What's cookin?

I found a new weakness. I'm afraid it's going to take over my life. Apple Crostatas! Wow, these are good. And easy to make, too! I spent the day trying to get it figured out, and I think I found a really easy, and tasty, recipe!

Honestly, I rarely measure things when cooking, so I'll do the best I can with sharing this. I looked at a few Apple Crostata recipes online, and just kind of threw it together from there. Each one makes either one good sized Crostata, or can be cut in half and still have a good sized portion.

Preheat your oven to 375F. Unroll one pre-made pie crust, Betty Crocker's are pretty tasty. These come in a nine inch round, and are already rolled out to just the right thickness. Spray a cookie sheet with no-stick cooking spray and lay it out on the sheet.

Peel, core, and dice two to three medium sized apples. I chopped mine fairly small, compared to what I would make for an apple pie. Put them in a good sized bowl, and sprinkle pretty heavily with sugar, brown sugar, about a Tbs of flour, cinnamon, and a dash of nutmeg. Stir until it's all coated pretty well. Taste, and adjust seasonings if desired.

Plop the apples right onto the middle of the pie crust. Spread out the apple mixture to within about two inches of the edges, leaving a slight mound in the middle. Very carefully fold the edges up and over, overlapping and pinching any areas that break. You can make this as ornate or as plain as you like. I went with a somewhat scalloped edge look. The middle area will remain open throughout baking.

Bake uncovered for about 45 minutes. If the edges of your Apple Crostata are browning a little too quickly, cover them loosely with foil. It's finished when the crust has a nice golden brown color.

While hot, top with Caramel sauce and chopped pecans (optional.) Serve with a side of Vanilla ice cream. Caution: these are highly addictive!! I can imagine this way of making Crostatas would work with just about any fruit, and can't wait to try to make it with berries sometime!