Monday, September 3, 2018

Apple Nut Tart



It was our monthly book club meeting and my turn to host. The book we were discussing was A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline. A very brief synopsis of the book is that it is a historical fiction book about the life of Christina Olson, who was the mid-20th-century painter Andrew Wyeth's model for one of his most famous paintings, "Christina's World." 

In the book, Christina often makes fried apple skillet cakes for breakfast for her parents and brothers. I wanted to serve an apple dessert to the book club and searched for a recipe that was a little more elaborate than Christina's. I found a recipe for Apple Nut Tart in an older Family Circle cookbook from the 70's that was delicious. I really liked the brown sugar crust and the layer of nuts under the apples.


Apple Nut Tart

Bake at 350 degrees fro 45 Minutes
Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 1/4 flour
3/4 cup plus 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 egg, slightly beaten
1cup walnuts ( or pecans, which is what I used)
1/4 cup golden raisins
5 cups 1/4 inch thick, peeled quartered apple slices ( 2 pounds) Rome Beauty or Cortland
1.4 cup (1/2 stick) butter melted
1.2 cup walnut or pecan  halves for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1) Combine the flour with 3/4 cup of brown sugar in a medium-size bowl. Cut in the 1/2 cup of butter and the egg with a pastry blender until the mixture is crumbly. Shape the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for one hour.

2) Preheat oven to moderate -- 350 degrees

3) Flatten the dough with a rolling pin on a lightly floured board to a 12 1/2 inch circle; sprinkle with a little flour, if the dough becomes too sticky. Transfer the dough to a 10 x 1 fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press and pull up the dough, making sure it is level with the top of the pan. (like all sweet crusts, this one is difficult to work with? Press the dough firmly into the fluted side, keeping the dough a full 1/4 inch thick; if the crust is thinner, it may slip down during baking. Place the tart shell in the freezer until it is very firm, for 20 to 25 minutes.

4) Ground the 1 cup of nuts in a food processor for two seconds until they are coarsely ground. Sprinkle the ground nuts and the raisins onto the tart shell.

5) Toss the apple slices with the remaining half cup of brown sugar in a bowl. Arrange the slices in a circular pattern on top of the raisins and nuts in the tart shell. Drizzle the melted butter over the apple slices.

6) Bake in the preheated oven 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until apples are soft. Cool tart on a wire rack. Remove side of the pan.

If you wish, arrange nut halves around the edge of the tart and serve with ice cream or whip cream.


I also prepared a delicious Whole Grain Banana Bread loaf, using a King Arthur Flour recipe, which you can see in full on this link.  I never prepared banana bread with a whole wheat flour before and I was pleasantly surprised at how the whole grain flour gave it a nutty flavor. 

As you can see from the photo collage above, there are many signs of autumn in our community!  Large pumpkins and sunflowers are fully grown in the community garden, apples are ripened on the trees, and late summer flowers are all a bloom. The new fawns born in early summer are losing their spots and growing almost to full size. Temperatures are dipping down to the high 40's and 50's at night and this morning I heard that there was a dusting of snow on the top of Pike's Peak! 


That does not mean that everyone isn't squeezing in all the summer fun that they can, as you can see by the people floating down Clear Creek in Golden, Colorado.

 (If you want to learn why there is a big letter "M" on the mountain in the distance click on this link to read my blog post about that, and a place that Golden, Colorado is famous for besides Coors!)


It is always fun to stand on the bridge and watch the people float by.


Both sides of Clear Creek in Golden are bordered by walking paths, with flowers and Public Art Work sculptures along the way. It's a beautiful place to walk.

I hope you also enjoy these last days of summer. Do you see signs of autumn where you are?

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44 comments:

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Thank you for your comments! I read and appreciate each one!

Mersad said...

Thanks so much for the recipe. I really loved the way the apple pie came out. The nature images are equally amazing. Yes people are now tying to squeeze out as much as nature time as possible before the weather changes for good.

Villrose said...

We have lots and lot of apples this season, so I am looking for new recipies.
This one is just what I am looking for! Nuts, raisins and other yummi stuff :)

podso said...

A beautiful tart! We always also try to make the refreshments line up with the book we're reading in our book club. I enjoyed your mosaic of the signs of fall. I am ready for cooler temperatures and some leaves on crunch under my feet! Have a good week!

eileeninmd said...

Hello, the apple tart looks delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Beautiful views of your community and the river. The sculptures in the park are beautiful. Looks like a lovely place for a walk. Happy Labor Day, have a great new week ahead!

LIfe Images by Jill said...

The apple nut tart looks delicious. Thank you for the recipe. Have a great week. I am joining you are Mosaic Monday.

Maggie said...

My that apple pie looks wonderful, thanks for the recipe I'll make one this week to use up some of my neighbour's apples, might try the whole wheat banana bread too if I feel like a domestic goddess! (I still haven't read the book yet, hopefully when we go on vacation at the end of the month I'll have time to read it then).
Love those sculptures overlooking the river, especially the butterfly.
Yes, we are seeing signs of autumn here in Normandy now, every day more leaves are fluttering down from the trees and driving the SP crazy!
Happy Mosaic Monday.

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

Your apple nut tart sounds and looks wonderful! No real signs of fall here yet.

Jeanie said...

I love the pops of orange as the rafters go down the creek. Beautiful photo! And that apple tart looks wonderful. I'd say you went much better on food for that book than our Savory Sisters book club did! (We eat well but not always "to the book." I think this is a recipe I might have to try this fall!

Anonymous said...

That looks amazing! And fall is my favorite time to make apple desserts! Thank you for sharing!

J said...

Amazing pictures, as always. That gentle float down the river describes the lazy days of summer perfectly - ones we all wish would never end!
Your pie came out food magazine cover perfect! Looks delish!
I love historical fiction (and Andrew Wyeth!). Another very good art related one is "Girl With a Pearl Earring."

Su-sieee! Mac said...

I love Fall. The public art pieces are amazing. I wonder if one day someone will create one to honor the orange floating devices. :-) The apple nut tart looks so yummy. It's time for me to do something about the apples on our tree.

Tamar SB said...

yum yum!!!

NCSue said...

Thanks for sharing this tasty recipe and wonderful photos at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2018/09/a-bit-of-bluegrass.html

Fun60 said...

The apple tart looks and sounds delicious.

Photo Cache said...

The tubing picture is delightful. I now want to go on one.


Worth a Thousand Words

molly said...

Oh my that looks delicious

Mollyx

carol l mckenna said...

Oh the water looks so inviting and what fun time with those orange tubes! Neat photos!

Happy Day to you,
A ShutterBug Explores

ellen b. said...

That tart is a work of art, Pat. I'm smacking my lips! Fun post.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

The apple tart looks amazing and it is so neat to serve your Book Club something related to the book you were discussing. ... this is the time of year to squeeze all the possible fun out what remains of the summer (although it feels like Fall as soon as school starts, no matter what the calendar or temperature say .. even though we haven't had to live by a school schedule for years!!) I appreciated the interesting link to your post about the School of Mines museum which I didn't know about -- somehow I missed that post altogether. This is going in my Colorado places file.

Sylvia said...

This apple nut tart looks delicious! My hubby loves apple pie so I will definitely have to try this one! Also, I checked out the "M" on the side of the mountain, and I would love love LOVE to visit there and check out the Geology Museum! Thanks for linking up with us at #BloggingGrandmothersLinkParty

Murthy K v v s said...

A new book introduced to me.

Lady Fi said...

Mmm - that pie looks lovely.

Lorrie said...

That's a beautiful tart, and I'm sure your book club guests enjoyed eating it. Autumn is such a gorgeous season and there are a few signs of it here, but definitely no snow yet. Yikes, that seems soon.

Angie said...

Oh, Pat - this is so wonderful - that you would bake something to fit the book for your book club - you are a star! I have been thinking about starting a regular craft group, but maybe a book club would be the better way to go since I think most people read! Love your pix of Colorado - like you, we are in that middle ground between summer and winter (we usually skip fall!)

Ola said...

the tart looks amazing and now it is the best time to prepare it!

Little Wandering Wren said...

Gosh, those are the best book club meetings the ones with the food that link in some way to the book! I hope your autumn is equally as charming as your last days of summer Pat!
Wren x

Junieper said...

Great post Pat, because I've been looking for a while on and add to apple pie and apple cake, that is not too sweet. Also great it had to do with Wyeth, one of my favorite American painters:) Many thanks for sharing it with All Seasons! Yes, am looking forward to the Fall with apple orchards, pumpkins, and t=not to forget to the turning of leaves, but here in California it won't happen till end of Oct.

Sylvia said...

Pat, The leaves are turning here! The mornings are cold. The sun warms up the afternoons and all is good. Love the sculptures on the walking paths. Thanks for sharing and have a great week. Sylvia D.

Al said...

Nice late-summer photos, and that pie looks delicious. I had not realized your husband worked in the WTC - that's scary indeed.

likeschocolate said...

I am drooling now! Yummy! Would love to go tubing too! What fun! It looks like we will have a few more days of summer around here. Have a great week.

Spare Parts and Pics said...

Floating down the river looks like so much fun, and a perfect end-of-summer activity. But I'll bet that water's cold!!

Lowcarb team member said...

The tart looks delicious, many thanks for sharing the recipe here.

Lovely to see all of your photographs both singly and in the mosaic.
The sculptures are good, especially the butterfly.

All the best Jan

Michelle said...

That apple tart looks delicious! Tubing looks fun too. My kids would love it. They are adults now, so do I still keep saying kids? lol Thanks for linking up today!

handmade by amalia said...

What a gorgeous pie. I love that it matches the content of the book. A great idea.
Amalia
xo

peggy gatto said...

I enjoyed my visit here!

Rambling Woods said...

Boy I am can almost smell how good that must taste and I guess we are at fall almost now...Michelle

Aditya Narayan Mohanty said...

Great landscape capture . Please tell something about my captures on my blog.

The Lazy Gastronome said...

What a delicious looking pie!! I love pecans - I would be honored if you would share this at our What's for Dinner party! http://www.lazygastronome.com/whats-for-dinner-sunday-link-up-165/

Anonymous said...

I would LOVE to join a book club! That sounds so fun. This apple tart looks amazing. It will be a feature at the Whimsical Wednesdays Link Party this week. Thanks so much for sharing with us!

Kippi O'Hern said...

Yum, great looking tart. I am pinning it for later!

Theresa @ Shoestring Elegance said...

Pat, I LOVE your recipe!! What a beautiful presentation, as well! I'm super excited to try your recipe. Thanks for sharing with us at the TFT party, pop over tomorrow morning to see your Feature!
Happy (almost) Fall!
Theresa @ Shoestring Elegance

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson said...

Looks so yummy and I love the collages!! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
hugs,
Jann

Ciao Chow Linda said...

Don’t know how I missed this but I’m glad I caught it. Looks like a great dessert, Pat, and now that apple season is here, I definitely want to try this.