From-scratch apple galette is as delicious as apple pie, but half the time and work! This easy yet impressive fall dessert is complete with a thick and flaky homemade all-butter crust and a drizzle of salted caramel. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the ultimate indulgence!
If you love my salted caramel apple pie, you’re in for a real treat today! We’re making a simple apple galette that’s exactly 97% easier than pie (I did the math ;)).
My galette crust, which is both flaky and buttery, makes a cozy bed for the warm and tender apple slices, which get tucked in nice and snug. The apples within are coated in brown-sugared, cinnamon-spiced goodness. Is this easy fall dessert enjoyment or what?!
There’s a lot to cover today, so let’s dive in.
Why You Need to Make a Galette
Galettes are a wonderful alternative to pie when, you know, you don’t feel like making an actual pie. Have you ever made one before? Strawberry peach galette, berry galette, blueberry galette, and ginger pear galette are some of my favorites.
Galettes are delicious, approachable, and best of all: low maintenance. I like to call them “lazy pies” because there’s no complicated shaping involved. Just as delicious and awesome as pie, but there’s no weaving, crimping, trimming, or any of that meticulousness business.
Here’s everything you need:
Here’s How to Make My BEST Apple Galette Dough
The base of today’s galette is a buttery, flaky crust made from simple ingredients like flour, butter, and ice-cold water. This is actually the same dough we use to make pear tarte tatin. Have you ever tried my all-butter pie crust recipe? This galette dough is similar, but it’s *slightly* sweeter and yields only 1 crust. You can also use 1 of the crusts from my flaky pie crust recipe instead (that recipe yields 2 crusts).
I love how thick today’s crust is… think multiple flaky, buttery layers of crust enveloping sweet, cinnamon-y apples. Perfectly delectable!
Make the dough, then chill it before rolling it out and adding the filling. When you roll out galette dough, don’t worry if it’s not a perfect circle. Leave whatever shape it rolls out to be.
(How fun is it to have so few baking rules today?!)
Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour before rolling it out.
Apple Galette Filling
The filling for this apple galette combines fall’s favorite spices: cinnamon and nutmeg. You’ll also add brown sugar for sweetness, lemon juice for brightness (it tastes a little flat without it!), and 3–4 peeled, sliced apples. Unlike pies where you can pile the fillings super high, galettes don’t really like it when there’s too much filling. The crust will become mushy and no amount of oven time can save it. Plus, you won’t have enough pie dough to fold over an over-filled galette!
Whenever I make apple pie bars, apple pie, or even apple cake, I always use 2 different kinds of apples for more depth of flavor (half sweet, half tart). For a detailed list of my favorite apple varieties and when to use each, you can visit my post on The Best Apples for Baking.
Success Tip: Keep the filling flat and compact, while leaving a 2–3-inch border so you can fold the edges over.
Brush the crust’s edges with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar, such as Sugar in the Raw, or something like these coarse sugar sprinkles.
Success Tip: Chill the shaped galette for at least 15–20 minutes before baking to ensure it holds its shape. I usually do this while the oven preheats. It’s also plenty of time to whip up a batch of salted caramel!
Optional Salted Caramel
Today’s galette doesn’t take very long to bake and there’s no waiting for it to cool completely before serving. There’s only about 45 minutes between baking and eating. (Compare that to 5+ hours waiting for a pie to cook and cool!) Slice and serve with a scoop of ice cream and more salted caramel.
Easy Apple Galette Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together in a medium bowl. Using a pastry cutter or 2 forks, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse pea-sized crumbs. Add the water and stir until the flour is moistened. Add 1–2 more Tablespoons of water if the dough seems dry. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using your hands, work the dough into a ball. Flatten it into a thick disc. Wrap the dough disc in plastic wrap or parchment paper and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour, and up to 3 days.
- Mix the apples, brown sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a large bowl. Cover tightly and let sit until the dough is ready. I usually cover it and keep it in the refrigerator during this time.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Clear some shelf space in your refrigerator because the shaped galette must chill in step 6. (See recipe Note below.)
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 12-inch circle—it doesn’t have to be perfect. Transfer dough to the prepared baking sheet. (You can also roll the dough out right on the parchment paper or silicone baking mat that you are using to line the baking pan. If doing so, lightly flour the parchment paper or baking mat.)
- Arrange the apples (and any juices from the bottom of the bowl) into the center of the dough, leaving a 2–3-inch border all around them. You can simply spoon the filling on, or arrange the apple slices in a more deliberate design, such as concentric circles. Gently fold the edges of the dough over the filling, overlapping the dough as necessary. Press gently to seal the edges. Brush the crust edges generously with egg wash and sprinkle the crust with coarse sugar, if desired. If desired, drizzle 3 Tablespoons of salted caramel over the filling (not the crust).
- Refrigerate the shaped galette for at least 15–20 minutes as the oven preheats (next step), and up to 8 hours. If refrigerating for longer than 1–2 hours, cover it lightly. The galette will lose its shape if it’s not cold when it hits the oven.
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
- Bake until the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden brown, about 35–36 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. If desired, serve with vanilla ice cream and more salted caramel sauce drizzled on top.
- Cover and store leftover galette in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
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