Brown Sugar and Bourbon French Apple Tart

While apple season is fully upon us, (my absolute favorite) I went to the apple orchard Sunday and had so much fun! We went to a pick your own apples and spent hours wandering around the apple trees and drinking wine in the grass. I came home with a ton of apples and needed something to do with them. What better way then adding a little brown sugar and bourbon to them and baking them in a beautiful little tart?! While it bakes, the whole house will smell amazingly like fall!

The Tart Shell

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 12 tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1/2 cup ice water

Directions

For the pastry,  place the flour, salt and sugar into a food processor with a metal blade attachment. Pulse until all combined. Add the diced butter and pulse until it cuts in and is the size of peas, and crumbles. With the motor running slowly add the cold water and mix until the dough comes together and is smooth. Pour out onto a floured board and knead so it comes together. Wrap it in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for about an hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thick and then roll it into the tart pan and roll the pin over the edges of the tart pan to make clean edges. Set aside and prep the apples.

For the Apples

Ingredients

• 4 of your favorite crisp apples (I love McIntosh, but honey crisp, red gala, or sweet tango will work)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, diced

Directions

Peel and thinly slice the apples, about 1/4 inch thick.  Arrange them overlapping on top of each other diagonally, and continue in rows to make it pretty. Sprinkle the sugar on top of the apples along with the cinnamon and nutmeg. Dot the butter on top of the apples. Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes to an hour until golden and crisp. While its baking make the glaze.

Brown Sugar and Bourbon Glaze

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups good bourbon
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

Directions

In a small sauce pan over medium high heat, whisk the brown sugar into the bourbon until it dissolves and let it reduce for about 5 minutes just until it thickens and half the amount. Once the tart is done, take a pastry brush and brush the glaze over the apples to make them shine and infuse all that deliciousness!! Serve immediately. Keep in the fridge for about 3 days. Enjoy!!