Apple Tartlets

Recently, my mother-in-law wanted to purchase more apples as they were on sale. She was worried that they would go bad as no one else eats them at home. At that moment, I said that I could always bake with apples so if she wanted some apples, she could buy them. She did. That night I decided to poke around the Internet and see what I could make with these apples. I settled on Apple Tartlets.

Ingredients:

 Tip: The original recipe called for Courtland apples.

Filling:

• 2 Red Delicious apples
• 1/8 cup of white sugar
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons of lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of salt

Pastry:

• 1 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour (185g)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and diced
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons yogurt (30g)

Tip: Use sour cream instead of yogurt

Topping:

• 1 cup quick (or rolled) oats
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

Tip: I actually ran out of butter for the topping, so I used a mixture of half butter-half vegetable oil. No one noticed.

Yield: Makes 12 tartlets

Directions:

1. Whisk together 1 1/4 cups of flour and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Mix by hand the diced butter. Mix until the crumbs are the size of sunflower seeds.
2. Mix together yogurt and water. Pour mixture into flour mixture and mix with a fork until the dough appears ragged. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. I left it in the fridge overnight.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry to 3mm thickness. Using a 4-inch round cutter (I used a bowl of approximate diameter), cut out 12 circles. I did it one at a time. If the dough begins to get warm, put it back in the refrigerator to chill again. The dough is easier to handle cold. Fit the circles into a muffin tray. Refrigerate for another 30 minutes.
4. Peel, quarter, and core apples. Slice the apples. I used a food processor for the slicing. So fast. Toss apples with sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt. Divide apple filling mixture among each of the muffins tray slots.
5. Whisk together oats, brown sugar, flour, and nutmeg. Stir in butter until combined. Sprinkle over apple filling.
6. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake in bottom third of oven for 45 minutes. If it begins to darken too much, cover with aluminum foil.
7. Let stand in muffin tray and cool for 10 minutes.
8. Remove from muffin tray and cool on wire rack.