Christmas Gallete Recipes

CHRISTMAS CRANBERRY GALETTE

Steps:

• Make the dough for the Flaky Cream Cheese Pie Crust with modifications as noted above.
• Macerate the Cranberries:
• A minimum of 1 1/2 hours and a maximum of 24 hours ahead of baking, in a medium bowl, place the superfine sugar (reserve 1 teaspoon for the border) and the light brown sugar and use your fingertips to combine them and rub out any lumps of brown sugar. Cut each cranberry in half and add them to the sugar mixture. Stir the mixture well and set it aside for 1 hour at room temperature or, preferably, overnight in the refrigerator.
• Stir the cranberry mixture well, then stir in the walnuts.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F. at least 20 minutes before baking. If not using a black pan, plan to bake the galette directly on the oven floor; alternatively, set an oven rack at the lowest level and place a baking stone or cookie sheet on it before preheating.
• Using a floured pastry cloth and rolling pin sleeve rubbed with flour, or two sheets of lightly floured plastic wrap,*** roll the pastry to a circle roughly 18 inches in diameter. Using an expandable flan ring or a cardboard template and a sharp knife as a guide, cut out a 16-inch circle. If the dough softens, slip it (still on the cloth or plastic wrap) onto a baking sheet and refrigerate it for about 30 minutes, covered, until firm before lining the pan. The pastry is too large to slip your hands under and support adequately. To transfer it to the pan, roll it loosely over the rolling pin or dust it lightly with flour and fold in quarters. Leave the overhang.
• Scatter the cranberry mixture evenly over the dough, covering a 13-inch area and leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Fold the overhanging border of dough over the outer edge of the cranberries, using your fingers to pleat it loosely at even intervals. Brush this border with a little milk or water and sprinkle on the reserved sugar. (This will give the border a crunchy texture.)
• Cut a 10-inch round of foil and place it gently over the cranberries, leaving the crust uncovered. Bake the galette for 30 minutes.
• Place a second round of foil large enough to cover the filling and the crust border loosely over the tart and continue baking for about 10 minutes more or until the bottom crust is golden brown. (Slip a small angled metal spatula or flexible knife under the edge of the tart, lifting it slightly, to check doneness.) Cool the tart on the pan on a rack for about 20 minutes or until warm. Dust with powdered sugar.
• Store:
• Room temperature, up to 2 days.
• Note:
• A half-size galette can be made using a 9-inch pan. Roll the dough less than 1/8 inch thick and large enough to cut an 11-inch circle.
• Understanding:
• The challenge with this particular berry tart is to keep the cut cranberries from drying out without underbaking the crust, which would make it soggy. The solution is to make a temporary top "crust" from foil and to bake the tart on a baking stone or directly on the floor of the oven.
• Cutting the cranberries in half and allowing them to sit with the sugar allows them to absorb the sugar. With their tough outer peel, whole cranberries would retain most of their juices, so they would not dissolve the sugar fully. This would cause the bitterness of the cranberry to stand apart from the sugar, rendering the final effect too bitter and too sweet simultaneously.
• The crust must be prepared without baking powder, as the weight of the cranberrry/nut mixture would not be sufficient to keep it from puffing.
• ***You may have to overlap sheets of plastic wrap to roll the dough large enough.

FRENCH COOKIES (BELGI GALETTES)

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir together the brown sugar and butter until smooth and creamy; then add eggs and vanilla, and beat well. Gradually stir in flour. Set bowl over a hot water bath, and stir to blend ingredients. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat the galette iron.
• Shape dough into 1 inch balls, and place in the galette iron. Close the iron, and cook the cookies. This should take about 30 seconds in an electric galette iron, or 2 to 4 minutes in a handheld iron over a medium flame. Carefully remove cookies and cool on wire racks.

CHRISTMAS GALLETE

Steps:

• Mix flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter and shortening; pulse until coarse meal forms. Add 2 tablespoons ice water; pulse until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk and wrap in plastic. Chill 2 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before continuing.
• Preheat oven to 425°F. Mix apples, pears, dried fruit, 3 tablespoons marmalade, 3 tablespoons sugar, fresh ginger, and ground ginger in large bowl to coat.
• Roll crust out between 2 large sheets of waxed paper to 13-inch round. Place sheet of parchment on rimless baking sheet; spray parchment with nonstick spray. Remove top sheet of waxed paper from crust. Invert crust onto parchment, then peel off second sheet of waxed paper. Spoon filling onto crust, leaving 2-inch border around edges. Fold crust border up and over filling, folding and pleating occasionally.
• Brush crust edges lightly with water. Sprinkle damp crust with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.
• Bake galette 50 minutes. Reduce heat to 400°F. Loosely cover filling with small sheet of foil.
• Bake until crust is deep golden and filling is tender, about 20 minutes longer. Slide knife or offset spatula under galette to loosen from parchment. Cool galette slightly on sheet on rack.
• Heat remaining 4 tablespoons marmalade and 1 tablespoon water in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until marmalade melts. Spoon marmalade glaze over filling.
• Serve galette warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream.