Apple Galette – Sort of Like Apple Pie or Apple Tart

I’m from the West Coast so apple galette was a new concept to me.  I’ll be honest, it seems like an apple pie with less crust.  Does that make it healthier?  A diet food?  Less calories?

I have no idea!

I went down the apple galette recipe path for a few reasons.  First, I was given a brick of Rogue Creamery Cacow Belle Chocolate Cheddar Cheese.  Yes, that’s a real thing.  It’s made my a local creamery that has been receiving awards across the globe since 2003.  There’s an entire page on their website dedicated to all the awards they’ve won.  But, even though I live nearby I haven’t tried all their brands.  So, when I was given cheddar cheese that had (also award winning) Lillie Belle Farms chocolate in it, I wondered what to do with chocolate cheddar.

Of course, the obvious choice was to make a fruit and cheese plate with a lovely glass of wine.  But, that seemed too easy.  (although a few slices may have been enjoyed this way while I was cooking!)  A friend from the East Coast said “apple pie with cheddar”.  Okay, I don’t have cheddar on my apple pie but I had to admit, apple pie with cheddar and chocolate sounded like a pretty darn good combination.

A Dessert is Born

Here’s what I learned from this experiment.

First, good cooking apples are must – Golden Delicious, McIntosh, Courtland, Pippin, Jonathan, Jonagold, Fuji.  I didn’t try all of these; I googled similar variety of cooking apples.  Of the ones we did try, Fuji was the family favorite.

Second, keep the apples in the lemon water to keep them from discoloring.

Third, peeling the apples for the apple galette isn’t necessary but makes for a nicer presentation and a softer chew.

Fourth, agar was the best thickener but corn starch is an okay substitute.

Fifth, although I made my own gluten-free pie crust, I also used a pre-made store bought version once too.  It worked fine.  Combine the two pieces together when adding the cheese and then roll out into a larger 14 inch circle.  This left some leftover dough that seemed like a waste but it was faster than homemade.  You choose what works best for your apple galette.

Sixth, when folding the dough up over the apple slices, be gentle but don’t worry too much.  Just like an apple pie you can “correct” any tears with a little extra dough.

Finally, if you don’t have coarse sugar, use what you have.  The “crunch” from the coarse sugar was great but you could use coconut sugar or finer sugar.

Survey Says . . .

In the end, we enjoyed this dessert.  Personally, I still prefer vanilla ice cream with my apple pie or apple galette rather than cheddar cheese, even if it is cacow cheddar cheese, but this certainly was tasty.  And yes, I have made the recipe without the cheese and it’s delicious.  East Coast – West Coast – North or South . . . apples in a crust is the best!

Hope you enjoy too!

Apple Galette with Cheese

Ingredients:

• Large pie crust or two small
• 2-4 Tbs. grated sharp cheddar cheese
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 4 cooking apples
• ½ tsp. lemon zest
• 1 Tbs. maple syrup
• 2 tsp. agar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• ½ cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 egg, beaten plus 1 tsp. water
• Coarse sugar

Directions:

1. Make or purchase pie crust.  Allow to rest at room temperature until soft.  Add 2-4 Tbs. grated sharp cheddar cheese and combine.  Once well mixed gather to form a ball.  Shape ball into a disk.  Sprinkle with a little flour, wrap in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Fill a large bowl half way with water and add lemon juice.  Peel apples if desired.  Quarter and core the apples then place in lemon water.
4. Slice the apple quarters lengthwise into 4-6 slices no more than ¼ inch at the widest.  Return apples to lemon water after cutting each slice.
5. Drain apple slices, dry bowl and return apple slices to the bowl.  Sprinkle with lemon zest, maple syrup, agar, and cinnamon.  Gently toss to combine.
6. Roll out dough to about 14 inches wide and place on lined baking sheet.
7. Arrange apple slices on dough in a circular pattern placing apple slices side by side and/or slightly overlapping.  Circle should leave approximately 2 inches around the outside edge.
8. Sprinkle remaining grated cheese on top of the apples.  Gently fold dough up over the apple slices forming pleats with dough as necessary.
9. Brush egg and water mixture over the exposed border of the dough.  Don’t not brush on apples.  Sprinkle the egg washed dough with coarse sugar.
10. Bake for 10-15 minutes until beginning to brown.  Lower temperature to 375 degrees and bake for 15-20 minutes more until crust is nicely browned.
11. Cool slightly before serving.

Make Ahead: Pie crust can be formed into disk and placed in refrigerator for up to a day ahead.