Rustic Apple Tarts with Gluten Free Vodka Crust
Gluten Free pie crust!?
Okay, don't get your panties in a bundle.
This shit, is good! Trust me. I had several people who aren't gluten free and are kind of turned off by anything named, "gluten free" that claimed that this is really delicious. So, try it GF. We are all over exposed to wheat. It's good to live and eat moderately. Give your tummy a break.
I've been working with this great gluten free flour blend for years. It works, beautifully! That along with my secret ingredient, vodka this crust is gold, baby! GOLD!! Maybe I have been watching too much Seinfeld lately. The vodka helps with the flakey deliciousness of the crust.
Baking is a work in progress for me. It's a science, and I'm not much of a math or science girl. A lot of my creations have been through trial and error and maybe good old fashioned luck. I've gotten a lot better the last two years, but this crust is really easy. It's even easier if you have a large food processor with a dough blade. Keeping all ingredients extremely cold is also key. Make sure to throw the vodka in the freezer for a bit, and throw an ice cube in the water to really chill it. Cut your butter into chunks and freeze those little guys too. If it's a hot day, throw your flour in the fridge as well. Make sure to make this crust at least 1.5 hours before you bake it. While your crust is chilling, make your apples. I used canned apples only because I had a bunch of leftover ones from work, I couldn't bring myself to throw away. So, feel free to use fresh ones if you have those on hand.
Serves: 8 Gluten Free Peeps
Ingredients:
Apples
3 Cups of Apples-peeled & sliced
1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
2 TBS Cinnamon
Pie Crust
2 1/2 Cups + a little more for rolling Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
1 1/4 tsp Salt
1 Cup + 2 TBS Butter=Chopped in pieces and frozen
1/4 Cup Vodka-VERY COLD (put in the freezer for a bit)
1/4 Cup COLD water (throw an ice cube in it and let it chill and re-measure out to 1/4 Cup)
Glaze
1 Egg-beaten with 1 tsp half & half mixed in
2 TBS Jam
2 TBS Hot Water
Coconut Sugar for sprinkling
Vanilla Ice cream to serve
To make the pie crusts-
This will make two disks that you will chill and then cut into 4 pieces each (a total for 8 tarts). You can use a pastry cutter, but use your food processor with a dough blade. It makes a hell of a difference. Put the 2 1/2 Cups flour, salt and mix. Add the chilled frozen butter chunks one at a time, while the machine is mixing. Slowly add the cold vodka. Then add the cold water Just till mixed. You don't want the mix to be too wet, and it should resemble pea sized little chunks. Chunks of butter, are a good thing, but you also don't want it to be too dry either. Science...I told ya. Chill for at least 1.5 hours. Preferably 3. It will stay good in the fridge a couple days, otherwise you'll want to freeze your disks.
To make the apples-
Sprinkle sugars and cinnamon over the apple slices and toss well. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes until tender. May take a bit longer, if you're using fresh apples.
Once the dough has chilled properly, cut the disks into four pieces and rolls out with some extra flour. Fill the apples into the middle and allow at least 1 inch radius on the outside to roll up, and crimp with your fingers. It's rustic, so no need to get all fancy.
Brush egg wash all over the crust and lightly over the pie filling. Place on parchment on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 425 oven for 25-30 minutes. Once the crust is nice and golden remove from oven and place on a cooling rack . While still warm, mix the jam with the hot water. I used a strawberry jam, but use whatever you have on hand that would complement the apples. I boiled my water with the jam to make a glaze. Brush it over the fruit part of the tart, then sprinkle with a little coconut sugar and serve while still warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Enjoy!
