Tart, sweet apples, raisins, and a pecan crumble topping combine for an easy autumn dessert.
My grandma Dorothy’s pies were works of art. Grandma learned to make pastry or cakes from scratch because that’s what her mother and grandmother did. She was a wife and homemaker years before the first commercial box cake mix showed up around the Depression era, and it wasn't until the mid-1950s when home cooks had access to frozen or refrigerated pie crusts.
Each year for Thanksgiving, she’d pull down the recipe box to make her pies, starting with the recipe for pastry crust that’s scribbled on a scrap of paper: "2 cups flour, 2/3 cup Crisco, pinch salt, cold water." Her Crisco cookbook from 1920 has a handful of variations but the recipe on the scrap of paper was her favorite.
Well, the baking gene skipped me, as it appears to have also missed the Swedish Chef in this clip! Seriously, if there’s a shortcut to a delicious cake, pie, or cookie, I’m taking it. And because my Bubba loved me to pieces, she wouldn’t have said a word.
That’s why I love a good galette. A simple, rustic pastry comes together in a snap thanks to refrigerated pie crust. But I think it looks elegant enough for any dinner party. I recently took this to a holiday dinner at a friend’s house and it was enthusiastically received. This combination of tart and sweet apples, plump raisins, and a toasted pecan crumble topping is hard to resist, so let’s get baking!
To make my Apple Galette, which yields eight servings, you’ll need these ingredients:
1 refrigerated pie crust, softened as directed on package
½ cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 cups thinly sliced apples
½ cup reconstituted raisins
2 tablespoons chopped pecans
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons cold butter, cubed
Pinch of salt
Egg white
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
For this recipe, I used two Granny Smith and one Jonathan apple, as well as the golden and dark raisin mix. Dried cranberries or cherries would be a good swap if you don’t have raisins in your pantry.
How to make Autumn Apple Galette
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. On an ungreased cookie sheet, unroll pie crust and shape into a 10-inch circle.
In a medium bowl, mix brown sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon. Gently stir in apples and raisins to evenly coat fruit.
Lightly brush bottom of pie crust with whisked egg white. This is a tip to prevent a soggy bottom. Add fruit mixture, spreading filling over crust to within 2 inches of edges.
Bring the dough edge up to filling, and working in a circle, pleat edges. Brush folded crust with egg white.
To make crumble, combine pecans, butter, and flour in a small bowl. Work with fingers to create pea-sized crumble and sprinkle over galette. Cover galette loosely with aluminum foil. This will prevent the crust and crumble from overbrowning.
Bake galette for 8 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for 7 additional minutes. Remove from oven to a cooling rack and wait 15 minutes before slicing.
Another pastry baking tip
If you don’t want to crack an egg for the wash on bottom and edges of the galette’s crust, bake the galette on your pizza stone. You can roll and assemble the galette on parchment and easily transfer it to the stone (keep the parchment paper under pastry). The radiant heat of a pizza stone helps any excess moisture evaporate more quickly and keeps the bottom of the crust from having a soggy bottom.
Here are the only "soggy bottoms" (as in Soggy Bottom Boys) you are permitted to enjoy. (Come on, you were thinking it.)
About the blog
Three Women in the Kitchen is an award-winning food blog offering today’s home cooks comforting, hearty recipes with a personal touch. The website also pays tribute to Deborah’s mother, Katie Reinhardt, and paternal grandmother, Dorothy Reinhardt (the “three women” in the kitchen). Whether you’re an experienced or a novice cook, you’ll find inspiration here to feed your families and warm your heart. Subscribe today so you won’t miss a single delicious detail.
