Recipe:
Easy Apple Galettes - for Kids
Quick & Easy Pastry
(with very little chill time and no appliances)
The beauty of this quick pastry is that it turns out well and doesn't require any tools or appliances - it's all done by hand and very accessible for children. We used this recipe for a 4H cooking class and the results were impressive. For the class I precut the butter into tiny pieces the night before.
½ cup All-Purpose Flour (or Pastry Flour)
2oz* Salted Butter - cold(!) – if using unsalted add ½ tsp salt
2+ tbsp cold(!) water (or ice water)
Cut the butter into slices or small pieces while cold.
In a bowl, mash the butter into the flour with a fork, using the sides to mash against. Once the butter is mixed with the flour, add the water and continue to mash until the most of the flour is mixed in.
The kids can use their fingers if the fork is too tough. The goal is to break the butter into as many tiny pieces as possible and then have those "crumbs coated with flour. Adding the water early will make it a bit easier to integrate the butter.
If it's still too dry to come together add another tablespoon of water. Make into a ball and either place back into the bowl or wrap in plastic and chill – or you can place the bowl in the freezer for 10-20 minutes.
Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured board or parchment and flatten with your hand into a round shape. Roll twice (once each direction) with a rolling pin. Transfer to a parchment lined baking pan.
Preheat the oven to 400°F (or 375°F convection).
While the pastry is in the freezer you can clean up and then start measuring ingredients and slicing apples...
The Apple Galette Filling
¼ - ½ tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Apple, washed (not Red Delicious)
2 tbsp sugar (we used Palm Sugar, you can use Brown Sugar)
1oz salted butter (unsalted okay, don’t add more salt)
1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon (preferably Vietnamese or Saigon)
Cut the apple core out by cutting the sides off the apple. You should have 4 big apple pieces and the core at the end. Discard the core into the compost bucket.
.
Slice apple into about 12 pieces (cut each big piece into 3 or 4 four pieces).
Sprinkle 1/2tbsp of the sugar lightly over the pastry round.
Pile the apples on top. Sprinkle the cinnamon over the apples.
Pour the vanilla over the apples.
Sprinkle the remaining sugar over the apples.
Break the 1oz of butter into 4 or 5 pieces and place the butter dots on top of the apples.
Fold up the edges of the pastry towards the center of the circle to make a little package – take care to make sure that you don’t leave openings or holes around the edge.
There should be an opening in the center where you can see apples.
The pastry package should have no holes or openings around the edge (otherwise the juice will seep out).
Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 30 mins or until the pastry is nicely browned and the apples are bubbling a bit.
Serve warm with Vanilla Ice Cream, Cheddar Cheese or Whipped Cream.
*There are 4oz in a stick of butter, so for this recipe you need almost 1 whole stick of butter.
