies
- Apple Galette with Hazelnut Frangipane
- Apple and Tart Cherry Rugelach
Mini Apple Galettes with Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
Pie Dough
- 2 1/2 cups (380 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 20 tablespoons (284 grams) cold unsalted butter cubed
- 1/2 cup ice-cold water or more if required.
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Apple Filling
- 2 large apples Granny Smith or Golden Delicious
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Egg Wash
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon heavy cream or milk
- Turbinado sugar
Caramel Sauce
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) white granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (82 grams) corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/2 (125 grams) cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
For a Pie Dough
- Combine the ice water and lemon juice and leave it in the refrigerator until ready to use. Put the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl and stir to combine. Place the flour mixture into a food processor.
- Cut the butter into 1/2-inch cubes and add it to the flour mixture. Pulse the dough until it is coarse and crumbly, and the butter is about the size of peas.
- Pour the dough into a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup of the ice water and use a rubber spatula to toss together. Add the remaining water 2 tablespoons at a time and mix it into the dough until it starts to come together. It will still be slightly crumbly or shaggy but will hold together when squeezed into a ball. If more water is needed add a tablespoon at a time.
- Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and press the dough together, folding it over on itself until it starts to hold together. Try not to work the dough too much or it may become and overdeveloped and tough.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal parts and shape each piece into disk 1-inch thick. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill for at least 45 minutes. I use one disk for this recipe and freeze the other for another dish.
For the Caramel
- Measure the cream into a glass measuring cup and set it near the stove. Place 1 tablespoon of butter in a small bowl.
- Combine the corn syrup and the sugar in a 2-quart non-reactive saucepan and cook over medium heat. As the mixture heats up gently stir with a metal spoon until the sugar is dissolved. Once the sugar is dissolved stop stirring.
- Continue to cook until the mixture comes to a boil and starts to caramelize to a deep amber. It will read 350 degrees on a digital thermometer.
- Immediately remove the pan from the heat and slowly add the cream to the caramel and stir with a long-handled spoon. It will bubble and splatter, continue to stir until the caramel is smooth and add the butter.
- Return the caramel to the stove and continue boiling over medium-high heat until the temperature reaches 240 degrees F. Immediately pour the caramel into a glass jar that is big enough to hold 2 cups. Allow the caramel to cool for 10 minutes and stir in the vanilla.
- If making the caramel a few days in advance, store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds so it is pourable.
For the Apple Filling
- Place the white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
- Peel the apples and cut each apple in quarters (4 pieces each). Then cut each quarter into 4 slices. You should have a total of 32 slices for both apples.
- Place the apples in a large bowl, sprinkle the apples with the lemon juice and toss. Pour the sugar and spice mixture over the apples and use your hands or a large spoon to mix it into the apples and evenly coat the apples.
Assemble the Galettes
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line an 11 x 17 baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.
- Remove the pie dough from the refrigerator and allow it to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Generously flour your work surface and divide the dough into 4 equal pieces, about 90 grams each. Roll each dough bowl into a circle about 6-inches in diameter.
- Arrange 8 apple slices in the center of the dough circle. Fold the dough over the apples, overlapping the edges of the dough. Place the galette on your baking sheet. After the galettes are assembled, refrigerate them for 10 minutes.
- While the galettes are in the refrigerate combine the egg and cream and whisk together. Brush each galette with egg wash including under the folds of dough. Sprinkle turbinado generously over the dough surface.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until the crust is a dark golden brown. Remove from the oven, place the pan on a cooling rack and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Serve warm with a drizzle of caramel or your favorite ice cream. Or both.
Sabrina says
In which step do you add the lemon juice?
Cheryl Norris says
Hi Sabrina
For the pie dough, combine the ice water and lemon juice before the water is added to the dry ingredients. I have corrected the recipe. Thank you for asking.
QUERINO DE FREITAS says
FUNNY ENOUGH I MADE A FEW OF THE APPLE GALETTE TODY, BUT BEING SO WARM TODAY IT WAS DIFFICULT TO TO ROLL OUT, BUT IT DIDN'T MATTER, IT WAS CRISPY, AND DEVOURED 2.......QUERINO
Cheryl Norris says
Hi Querino
Thank you for visiting this blog and trying this recipe. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Yes, warm weather can make working with pie dough challenging.