I hope this post makes sense.  I’m hopped up on decongestant and coffee at the moment, so my brain is working much, much faster than my fingers.

I’ve had a cold for the past few days, so I haven’t felt like doing much of anything.  I really don’t get sick very often, but when I do, I’m the biggest baby that ever lived.  When I get colds like this, I don’t want to eat anything; which I realize is not conducive to healing, so I spent what felt like 30 minutes staring into my pantry and refrigerator looking for something that sounded good.

Apples.  Apples sounded good.

So, I grabbed my apple and headed into the living room to watch Mary Poppins (for the nine-bazillionth time) with the girls.  About the time they started singing “Let’s Go Fly a Kite,” I started thinking about the huge bag of apples left in the kitchen, which would probably go bad before we ate them unless I did something with them, soon.

Once my brain goes that direction, there’s no turning back.  I was telling myself to relax, just hang out on the couch with the girls, get some rest…but those apples…it’s like they were calling to me.  They must have taken guilt lessons from my Mother.

Sorry, Mom.  Didn’t mean to call you out on the pages of Lemon Sugar.  But you know it’s true.

Then I remembered this recipe, which I found several weeks ago.  It’s relatively quick and easy and I felt like I could handle it even with my awful cold.  And, when I discovered that we had leftover homemade ice cream in the freezer, it was a no-brainer.

This is a fabulous fall dessert.  Even with my stuffy nose, I could smell the cinnamon and apples baking, and it immediately warmed up my house and made me feel just a little bit better.

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Enjoy, and be sure to leave a comment below to let me know you were here.

Rustic Apple Tart

 

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Prep time

25 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

1 hour 10 mins

 

This rustic dessert is full of character and the best tastes and aromas of autumn. It's a must make, and goes great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Serves: Approximately 8 servings

Ingredients

• ½ cup unsalted butter, cool room temperature
• 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 and ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 3 large apples, peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 and ½ teaspoons cornstarch
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ cup orange juice
• ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
• ¼ cup apple or apricot jam/jelly, warmed

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, beat together butter and cream cheese until completely combined and smooth.
2. Slowly add flour, beating just until the dough starts to form a ball.
3. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.
4. Meanwhile, peel, core and slice apples into thin slices. Place in a large bowl.
5. Combine cornstarch and spices in a small bowl, and stir in orange juice until smooth.
6. Add brown sugar and salt and stir to combine.
7. Pour this mixture over the apple slices and toss to coat.
8. Preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
9. Remove dough from the refrigerator and divide in half.
10. Roll each half into a large circle.
11. Transfer circles to the baking sheet, and spoon the filling over the dough.
12. Fold the edges of the pastry up and around filling, leaving the center uncovered.
13. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.
14. Remove from oven.
15. Heat the apple/apricot jelly in the microwave to liquefy.
16. Using a pastry brush, brush the crusts generously with the melted jam.
17. Allow to cool, and enjoy!

3.2.2925

Recipe adapted from: Taste of Home