Apple Crostata

To make the pie crust dough (it is super easy to use a food processor, but you could also do this by hand using a pastry cutter or two knives):
-Combine flour, sugar, and salt in food processor and pulse to blend.
-Add butter and pulse till coarse crumbs form.
-Stir ice water and vanilla together and add to flour & butter mixture.
-Pulse just until it comes together – you may need to add a little extra ice water. Once it starts to form, it will still look a little crumbly but that is okay.
-Turn out onto a floured surface and press together till it forms a cohesive ball.
-Divide dough in half and form into round discs (about 1″ thick).
-Wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. You can freeze the other half if you don’t want to do two at once. If you freeze the dough, then just remove it to fridge to thaw for about a day before using.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Let dough sit for about 15 minutes to soften.
Roll out onto a floured surface into approximately 13″ rounds.

You can place the crust on a large baking sheet, or for ease of cooking/serving/storing, I like to just place in a pie pan, letting the edges fall over the end. Don’t worry about trimming them.

To make the filling:
-Peel, core and slice the apples (I use a mixture of whatever I have on hand – Granny Smith, Gala, Honeycrisp, ets). Cut each slice into thirds and place into a large bowl.
-Add sugar, flour, and cinnamon to apples and stir to coat.
-Add fruit to center of the pie dough, leaving a border of about 1.5 inches.
-Fold the border up and around the apples to form a rim. If any of the crust cracks, just wet your fingers and pinch the edges together. You can also use bits of the edges of the crust to form a patch.
-Beat together egg yolk and heavy cream or milk.
-Brush edges of your crust with egg wash mixture, then sprinkle with coarse sugar (sometimes I’ll just use milk or even nothing if I don’t feel like using an egg for this).

Bake for 40 minutes at 425 degrees until crust is browned and fruit is bubbling.

Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Best served warm, and with ice cream if desired.

**Variations: You can use 4-5 cups of any fruit you desire. I’ve made this with peaches and blackberries and blueberries. Just reduce sugar to about 1/4 to 1/2 cup depending on tartness of fruit.