Apple Galette
Posted Sep 04, 2020, Updated Mar 24, 2024
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This Apple Galette Recipe is a delicious fall dessert that is easy to make from scratch (easier than pie). The flaky buttery crust beautifully compliments the lightly sweet apple filling rich with fall spices and a hint of vanilla. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream for a cozy dessert.
Everyone loves fresh apple pie, but sometimes making a pie can be intimidating and time-consuming. Enter this Apple Galette! It tastes exactly like an apple pie, but it’s easier to make!
The rustic nature of this apple galette recipe makes it virtually impossible to “mess up.” It’s an impressive fall dessert that will wow your friends and family – who never need to know just how easy it was to make.
The flaky buttery crust beautifully compliments the lightly sweet apple filling rich with fall spices and a hint of vanilla. Serve this apple galette warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream for a cozy dessert.
Apple Galette: Ingredients & Substitutions
Let’s chat about the ingredients in this apple galette recipe, as well as possible substitutions!
- All-purpose flour (in the dough and filling): The all-purpose flour can be replaced with a 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free baking flour. Pastry flour and bread flour also work well.
- Cold Butter. For a dairy-free version you can use vegan butter in the crust. Just make sure the butter is cold. I usually cut it into cubes and put it in the freezer for at least 15 minutes before using it pie and galette dough.
- Apples. technically you can use any fruit in the galette recipe and get great results! Peaches, berries, cherries, etc.
- Light Brown Sugar. I love the caramelized flavor the brown sugar imparts on this apple galette. You can use all white sugar if you don’t have brown sugar on hand. You can also use dark brown sugar for an even richer molasses taste.
- Granulated sugar. You can sub brown sugar for the white sugar if desired.
- Egg wash. This is technically optional, but highly recommended for two reasons: 1) It gives the galette crust a golden-brown shiny hue. 2) it adheres the raw sugar to the crust. Whole milk or half and half can be used in pace of the cream in the egg wash. Or you can just use an egg yolk.
- Turbinado sugar. Any coarse, raw sugar works well to give the crust a sugary sparkle and sweet crunch.
Store Bought Crust
You can use a single, store-bought pie crust in place of the homemade version in this galette recipe to save time!
How to Make an Apple Galette
This apple galette recipe is fairly simple to make. As always, we’ll walk through the process step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video!
Make the Galette Dough
The first step in this galette recipe is to make the dough, because it needs to chill for at least 1 hour before being rolled out and used in the recipe. I always use a food processor to make pie and galette dough because it takes literally 3 minutes and it’s so easy.
Begin by adding the flour, sugar and sea salt to the container of a food processor and pulsing to combine. This ensures the ingredients will be evenly distributed in the apple galette dough.
Next, add the cold butter and cold water all at once to the dry ingredients in the food processor. You want to process as little as possible once you add the butter, so it’s important to add them at the same time.
Process until the mixture resembles a coarse meal, begins to stick together, and holds together when pinched, about 10-15 seconds. Be careful not to over-mix the dough.
Then, transfer the dough mixture from the food processor to a large bowl. Use your hands to press it together and form a flat, round disc. Cover the disc of dough in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or overnight.
If chilling overnight, put dough in plastic wrap and then also in an airtight plastic bag for storage to prevent drying out.
Make the Apple Galette Filling
When the dough is towards the end of the chilling time, make the apple filling.
Begin by combining the dry ingredients. Note: the brown sugar tends to clump. Make sure to break it up and mix it really well into the rest of the dry ingredients so it’s easy to sprinkle over the apples.
This is another step for which a food processor comes in handy. Slicing apples thin enough to use in a galette by hand is tedious and time-consuming. However with the large slice (or thin slice depending on your preference) disc I was able to have all the apples sliced and ready to go in mere minutes.
Note: I know in these photos the apples aren’t peeled, but the really need to be for the best overall texture. I made this recipe many times and I just so happened to take photos of the process without peeling. I know the peels look pretty, but they don’t taste great. Watch the video to see the galette made with peeled apples!
Next, place peeled and sliced apples in a large bowl. Add vanilla and stir to combine.
Sprinkle half of the dry ingredients over the apple slices and stir. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients and stir until evenly distributed.
Assemble the Apple Galette
Now that we have the crust and filling made, it’s time to put it all together and make the apple galette!
I usually make the egg wash before I roll out the crust to ensure it’s ready to go.
Once the dough is ready to go, preheat the oven and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, then set it aside. Next, remove the dough from the refrigerator. On a well-floured surface, roll the galette dough into a 12” circle.
Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Arrange apple filling in the center of the dough leaving a 2” border all the way around the edges. Carefully fold the edges over and pinch them together so there are no holes or cracks.
Then, use a pastry brush to gently brush the egg wash all over the dough. Sprinkle the egg-washed dough with raw sugar.
Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the crust is golden-brown.
Serve
Let the baked apple galette cool slightly and serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of homemade whipped cream.
Store
Store any apple galette leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Apple Galette Recipe FAQs
Everyone has their favorite apple variety to bake with, mine is a tossup between Pink Ladies and Granny Smith because I love the sweet/tart contrast. However, I usually just choose a variety that’s on sale! Here are some of my suggestions for apples to use in this apple galette recipe!
Pink Ladies (aka: Crisps Pink)
Granny Smith
Fuji
Honeycrisp
Jonagold
Jazz
Braeburn
Gala
Golden Delicious
Yes! You can make the filling and dough and chill it in the refrigerator overnight, then simply assemble the galette the next day when you’re ready to bake it. I don’t recommend making the entire, assembled galette and letting it sit overnight in the fridge, because you run the risk of the crust becoming soggy.
Yes! A baked galette can be frozen for up to 2 months. I recommend wrapping either the entire galette or individual portions in plastic wrap and putting them in an airtight container or freezer-friendly plastic bag to store in the freezer.
Thaw the frozen galette in the refrigerator overnight, then place it on a baking sheet and warm it in the oven preheated to 350 degrees F. until it’s heated all the way through. Then serve!
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Apple Galette Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Galette Dough:
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ cup salted butter cold
- ¼ cup ice cold water
Apple Filling:
- 2 pounds apples (about 5 medium apples), peeled and finely sliced
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- pinch ground nutmeg
Egg wash
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 Tablespoon whole milk (or cream or half and half)
- 2 Tablespoons turbinado sugar raw sugar
Instructions
Make the Galette Dough
- Place the flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor fitted with an “S” blade and pulse to combine.
- Add the butter and cold water and process until the mixture resembles a coarse meal, begins to stick together, and holds together when pinched.
- Remove dough from processor (it will be crumbly) and form into a flat disc about 1” thick.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, or overnight. If chilling overnight, put dough in plastic wrap and then also in an airtight plastic bag for storage to prevent drying out.
Make the Apple Filling
- Peel and slice apples – I recommend using a food processor with the large slice attachment for easy apple slicing – the Vitamix food processor does an amazing job.
- Place apples in a large bowl. Add vanilla extract and stir to combine.
- In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg and stir to combine.
- Sprinkle half of the dry ingredients over the apple slices and stir. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients and stir until evenly distributed.
Make the Egg Wash
- In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk and heavy cream, set aside.
Assemble & Bake
- Once the dough is towards the end of it’s chilling time, preheat an oven to 375 degrees F.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator.
- On a well-floured surface, roll the galette dough into a 12” circle.
- Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet.
- Arrange apple filling in the center of the dough leaving a 2” border all the way around the edges.
- Carefully fold the edges over and pinch them together so there are no holes or cracks.
- Use a pastry brush to gently brush the egg wash all over the dough.
- Sprinkle the egg-washed dough with raw sugar.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the crust is golden-brown.
- Let cool slightly and serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Video
Notes
- All-purpose flour (in the dough and filling): The all-purpose flour can be replaced with a 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free baking flour. Pastry flour and bread flour also work well.
- Cold Butter. For a dairy-free version you can use vegan butter in the crust.
- Apples. technically you can use any fruit in the galette recipe and get great results! Peaches, berries, cherries, etc.
- Light Brown Sugar. You can use all white sugar if you don’t have brown sugar on hand. You can also use dark brown sugar for an even richer molasses taste.
- Granulated sugar. You can sub brown sugar for the white sugar if desired.
- Egg wash. This is technically optional, but highly recommended. Whole milk or half and half can be used in pace of the cream in the egg wash. Or you can just use an egg yolk.
- Turbiando sugar. Any coarse, raw sugar works well to give the crust a sugary sparkle and sweet crunch.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Oh yum!
My family LOVES pie but making homemade pie on a normally busy day is not so easy (and store bought is so disappointing) so your recipe for a galette is perfect! Will try making this with other fruits as suggested too.
My family and I loved it! Very easy to make, I do not own a food processor, so I used a dough blender.
Thank you so much Karen! <3