Cranberries straight from Cape Cod

I’ve been on vacation for a few weeks so I wanted to say thank you to my blog partner for all the great posts she put up while I was away. I got back just in time for Thanksgiving, and this is an exciting time for all of us foodies. So many recipes, so little time!  I thought I might have trouble figuring out what to write as a pre-thanksgiving post but then my good friend Kristina arrived at my door with a huge bag of freshly dried cranberries straight from Cape Cod. Kristina is a regular on the Cape and goes to the cranberry bogs each year to gather cranberries for the fall season.

As you can imagine, I was beside myself with this gift and I quickly started scanning my cookbooks and the web for cranberry recipes. I made cranberry muffins, cranberry sauce, and cranberry crisp. I wanted to post them all. I then asked Kristina for her favorite cranberry recipe and she sent me this delicious recipe for cranberry apple galette. I almost shied away from it given its close proximity to the “pie” family (lest we forget, I don’t bake pies….). I decided to ignore my fears and visions of pie fiascos from days gone past, and forge ahead with the recipe. I’m glad I did. This dessert is so good and light…. just the ticket for all those bellies full of turkey.

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 Tbsp cornmeal
2 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into chunks
8 Tbsp sour cream
1/2 cup ice water

Filling:

8 large granny smith apples (about 4 lbs)
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into thin slices

Method

To make the pastry, combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Scatter the chunks of butter over the top and pulse for a few seconds until the butter pieces are the size of small peas. In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream and ice water. Drizzle the mixture over the dough and pulse for a few seconds until the dough is smooth and clings together. Pat the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the fruit filling, peel, core, and slice the apples. In a large frying pan over medium heat, combine the sugar, 1/2 cup water, honey, lemon juice, and cinnamon and heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the apple slices and simmer until opaque, 5-7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the apples to a bowl and let cool slightly. Add the cranberries to the juices in the frying pan and simmer until they start to pop, about 2 minutes. Transfer the cranberries to the bowl of apples. Boil the juices over medium-high heat until reduced slightly and spoon over the fruit. (Try not to eat too much of the apple cranberry mix while working on the next step!).

Position 2 racks in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Have ready 2 ungreased baking sheets.

Divide the ball of chilled pastry in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each half into a round about 12 inches in diameter. Transfer pastry rounds to baking sheets. Divide the fruit filling equally between the pastry rounds and spread it in an even layer, leaving 1 1/2 inch border uncovered. Fold the border over the fruit, pleating the edges to form a broad rim. Lay thin slices of butter over the exposed fruit.

Bake galettes, switching the pans between the racks and rotating them 180 degrees midway through the baking process. Cook until the pastry is golden brown and the apples are tender, 35-40 minutes. Let cool completely on the pans on a wire rack. Cover and store at room temperature until ready to serve. Sprinkle with sugar if desired and serve with whipped cream.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our foodie friends!