Brown Butter Apple Galettes
To skip the post and step-by-step instructions and go straight to recipe, click here.With autumn just around the ridiculously hot corner, I’m more than ready to pop on a horror movie and cozy up with something cinnamony, like these apple galettes! For my first fall recipe of 2021, I’m not sure it could get much better. Four words for you - brown butter puff pastry. Once the idea popped in my head, I knew I had to create a recipe with it asap, and I think this is the best use possible for it. Tart apples, warm spices, crisp pastry, and the toasty flavor of browned butter all make these autumnal little tarts my number one treat for fall this year.
If you haven’t heard of them before, galettes (pronounced ga-lets) are basically like pies, but in my opinion, even better. I like to use rough puff pastry for them because I love the light, crisp texture, but they’re often made with pie crust. They can be larger, like the size of a traditional pie, or small like these, and can be made sweet or savory. Because the filling is just piled on top and the crust folded over the edges, they’re easier to put together than a pie. No need to be a professional pie crust crimper or worry about ventilation holes, because these are open on top and look lovely with a simple, rustic vibe, which makes them perfect for beginner bakers too!
Recipe Notes:
Browned Butter - Browning butter is a simple method to bring out deep, nutty, toasty notes in your butter. Butter is cooked until it froths up and the milk solids caramelize, basically creating naturally caramel-flavored butter. Doesn’t that make you hungry just to think about? You can make this recipe with plain butter as well and it will certainly be tasty, but the brown butter really puts this bake over the top.
Apples - I use granny smith apples for this bake because the tartness that they have makes the finished dish have just the right sweetness. Granny Smiths also keep their shape when baked and have a great texture. They don’t turn to mush when baked like some apples. My other favorite apples for baking are braeburn and pink lady.
Rough Puff Pastry - This version of puff pastry doesn’t require any stressful layering of butter between layers, making it a quarter of the work and just as crisp and buttery as a traditional puff pastry. It’s my go-to when I want a treat to seem impressive and fancy!
Step-By-Step Walk-Through
If you’re feeling confident in your cooking skills and want to skip the walk-through, click here.
Step 1:
Brown Butter
Cut 10 tablespoons of salted butter into large chunks and place in a light-colored pan or pot (so you can see when the butter is done) over medium heat.
Stir constantly while butter melts completely.
Continue stirring constantly, keeping a very close eye on the butter. It will foam up before browning.
When you notice lots of brown bits in the bottom of the pan and the butter smells nutty and toasty, quickly remove from the heat and pour into a bowl to cool (it can burn fast if you don’t transfer it). The whole browning process will take between 5 and 10 minutes depending on your pan and your stove.
Place brown butter in the refrigerator to allow to cool and harden completely, at least an hour.
When butter is completely solidified, move on to step 2.
Step 2:
Make Puff Pastry
In a large bowl, measure out 1 cup of all-purpose flour and ¼ tsp. salt.
Cut the browned butter into chunks and add to the flour mixture.
Use a pastry cutter or food processor to cut the butter into the flour until it’s well-incorporated and looks like very coarse breadcrumbs with no butter chunks larger than a large pea remaining.
Make a well in the center of the mixture. Pour in ⅓ cup ice cold water.
Stir until combined into a dough. If it seems too wet or too dry, don’t add more flour or water - it will come together in the rolling process.
Dump dough onto a floured surface and shape into a rough 7x10 inch rectangle.
Fold the top third of the rectangle down and the bottom third up letter-style.
Rotate the pastry 90 degrees and roll out into a rectangle again.
Fold into thirds the same way and roll out again. Repeat until you’ve folded and rolled 6 times total.
Fold the dough into thirds one more time, but instead of rolling it out again, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
Step 3:
Make Filling
Peel and thinly slice one large granny smith apple.
In a large bowl, toss the apples with 3 tablespoons of granulated white sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, a large pinch of fresh-grated nutmeg (you can use ground nutmeg if you have it, but fresh-grated is always more flavorful), ¼ teaspoon of ground ginger, and 1 teaspoon of all-purpose flour.
Step 4:
Assemble Galettes
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and place on a floured surface.
Roll pastry out into a large rectangle and trim edges to result in a neat 11 x 16 ½ rectangle. Cut pastry into 6 even 5 ½ x 5 ½ inch squares.
Place squares on parchment-lined baking sheets.
Split the apple filling evenly across all 6 pastry squares.
Fold the pastry over the edges of the apple filling. First, fold each corner up to create an octagon.
Then, fold the resulting 4 corners up, gently pressing down to stick the pastry to itself. Leave the center exposed.
Beat one egg.
Use a pastry brush to glaze the edges of the pastry crust with the beaten egg.
Sprinkle a little more granulated sugar over the egg-glazed crusts.
Step 5:
Bake
Bake the galettes in your preheated oven for 16-20 minutes until crisp and golden. Serve warm. If desired, top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Brown Butter Apple Galettes
Servings: 6 Time: 3 hours (2 hours chilling, 1 hour active prep)
Difficulty: 🧡🧡🧡🧡🤍
Ingredients
For Pastry:
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
¼ tsp. salt
10 TBS. salted butter
⅓ cup cold water
For Filling:
1 large granny smith apple
3 TBS. white granulated sugar, plus extra for dusting
½ tsp. cinnamon
Large pinch fresh-ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. all-purpose flour
1 egg for glazing
Directions
Step 1: Brown Butter
Cut butter into large chunks and place in a light-colored pan or pot so you can see when it’s done browning. Place over medium heat. Stir constantly while butter melts completely. Butter will then foam up. Continue constantly stirring. After the butter foams up, you will start to smell the butter getting toasty and nutty. When you see brown specks in the bottom of the pan, immediately remove from the heat and pour the browned butter into a bowl to cool, making sure to get the brown specks from the bottom of the pan (that’s where the flavor is). Refrigerate at least 1 hour until fully solidified. When butter is solid, move to step 2.
Step 2: Make Puff Pastry
In a large bowl, measure out flour and salt. Chop the solidified browned butter into chunks and add to the flour mixture. Use a food processor or a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles very coarse breadcrumbs with no chunks bigger than a large pea left. Use a spoon to make a well in the center of the mixture. Pour the cold water into the well and stir until a rough dough forms. If it’s too wet or too dry, don’t worry, it will come together in the rolling process. Dump the dough onto a floured surface and shape into a rough 7x10 inch rectangle. Fold the top third of the rectangle down and the bottom third up, letter-style. Rotate the folded pastry 90 degrees and roll out into a large rectangle again. Fold into thirds in the same fashion, rotate, and roll again. Repeat a total of 6 times. After the last time, fold into thirds once more and instead of rolling out, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
Step 3: Make Filling
Peel and thinly slice one large granny smith apple. In a large bowl, toss the apples with the sugar, spices, and flour.
Step 4: Assemble Galettes
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and place on a floured surface. Roll out into a large rectangle and trim edges to result in a neat 11x16 ½ inch rectangle. Cut the pastry into 6 even 5 ½ x 5 ½ inch squares. Place squares onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Evenly split the apple filling across the 6 pastry squares. To fold the edges of the crust neatly over the edges of the apples, do the following: fold each corner of the square in toward the center of the apples, but not all the way to the middle, as you want some of the apple exposed. Once all the corners are folded in, you’ll have 4 new corners created. Fold each of these up as well, gently pressing down to secure the pastry to itself and keep the edges up. Beat one egg in a small dish. Use a pastry brush to glaze the folded edges of the galette. Sprinkle some granulated sugar over the egg glaze.
Step 5: Bake
Bake the galettes in your preheated oven for 16-20 minutes until golden and crisp. Best served warm. If desired, top with whipped cream or ice cream.