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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