Apple Crostada (and the Easiest Homemade Rolled-Pastry Crust Ever)

Apple Crostada with the easiest, homemade, rolled pastry crust ever.  

Do you struggle with homemade rolled-pastry dough for sweet or savory pies, quiches, tarts, crostadas, etc. and opt instead for the store-bought stuff instead?  There IS a slightly healthier alternative which tastes infinitely better, in my opinion. 

I know, I know... store-bought pie dough requires almost no work at all... but have you ever looked at the list of ingredients on the box of the most popular refrigerated/frozen pie crust brand?

Here you go:

Wheat Starch, Partially Hydrogenated Lard with BHA and BHT Added to Protect Flavor, Bleached Flour, Water, Sugar, Rice Flour, Salt, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Propionate (Preservatives) Citric Acid, Colored with Yellow 5 and Red 40.

And to me the flavor leaves a lot to be desired. 

If you've ever had problems with homemade rolled pie crusts you may be interested in this butter and cream cheese pastry dough.  It just takes moments to mix up in the food processor, then after a short chill in the refrigerator you'll be well on your way to one of the most forgiving, easy to roll out, flaky and tender crusts you've ever made. Plus, the flavor is outstanding.

The dough recipe has been around for years and can be used with either sweet or savory fillings.

To make the crostada filling I used peeled and sliced Granny Smith apples, tossed with some sugar, cinnamon, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a few drops of pure vanilla extract. 

I love crostadas, they are rustic and free-form; so much easier to make than a traditional pie. To form the crostada, roll the dough out on a floured surface, place the rolled dough on a parchment or silicone baking liner on a shallow baking sheet, then pile the filling in the center of the dough, dot with butter if desired, gather the edges up around the filling, pinching and pleating the dough where necessary to hold the filling in place.  You can brush with an egg wash or heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar if you like.  Then bake until fruit is bubbling and slightly tender and crust is nicely golden.

This time I cut some of the leftover dough into shapes with a leaf-shaped cutter, and brushed with an egg wash (some I tinted slightly with food coloring to imitate autumn colors), and sprinkled with coarse sugar.  I baked them separately on their own lined baking sheet.   When the crostada was taken from the oven I brushed the exposed fruit with melted apricot jam for extra sheen, then decorated with the baked cut-outs, using the apricot jam as 'glue' to help keep the leaves in place.
 

If you've made this dough before, or if you try it, please let me know what you think of it. :)  Holiday baking is just around the corner!

If you would like a printable copy for the cream cheese pastry dough you'll find it on my recipe blog by clicking HERE.

Thank you for coming by today. xo~m.