French Apple Tart

Tonight is my last night at home with my family.  My parents are taking me out for a nice dinner at Francescas and then I decided to make one last great dessert for us to share together.  My cousin, Chris, gave me a tart pan for the holidays and with the pan she gave me a recipe for a French Apple Tart.  This was a great gift to give me (if anyone is looking for gift ideas/inspiration) and I was so excited to try out the new recipe.  Along with this gift, she gave me a rolling pin cover and pastry cloth.  Supposedly this is the way to go when dealing with any kind of dough.  She knows me so well!

French Apple Tart

Ingredients:
Pastry Dough:
1 11/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used white whole wheat and it turned out great!)
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
8 tbsp unsalted butter (very cold, you can freeze it even), diced
5 tbsp ice water

Apples:
4 large Granny Smith apples
1/2 cup sugar
4 tbsp cold (you can freeze it) unsalted butter, diced
1/3 cup apricot jelly or jam
2 tbsp Calvados, rum, or water (I used 1 tbsp water and 1 tbsp rum)

Directions:
For the pastry:
1. Place flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to combine.  Add the butter and pulse 10 to 12 times, until the butter is in small bits the size of peas.  With the motor running, slowly add the ice water just until the dough starts to come together.  Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it into a ball.  Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  I let it chill overnight.

For the tart:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Roll the dough on a slightly floured pastry cloth until it is slightly larger than the tart pan.  Place the dough on the tart pan and press to fit the pan.  Using the rolling pin, roll over the top edge of the tart pan to cut and remove the overhanging dough.  Place the tart pan in the refrigerator.
2. To prepare the apples, keep the skins on and core the apples.  Then, slice into moderately thin slices. Take the tart out of the refrigerator and arrange the apples in the pan.  Use all the apples, it is okay if it is overfilled as the apples will shrink while baking.  Sprinkle with the 1/2 cup of sugar and dot with the butter.
3. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown. Mine took exactly 45 minutes.  When the tart's done, heat the apricot jam with the Calvados, rum, or water, and brush over the tart.  Allow to cool completely and serve heated up or at room temperature.
Enjoy :)