Apple Pear Cranberry Crostata Recipes

APPLE-CRANBERRY CROSTADA

Steps:

• Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples, 1/2 cup sugar and cranberries; cover and cook until apples release their liquid, about 5 minutes. Remove lid and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until soft apples fall apart and juices thicken to a thin-syrup consistency, about 5 minutes longer. Pour onto a large-lipped cookie sheet or jellyroll pan and cool to room temperature. (Can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 5 days.)
• Adjust oven rack to low position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Open puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured work surface. Roll into a rectangle, about 10 by 16 inches. Transfer to a large cookie sheet. (I suggest lining the sheet with parchment paper; this ensures the crostada doesn't stick and allows easy cleanup.)
• Spread cooked apples over pastry, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold up pastry borders over apples. Unfold corners and form ruffled creases to keep dough from overlapping. Brush pastry border with egg white and sprinkle with the remaining 1 Tb. sugar. Bake until pastry is golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with optional ice cream or whipped cream.

APPLE~PEAR~CRANBERRY CROSTATA

Steps:

• 1. Heat oven to 400 df. Peel, core, and cut apples into 1/4 " thick slices. Peel and cut pear into 1/2" thick slices. Toss togethere in a bowl and set aside. In a small bowl, combine 1/3 cup sugar, cornstarch, orange zest, and cloves; set aside.
• 2. On a lightly floured surface, roll Pie Dough out into a circle about 16 inches wide and 1/8 inch thick. (The circle doesn't have to be perfect) Transfer dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Arrange half the apple and pear slices over the dough leaving a 2" border all around. Sprinkle half the cranberries over the apples and pears. Sprinkle half the sugar mixture over fruit. Repeat with remaining fruit, berries, and sugar mixture.
• 3. Fold dough sides up and over edge of filling, letting dough drape over itself at each fold. Brush dough with beaten egg, and sprinkle with remaining teaspoon sugar.
• 4. Bake 10 minutes; then lower oven temp to 375 degrees and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes more. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Yield : 8 slices

PEAR AND CRANBERRY CROSTATA

Steps:

• For the pastry, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and toss quickly with your fingers to coat each cube of butter with the flour. Pulse 12 to 15 times, or until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the 1/4 cup ice water all at once through the feed tube. Keep hitting the pulse button to combine, but stop the machine just before the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and form into 2 disks. Wrap the disks with plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• Roll each pastry disk into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer them to 2 baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
• For the filling, peel, core, and quarter the pears. Cut each quarter into big chunks. Toss the chunks with the orange zest. Divide the pear chunks between the pastries, covering the dough and leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cranberries over the top of each tart.
• Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and allspice in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts holding together. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the two tarts. Gently fold the border of each tart over the pears, pleating it to make a circle.
• Bake the crostatas for 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the pears are tender. Let the tarts cool for 5 minutes, then use 2 large spatulas to transfer them to wire racks.

FRESH CRAN-APPLE CROSTATA

Steps:

• Make the tart dough: Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse to blend. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Add vanilla and water to processor, then slowly add flour and cinnamon sugar. Pulse just until a dough forms, adding a little extra ice water if necessary. Divide the dough in half, and shape each half into a 1-inch-thick round. Wrap 1 disk tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour; freeze the other for future use.
• Put a pizza stone or cookie sheet in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F for 45 minutes. Remove the dough from the refrigerator about 15 minutes before rolling to soften it slightly.
• Place the dough round between 2 sheets of parchment paper and roll into a 13-inch round (about a 1/4-inch thickness), flouring the round lightly as needed to keep the dough from sticking. Remove the top sheet of parchment. Use the rim of a small round bowl to make 6 individual crostatas. Cut around the edge of the bowl, in the dough, with a sharp knife. Slide a pizza peel or rimless baking sheet under the bottom sheet of parchment, and remove excess dough from crostatas.
• To make the filling, combine the apples, sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a bowl and toss well. Add cranberry sauce and salt and toss again, briefly. Paint the edges of the crostatas with egg yolk wash. Fill the center of the dough rounds with the apples (about 1/2 cup each) in an even layer, leaving a border of about 1 1/2 inches. Fold the border up and over the apples to make a rim. Brush the rim with egg wash, then sprinkle with coarse sugar. Trim the excess parchment with scissors, and press sides together.
• Use the pizza peel or baking sheet to transfer the crostatas, still with parchment underneath, to the oven, sliding it, with the paper, directly onto the pizza stone. Bake until the crust is nicely browned and the apples are bubbling, about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven with the peel or baking sheet and let cool on a rack for 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm. Note: This can be made hours ahead and reheated before serving.

PEAR, APPLE AND CRANBERRY CRISP

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Peel and core the pears and apples and cut them into large chunks. Place the fruit in a large bowl and toss with the cranberries, zests, juices, granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch baking dish.
• For the topping:
• Combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, and cold butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the mixture is in large crumbles. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit, covering the fruit completely.
• Place the baking dish on a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly. Serve warm.

PEAR AND CRANBERRY CROSTATA

Steps:

• Make the Pie Dough: In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, and salt and mix to combine. Add the butter and continue mixing until the mixture holds together when you clump it, and there are pecan-sized lumps of butter still visible.
• Meanwhile, whisk together the yolks and milk in small bowl.
• Add the yolk mixture to the flour mixture and mix until a dough forms. Transfer the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap, wrap well and store in the refrigerator for several hours. (The dough will keep for several days in the fridge and several weeks in the freezer.)
• Make the Almond Cream: In the standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add almond flour and mix until just combined. Add eggs and mix until combined. Add flour, vanilla, and salt and mix. Store covered in refrigerator for up to a week.
• Make the Roasted Pears: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Toss the pears with the ginger in a roasting pan and arrange them in a single layer. Sprinkle the sugar on top and dot with the butter. Bake, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let cool. (Store covered in the refrigerator for up to a week.)
• Assemble the Crostata: Using half of the pie dough (reserve half for another use), roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface into a circle about 12 to 14 inches in diameter and 1/8 inch thick. Transfer the dough to a lightly buttered baking sheet.
• Using a spatula, spread a circle of almond cream about 8 inches in diameter in the center of the dough (use about 1/2 cup of the almond cream). Arrange the pears in concentric circles in 2 layers on top of almond cream circle. Sprinkle the cranberries on top of the pears. Fold the edges of the dough in, slightly covering the pears, to form a free-form tart. Brush with the beaten egg and bake until the pastry is golden brown, about 1 hour. Remove from oven, let cool, and serve.

PEAR AND APPLE CROSTATA WITH FIVE-SPICE WHIPPED CREAM

Steps:

• for crust:
• Mix both flours, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter and shortening. Using on/off turns, process until butter and shortening form pea-size pieces. Mix in enough ice water to form moist clumps. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. (Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
• for filling:
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 400°F. Combine first 6 ingredients in large bowl. Toss to blend. Let stand until juices form, about 15 minutes.
• Roll out dough on lightly floured work surface to 1 1/2-inch round. Transfer dough to unrimmed baking sheet. Mound filling atop dough, leaving 2-inch border. Fold dough border over filling to form 7-inch round, pleating loosely and pinching to seal any cracks in dough. Brush crust and fruit with egg, then sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.
• Bake crostata until crust is golden and juices bubble thickly, about 40 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to rack; cool 10 minutes. Slide metal spatula under crust to free from baking sheet. Cool crostata to lukewarm. Using large tart pan bottom as aid, transfer crostata to platter.
• Whip cream, honey and five-spice powder in medium bowl until stiff. Serve crostata lukewarm or at room temperature with whipped cream.
• *A blend of ground anise, cinnamon, star anise, cloves and ginger, available in the spice section of most supermarkets.