We decided to play it safe and close up the cottage early this year. Looks like we we’re not a week to soon. We arrive to find that 6 inches of snow had fallen the day before, creating a sight we’ve never seen before – autumn in winter. Lucky for us it didn’t get cold enough for the pipes to freeze.
We’ve got a fire going and there’s half a bushel of local apples that we picked up last weekend at the Fall Festival in Forksville, just begging to be put in a nice crust. While rolling out the Pate Brisée, I gaze out the kitchen window at the snow covered ground and begin to entertain the possibility of winterizing the place so that next year we can enjoy it all year round.
But for now, it’s the bittersweet end of another season in the Endless Mountains. Tomorrow morning we’ll pack up the contents of the kitchen cupboards, strip the beds and bring in the hammock, the porch furniture and the bikes. It’s too cold for a bike ride, so we’ll take one last hike around the lake before we hit the road. And we promise ourselves that this winter, if the lake ice freezes, we’ll come back up for the Toboggan Slide. Even if we have to stay at the Inn.
Because this place sure looks awfully pretty in the snow.
Abbreviated Autumn Apple Tarts
I used a minimum of ingredients so the flavor of the apples would dominate. The Pate Brisee is from The Paris Cookbook by Patricia Wells, and the recipe was inspired by (but nowhere near) her recipe for Ultra-Thin Apple Tart from Carton’s Bakery in Paris. I sliced the apples as thin as I could without a Mandolin. One of these days, I’ll make a real Tart Aux Pommes.
1 recipe Pate Brisée (see below)
2-3 tart apples (I used Crispins)
4 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp granulated sugar
Confectioner’s sugar for garnish.
Roll out pastry dough and line 4 small tart pans. If you have time, freeze for an hour before filling.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Peel and core the apples, then slice them as thin as you can. Arrange the apple slices on the tart shells in layers, brushing each layer with melted butter. Sprinkle the granulated sugar on top of the tarts. Place the tarts on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool ever so slightly, sprinkle with confectioners sugar and serve.
Patricia Well’s Pate Brisée
1 cup flour
1/8 tsp salt
8 tbsp cold butter, cut into cubes
3-4 tbsp water
Process the flour and salt in the food processor to mix. Ad the butter and pulse for about 10 secs till well blended. With the machine running, add the water gradually until the dough just begins to form a ball. Turn out onto a floured work surface and scrape it bit by bit across the work surface till it is smooth, then form into a flat ball. (Or do as I did, and just gather it with your hands into a ball.) Refrigerate for an hour, or up to 24 hours.
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More photos from my lake hike
COMMENTS
- Bardiac says: EditBeautiful!It’s too bad apple crisps probably wouldn’t survive being in the mail, isn’t it.Reply
- kathy a. says: Editoh, the snow on the ground! we just never get that where i live. the toboggan slide looks like great fun!and your tart looks lovely. i can almost smell it from here.Reply
- snoring mouthpiece says: EditHi,Apple tarts? I never try this recipe before but I think this is great sharing. May be after this I will ask my wife to make apple tarts for testing.Cheers,the snoring mouthpieceReply
- Maris says: EditI don’t know what looks more beautiful – your apple tarts or those photos!Reply
- ccinnkeeper says: EditIf you go up for the toboggan slide, please consider staying at The Crestmont, it’s owned by a friend of mine and she & her family do a great job there.
