You’ll use the juices from the macerating apples to make the sauce, so don’t throw them out!

Serves 4-8

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup white sugar, plus more for dusting galette

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon coarse salt (or half this amount if using table salt)

3 medium Granny Smith or other baking apples

Pate Brisee (1 disk)

Flour for rolling out

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

Dried thyme leaves

2 Tablespoon heavy cream

Instructions

Prep the apples:

1. Combine juice, sugars and salt in a bowl large enough to accommodate all the apples when sliced.  Core and slice the apples into even wedges about 1/8" wide with the skin on (or remove the skin if you prefer). Toss the apples in the sugar mixture and set aside to macerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 12 hours.

Make the galette:

2. Roll and trim pastry to a rough circle approximately 1/8-inch thick and 14 inches in diameter. Transfer the pastry to a baking sheet, lined with parchment if needed.

3. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (218 Celsius), with the rack in the middle position. Remove the apples from the sugar mixture, and reserve the juices for making the sauce. Arrange the apple wedges on the pastry in a slightly-overlapping circular design, forming concentric circles. Leave a border of about 2 inches on all sides. (You might not use all the apples.)

4. Section by section, fold the pastry border up over the apples, forming pleats as you go, so that the edge of all the apples is covered by the pastry border. Sprinkle about 1 Tablespoon of white sugar evenly over the pastry border.

5. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the apples are bubbling and the crust is a rich golden brown. If the apples threaten to burn before the crust is fully baked, protect the apple section with a small piece of foil while it finishes baking. 

Make the sauce and serve:

6. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat for about 5-8 minutes, allowing it to darken to a golden brown. Watch closely to be sure it doesn't burn or smoke. 

7. Add the reserved juices from the apples along with two (or more to taste) generous pinches of thyme and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Stir occasionally, allowing the mixture to reduce to a syrupy consistency, for about 20 minutes. When the bubbles become glossy and you can begin to see the bottom of the pan as you scrape it, it's finished.

8. Turn off the heat and stir in the cream. Strain the thyme leaves from the sauce if desired, and pour into a serving dish. When the galette is finished, cool it on a rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Notes:

Galettes, in my humble opinion, have the perfect crust-to-filling ratio, and are therefore a great way to show off a homemade crust. You can use this recipe and it will only take about 10 minutes if you have a food processor (plus a bit of time to rest). So my strong recommendation is to just do that!

I’ve never attempted to make a galette from storebought crust. In my experience, they tend to tear and fall apart, and since they’re already trimmed to the factory-perfect dimensions, there are no scraps or trimmings you can use to fix these problems. So I can’t really give you any advice on using a storebought crust. If do though, feel free to let us know in the comments how it works for you!

The sauce for this can be served hot or at room temperature. The whole thing is amazing when the galette is hot and fresh from the oven! But the galette will be delightful served at room temperature as well, so you’re good either way.

I like to serve the sauce on the side, or drizzle it over each slice as you serve it. If you choose to drizzle it over the whole galette, do it immediately before serving so it doesn’t sit too long and get soggy. (I haven’t served it this way, but I’m imagining that might be the outcome.)