It's a Tart, It's a Galette

it's a cinnamon-apple tart (or galette)

Hello and welcome to Thanksgiving Week on A Newsletter. For the full Thanksgiving video/menu breakdown, head HERE. If you’ve found your way over by some miracle but are not yet subscribed, let me help you with that:

Welcome to the final day of Thanksgiving Week on A Newsletter. Today we’re wrapping things up (the meal and the week, lol) with a simple, perfect apple tart. Thanksgiving is a lot! It’s a marathon, not a sprint, etc.

TLDR; By the end of a long day of cooking and a long, lovely meal where you ate more stuffing you ever thought possible (manifesting for next week), I can’t in good conscious recommend a rich, sickly sweet dessert. What I CAN recommend and what everyone else will want, too, is a thin, flaky, perfect slice of a lightly sweet brown buttered apple cinnamon tart. It’s impossible to say no too, it’s less daunting than a pie, and it honestly feels like a very elegant way to end a wonderful meal with people you love. I, personally, will always save room for this.

Because we love to overachieve, stay tuned in the coming days for a printable Home Movies Thanksgiving schedule + shopping list, and ideas for what to do with all those leftovers that don’t include sandwiches.

The base of this tart (galette? we still can’t be sure) is the base of all pies, galettes, and tarts we make at Home Movies: The Only Pie Crust, perfect in every way. It’s buttery, flaky, crispy, golden, and delicious. That little sprinkling of sugar at the end gets it extra caramelized, so don’t skip it! Cutting the apples crosswise in thin slices without coring them makes them look like they have tiny flowers in the middle and it’s very cute 🥲 (the seeds fall out as your slice, and the core is totally edible, but if you must core, go ahead!). Brown butter improves most things, and this is no exception. It gives it some depth of flavor and is wonderful with the cinnamon and apples. Vanilla ice cream is “optional” but you’ll want it (or a little whipped cream). Same goes for a little glass of your favorite amaro (I like classic Nonino or this one from Forthave). It’s giving elegance, it’s giving refinement, it’s giving nightcap, it’s giving thanks!

Photo by Eva Zar

Apple Cinnamon Tart

makes one tart, serves 6–8

Click here for a printable PDF.

Truthfully, at the end of a meal where you simply can’t eat another thing, there is nothing better than a thin, perfect, buttery crust topped with a layer thinly sliced apples, brushed with browned butter and sprinkled with cinnamon laced brown sugar (and some flaky salt!). Use the crust recipe below (which is The Only Pie Crust, alternatively titled, The Only Tart/Galette Crust), or whatever pie crust you have confidence in.

1 disc the only pie crust

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter

⅓ cup light brown sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 lbs unpeeled crisp, tart apples such as pink lady or honeycrisp, thinly sliced. (2 pounds if you’re coring the apple)

1 egg, beaten

Granulated sugar, for sprinkling

Flaky salt, for sprinkling

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the crust into a circle about 15-16 inches in diameter. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and put in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

3. Melt the butter in a small pot or skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring or whisking occasionally until the butter starts to brown and foam, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping up all the browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Remove the pot from heat to cool, and use a whisk or fork to scrape up all the browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Set aside.

4. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.

5. Arrange the apples in an even layer over the pie crusts, leaving about a 2” border. Pour or brush brown butter over the apples, then sprinkle with the brown sugar mixture. Fold the edges of the crust up over the apples, then brush the edges with an egg wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar and flaky salt.

6. Transfer to the oven and bake until deeply golden, about 60 to 75 minutes.

DO AHEAD: Crust can be made 5 days ahead of time, stored in the fridge. Apple tart should be baked the morning of for best results (but is still great the next day as a leftover, if there are leftovers).

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Thank you for joining us for Thanksgiving Week! Stay tuned for a printable shopping list, schedule, and leftovers ideas!

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