Maker's Mark Apple Tart

Comfort, comfort, comfort.  Is there anyone that doesn't like to hunker down, throw a few logs on the fire and smell apples and cinnamon in the air?  If so, I'll challenge them to try this combination and defy the odds of a smile making its way to the corners of their mouth.

I've mentioned a few times before that the apple pie has gotten the best of me.  Not one to take defeat lightly, I went back to the drawing board and this time came up with a winning combination of flavor and texture.  I visited Victory Farms again and picked up a container of Smokehouse apples in the hopes of making this go-round an apple treat to be proud of. They've brought in a variety of Henley's Orchard Apples and as was told to me, Smokehouse make great baking apples because they are middle of the road - not too sweet, not too tart.  Here's the recipe I created:

1 store bought pie crust
4-5 smokehouse apples
2 tbsp Maker's Mark bourbon
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp all purpose flour
1/3 tsp cinnamon
1/3 tsp nutmeg
1/3 tsp allspice

Preheat the oven to 450° and transfer the pie crust to buttered tart pan.  Lightly press the crust into the pan, try not to stretch the dough since it will just shrink back to it's original shape when baked.  Press the overlap against the pan edge and pull off, reserve for decoration. Fork the bottom of the crust to prevent it from bubbling up and bake for 5-7 minutes.
For the filling, start by mixing the bourbon, brown sugar, 2 tbsp flour (reserve 1 for another step), cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice.  It should give you a moist but lumpy mixture.  Next, slice the apples.  I left the skins on for this since it's a rustic kind-of tart and well, I am sometimes lazy when it comes to these types of things. The easiest way to get the right slice, is to cut each apple in 1/2, use a melon baller and extract the core and stems.  Next, use a mandolin to get thin, uniform slices.  Pile the slices into the bourbon mixture and mix them up, making sure each slice is coated.  Once the apples have been coated, sprinkle the last tbsp of flour over the slices and use a spoon to mix everything up again.  At this point, there should be a good amount of liquid in the bottom of the bowl which can be discarded or drizzled it over the finished product.

Once the pie crust has finished it's first bake, layer the apple slices from the middle out until they are just over the top of the crust .  Using leftover pie crust, I made a little flourish for the top...do whatcha like. Bake the tart for 20-25 minutes, let cool for 10 minutes and enjoy!

My husband and I had a discussion that went something like this: Me, 'The timer buzzing means pull the item out of the oven.' Husband, 'It buzzed at me, I turned it off.'  No matter...it was still delicious.

Whole Wheat Breakfast Muffins with Mix-Ins…Muffin-Top Shop Open for Business! (J/K, these are healthy)

I am trying to become a better baker...really, I am.  But, I am also trying to become a healthy meal-maker.  So, I found a traditional muffin mix recipe and modified it by reducing the sugar and substituting the butter (some).   I also used whole wheat flour which I am really starting to enjoy.   Give these a go, they are pretty tasty and you can feel good about it.

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup whipped honey

1/2 stick butter (I used 50/50 Smart Balance butter)

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 cup reduced fat sour cream

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

Mix-ins - I had a few bananas-gone-bad, so I diced them up small and threw 'em in with some toasted walnuts.  This mix would be great with lots of fruit variations diced and folded in with almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc.  One thing to keep in mind, this mix isn't super sweet so if you like the sugary goodness, try dusting powdered sugar on top of warm muffins or add a drizzle of honey.  Oooh, or a sugar glaze made from powdered sugar and lemon juice.  Yum!

Spoon into a muffin pan, 2/3's full in each cup and bake at 325 for about 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Anyone tried using the cookie dough scoop from Crate & Barrel for batter?  Easy and clean!

Now go! And bake something healthy.