Apple Crostata

If making pie from scratch intimidates you then start with making an apple crostata. A crostata (or galette) is free form pie so no fancy crimping of the edges is needed here. This easy apple crostata made with toasted pecans. It’s so much simpler to throw together than an apple pie. And just as delicious. Top with ice-cream and caramel sauce for a real treat.

Oh pie. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…Is there anything that is homier than apple pie? I think not. A couple weeks ago I took a cooking class at Sur La Table where we learned to cook this scrumptious Tuscan dinner complete with this easy apple galette at the end.

If you’re new to making pies. Or they have you running scared, than a crostata is a great place to start. Like my blueberry crostata or fresh cherry galette. It’s the like the 5k version of pie marathons. You have to start somewhere right?

This apple crostata, is just as delicious as apple pie, but way easier to make. It’s basically an open faced apple pie made with a buttery pie crust, with walnuts, and then topped with caramel sauce and ice cream.

A crostata and galette are basically the same thing. Which is that they are basically a rustic free form pie. To make a crostata you don’t need a pie plate, so on less piece of equipment you need in your kitchen. You just simply fold the dough edges up around the filling! It’s as easy as…well you know.

Ingredients needed

For the full list of ingredients amounts scroll to the bottom of the recipe post.

• Pie Crust – You need a single pie crust for this recipe. You can use homemade pie crust or a store-bought.
• Apples – You will only need a few apples for the filling. I prefer to peel the apples for the best texture. I like to use either Granny smith apples, or Honeycrisp apples which are a bit tart and hold up well when baked. You want to thinly slice them for the apple crostata.
• Granulated sugar
• Light brown sugar
• All-purpose flour
• Spices – I used a combination of ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground allspice, and ground cloves. You could also just use apple pie spice.
• Salt
• Pecans (or walnuts) – I love stirring in some chopped nuts into the apple filling. I like to toast them first to bring out their flavor. You can check out my tutorial on how to toast pecans or how to toast walnuts. Or omit altogether if need be.
• Egg Wash – I brush the pie crust with a bit of an egg wash before baking to brown the crust. Here is my tutorial on what is an egg wash? that will also give you egg wash alternatives if you’re out of eggs or have an allergy.

Make the pie crust

Now you could make an apple crostata even easier by buying store bought pie crust. But I beg you to try it one time on your own to see just how easy it is. Making pie dough requires just a few pieces of equipment – flour, salt, some sort of fat (butter, shortening, or a combination of both), water, and a little bit of sugar.

You can make the pie dough in your food processor or in a mixing bowl with a pastry cutter. Here is a full step by step tutorial on making pie dough.

Combine the flour sugar and salt. In a food processor combine the flour, sugar and salt and pulse to combine.

Add the butter. Scatter the butter over the top. You want to make sure it’s cubed and COLD so it stays firm until it hits the oven. Cold butter = a flaky pie crust.

Pulse. Pulse until the butter and fat are pea-sized. Do not over pulse it at this point or it will mush the butter into the flour creating a tough, chewy crust.

Add water. Sprinkle in the ice water with the food processor running and stop until the mixture comes together and is crumbly. I like to pinch a piece of the dough to see if it holds together if it doesn’t, then add a bit more water.

You want to then dump the contents onto plastic wrap and wrap up into a disc and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Or try my trick of dumping the pie crust mixture into a tea towel and wrapping it up. It brings the dough together in a pinch! If the dough is dry sprinkle it with a bit of water and gently work it into the dough.

Make the apple filling

For the apple filling, you want toss your apple slices with the sugar, flour, spices, and nuts (if using). 

Once you have the apple mixture made, you want to roll out your pie dough onto a lightly floured work surface.

I transfer the dough to a lined baking sheet at this point before I add the apple mixture. To transfer the pie crust, roll dough around a rolling pin, or fold it into quarters.

Then mound the apples in the center, leaving a border to fold up the crust around.

Shape the apple crostata

And then fold the crust over the filling. I simply overlap the dough as I go around in a circle. Then dot the top with butter.

Make sure to egg wash the top of the crust before baking. The egg wash helps to brown the crust as its baking. I use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash on lightly onto the crust.

You could always brush with a bit of milk or heavy cream (but it may make for a bit of a darker crust).

Apple Crostata

An easy free form pie with apples, cinnamon and topped with crunchy toasted pecans that is a cinch to make!

4.95 from 17 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: pie

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 slices

Calories: 344kcal

Author: Heather Perine

Ingredients

For the pie crust

• ▢ 1 ¼ cups (150 g) all purpose flour
• ▢ 2 tablespoons sugar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ cup (1 stick, 113 g) cold unsalted butter , cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• ▢ 3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

For the filling

• ▢ 1 ½ pounds (about 3 large) sweet tart apples peeled, cored and sliced into 1/8-inch slices
• ▢ ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar plus more for sprinkling on top of crust before baking
• ▢ ¼ cup 50 g) packed light brown sugar
• ▢ 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• ▢ ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon allspice
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ cup (31 g) toasted pecans, chopped
• ▢ 1 large egg beaten with a tablespoon of water
• ▢ coarse sugar sprinkling on top
• ▢ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into small pieces

Instructions

For the pie crust

• Place flour, sugar and salt int the bowl of a food processor or large mixing bowl. By pulsing or using a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour until the butter is the size of of small peas. 1 ¼ cups (150 g) all purpose flour 2 tablespoons sugar ½ teaspoon salt ½ cup (1 stick, 113 g) cold unsalted butter
• Sprinkle ice water, a tablespoon at a time, over the flour mixture. Pulse or stir the mixture until large clumps form. When enough water has been added to allow the dough to hold together, transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Gather the dough together to form a ball. Flatten the dough into a disk about 6 inches wide, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using. 3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

To Make The Crostata

• Preheat the oven to 400°F (205℃) and place a rack in the lower third. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
• Generously flour a work surface and place the chilled dough disk on the floor. Dust the top of the dough with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll chilled dough into a circle, turning and flipping the dough as needed with a bench scraper to prevent sticking until the circle measures 14 inches wide and 1/8-inch thick. Starting at one edge, roll the dough around the rolling pin and transfer to baking sheet. Chill crust while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
• Peel, core, and slice apples in 1/8-inch thick pieces. Transfer apples to a large bowl, and add 1/4 cup sugar, brown sugar, flour, spices, pecans and salt. Toss evenly to coat. 1 ½ pounds (about 3 large) sweet tart apples ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar ¼ cup 50 g) packed light brown sugar 3 tablespoons all purpose flour ½ teaspoon cinnamon ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg ⅛ teaspoon allspice ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves ¼ cup (31 g) toasted pecans,
• Remove the crust from the fridge.
• Mound the apple filling in the center of the chilled pastry crust, leaving a 3-inch border, and dot filling with the butter. Fold the border up and around the fruit. Working around the border, pinch the dough together to make an attractive pleat. Brush the top of the pleated dough, with the beaten egg wash and sprinkle with additional sugar. Top with butter. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter1 large egg beaten with a tablespoon of water coarse sugar
• Bake crostata until is golden brown and bubbly, 40 to 45 minutes. Use a metal spatula to lift the crostata slightly and check the underside of the crust, which should be golden brown like the top. Transfer the crostata to a rack to cool for 15 minutes. Slice and serve warm topped with vanilla icecream and caramel sauce.

Video

Notes

• Making ahead: You can make the both the pie crust and filling up to 3 days ahead of time. Simply keep separate and then assemble and bake as directed. 
• Freezing: Freeze for up to 3 months. Just place this dessert on a cookie sheet on parchment paper, then freeze until solid. You can then wrap in plastic wrap and  place in a zip-loc bag. If baking from frozen, no need to thaw. Just bake frozen and add a few extra minutes of baking time.
• Apples: I love using Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, and Cortland. Choose a firm tart apple. 

Nutrition

Calories: 344kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 58mg | Sodium: 195mg | Potassium: 150mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 518IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg

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