Tag Archives: easy desserts

Apple Galette with Pecan Cheddar Crust

Think of a galette as the pie’s younger, free-spirited cousin. Pie, is by definition, baked and served in a sloped sided dish. Galettes are totally freeform, no pan, fancy adornments or crimping necessary. Think of a pie as the undergarment equivalent of wearing Spanx. The pie plate holds everything in. Galettes are infinitely more comfortable and easier to make!

The goal of both pies and galettes is a flaky crust. I experimented with adding pistachios to my galette crust this summer. This time I added pecans and cheddar and the results were outstanding. The nuts add a beautiful colour and flavour to the crust and the cheese adds additional fat which leads to extreme flakiness- a good thing in a galette, not so good if you’re human.

In developing this recipe, I made quite a few galettes to get things perfect. The leftovers were sliced, wrapped and frozen for my husband’s nighttime snack habit. I was shocked at how crispy and flaky the crust stayed, even without reheating.

In keeping with our carefree vibe, I left the apples unpeeled. You want to use a smaller apple for this galette. I found some small organic Honeycrisp apples. Pink Lady, Fuji and Granny Smith would also be good choices.



In the video, I used a plate to cut a perfect circle, because I’m not as laid back as I wish I were! Feel free to leave the edges irregular if that’s more your style.

Apricot Raspberry Crisp

If we’re being completely honest here, and I think that we’ve known each other long enough for total transparency, fruit crisp is not really about the fruit. The fruit is just a vehicle for the buttery, crumbly crisp topping. Right?

My crisp topping incorporates butter, brown sugar, rolled oats, flour, a healthy pinch of salt and a lavish amount of toasted nuts. Today I opted for pistachios. I think they pair perfectly with apricots.

The topping comes together quickly, using your hands in a big bowl. Maker a double batch of the topping and store the extra in the freezer so you can make a crisp whenever the urge hits. It’s great in the fall with apples or pears and cranberries in the winter.

No need to peel apricots, just pit and dice. The amount of sugar you add will depend entirely on how ripe your apricots are. Start with 1/4 cup of sugar and taste. You can always add more. I like to thicken my crisp with Minit Tapioca. It does not make the juices cloudy like flour would. It’s available in the supermarket in the same aisle as Jell-O.