All Men Must Pie | Apple Galette
If you know me, you probably know I'm a big fan of the HBO show Game of Thrones*. However, I'm also a fan of puns and of food, so I had some fun preparing a little feast to celebrate the premiere of the seventh season this past weekend! One part of this feast was an apple galette, which is a rustic-looking dessert similar to pie. Where's the fun in calling it an apple galette, though? With a little thought and creative spark I landed on All Men Must Pie. It's okay if you don't get the pun – it's tasty either way.
There are so many ways to make something similar to a pie without it actually being a pie. Tarts, crumbles, cobblers, galettes... the list goes on. (Here's a handy reference!) The reason I like galettes, though, is that they're super easy. If you opt to use a refrigerated crust, there are only a few required ingredients (I'm not a baking purist, which means shortcuts are just fine with me when I'm short on time). The instructions are really simple, and you get a delicious result every single time.
You slice the apples, mix the dry ingredients, stir them together, then spoon it into a crust. Then you just fold the extra crust over the filing, and you're done. No pinching the pie crust to make it pretty. No trying to figure out how in the world to make a lattice top that doesn't look like a 5-year-old did it. No guesswork through the crust as to whether the apples are done baking. Galettes are the lazy person's apple pie, but they don't taste like it, so really the joke is on everyone else!
Valar morghulis, friends – all men must die. All men must serve. Serve pie, that is!
*Obligatory mention that I'm also a fan of the books the show was developed from, A Song Of Ice And Fire, by George RR Martin, but don't ask me to compare the two! I do recommend them if you enjoy reading fantasy.
ALL MEN MUST PIE | SIMPLE APPLE GALETTE
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Bake Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
1 pie crust, either refrigerated or homemade is fine*
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
5 t cornstarch
2 t cinnamon
3 medium-size apples, tart is best
1 egg white (optional)
an extra sprinkle of sugar for the crust (optional)
*If you want to make a design for the top of your pie, similar to mine, you'll need a second crust to use for the cutouts.
Directions
Peel and slice your apples – keep the slices thin, around 1/4 to 1/2 inch in thickness. Preheat oven to 425 F, and line a medium size cookie sheet with foil. Prep your pie crust if needed (if it's a refrigerated crust, let it sit out for a few minutes and then unroll it slowly). Lay out the crust on the cookie sheet.
In a medium bowl, mix the sugar, brown sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon. Add the sliced apples into the bowl and stir to coat the apples with the cinnamon mixture. You now have a filling! Place the filling into the center of your crust, keeping in mind that it will cook down, so it's okay to pile it up! Spread the filling out to within 2-3 inches of the edge of the crust, and then fold this extra crust inward, covering the outermost part of the filling. Move around the galette in a circle as you do this, so you can fold the crust over itself as you also fold it inward – it will be overlapping in a few places, obviously. I like to keep it simple as you'll see in the photos above, since galettes by nature look a bit rustic.
Optional: Lightly beat your egg white, and then brush the crust with it. Sprinkle a little sugar over the top. This step doesn't do much for taste but it does make the galette look a little prettier!
Bake for 20 minutes, or more if you sliced your apples a bit thicker. Serve once it's had a little time to cool and set, either on its own or with vanilla ice cream on top!
Happy Eating,
Natalie