French Apple Tart

Apple pie had always been my favorite dessert.. I was searching and testing recipes, one after another, until I finally came up with the one of my own. Then, I made them whenever I felt like having apple pie, for Holidays, and for no reason at all. One day, I got sick of it.. so I moved on. A couple of days ago, I had a thought of using apple to making dessert, but not the apple pie.. I googled, and finally found something very attractive to me. It's simple, it's elegant, and it's fabulous! French Apple Tart by Ina Garten, from Food Network's Barefoot Contessa Show.

The recipe is from her cook book, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics It was very easy to make, but looked like it came from a bakery - absolutely delicious! I decreased the amount of sugar, and used Triple Sec instead of Calvados/Rum/water, as the original recipe called for. The result was wonderful.

French Apple Tart
Recipe adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

You will need:

For the pastry

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 12 Tbsp (11/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1/2 cup ice water

For the apples

• 4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4" thick crosswise
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, small diced
• 1/2 cup apricot jelly or warm sieved apricot jam
• 2 Tbsp Calvados, rum, or water (I had Triple Sec on hand)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. LINE a sheet pan with PARCHMENT PAPER! Make sure to use a baking sheet WITH SIDES.
2. For the pastry, place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter and pulse 10 to 12 times, until the butter is in small bits the size of peas. With the motor running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
3. Roll the dough to a sheet of 10 x 14-inches. Place the dough on the prepared sheet pan and refrigerate while you prepare the apples.
4. Place overlapping slices of apples diagonally down the middle of the tart and continue making diagonal rows on both sides of the first row until the pastry is covered with apple slices.
5. Sprinkle with the 1/3 cup of sugar and dot with the butter.
6. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown. Rotate the pan once during cooking. (The apple juices will burn in the pan but the tart will be fine!)
7. When the tart is done, heat the apricot jelly together with the liquor and brush the apples and the pastry completely with the jelly mixture. Loosen the tart with a metal spatula so it doesn't stick to the paper. Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.