The nights are cold and I can see my breath and the days are cloudless, relentless. The backyard is dappled red, then orange, and brown and brittle grass pokes through. It's the perfect weather for reading out on the porch, cuddling up under a blanket to watch a bad horror movie, or drink a beer while the sun fades to bruised clouds that stretch out over the fields by my house.
It's fall now, a fall that's been going on for weeks but never fully committed itself to sweater weather and foggy breath. I'm still waiting on that. But in the meantime, I was inspired by Farmhouse Pottery's Baker's Rolling Pin to create a dish that highlights all the beauty of autumn, but can be made year-round. I think I found the perfect mix in this caramel apple brie en croute dish.
Caramel Apple Brie en Croute
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup of spiced orange caramel sauce (you will have a lot leftover, but it keeps well and is good on everything!)
- 1 wheel of brie
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
- 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening, cold
- ½ tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- Pinch of salt
- ¼ cup ice water
- 7-8 slices of a honeycrisp apple (or whatever variety you like!)
- 1 egg, whisked with 1 TB water to create an egg was
Directions:
- Place butter, shortening, vanilla, flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor, fitted with the blade attachment.
- Pulse processor five or six times, or until fats are the size of peas and incorporated into the flour.
- With motor running, pour water in a slow and steady stream through the tube until dough forms and sticks away from the walls of the bowl. You may need a little more water to get a solid dough.
- Dump dough onto a floured work surface and pat into a disc.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit at this time.
- When thirty minutes are done, roll dough out onto a floured work surface and roll out into a circle shape about ¼” in thickness
- Now, for ease, use a dinner plate as your pattern and cut dough into a large circle
- Reserve the remaining dough for another use and just focus on the dinner plate-sized circle now
- Place brie wheel in center of your dough and lay apple slices on top
- Pour your caramel over the apple and brie
- Now, paint edges of dough with a pastry brush and your egg wash
- Take edge of dough and fold into center of apples, pinching slightly to hold shape
- Repeat with remaining edges to seal into a dumpling
- Brush with more egg wash and sprinkle with a little sugar
- Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, or until crust is puffed and golden, but check at the 15 mark as cheese may leak out and you might have to clean this up to prevent burning!
- Allow to cool slightly, but serve warm with more apple slices and carame
