Apple Tart

It sure feels like Fall here in New Jersey, you can tell by the leaves changing colors and falling.  But the humidity is awful, we are kind of going through a little "Indian Summer, with a "tropical flare" so it seems.  The temps have been in the high 70's and low 80's, and today it has been pouring pretty much all day long!  I love to cook and bake on rainy days, but not on humid days, makes me lazy, sluggish, and I've had a headache for days, not to mention what it does to my HAIR!!  I want to finally shut off the air conditioner, and open the windows, and feel Fall crisp air, better yet, I want a good hair day!

We love to go apple picking and we go every Fall.  We haven't gone yet since it's been so HUMID, but we plan on going very soon. There's nothing like a big bushel of apples waiting to be made into apple sauce, apple pie, apple butter, and Apple Tart.  This tart is so easy, and you don't have to roll out a pie crust.  It has an easy "pat in the pan" crust, and 1 cup of the crust mixture is reserved for a crumbled topping.  It's so easy, I use the food processor (when I had one), to make the crust, but a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture works just fine.   I usually use a tart pan with a removable bottom, shh.....it's my Mom's, she lent it to me some years back, and I keep forgetting to return it....and sometimes I just use a spring form pan. If you don't have those pans, you can just use a pie plate, I'm sure you have one of those, right?

Enjoy the Fall, go apple picking with your family, take some pictures, make it a special day.  Then make this most delicious Apple Tart, so easy, and so YUMMO!

Apple Tart
For the Crust
2 sticks butter chilled, cut up into little pieces
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
Combine the flour and sugar in a bowl, cut the butter in with a pastry cutter or 2 knives, until it looks like tiny peas.  Reserve 1 cup for the topping, and press the rest into a tart pan with a removable bottom, or a spring form pan. 

Filling
6 apples, peeled and cored
3 TBS corn starch
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Slice the apples, and combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl, add the apples and mix.  Pour into the crust and top with the reserved topping. .Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, turn oven down to 350 for another 20 minutes. Let cool, put it on a pretty cake stand, and when cooled down sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Enjoy!