Apple Tart

Many, many months ago (enough for boyfriend and I to have broken up and gotten back together twice in the time frame), I was invited to boyfriend's house to celebrate his father's birthday. Now, I love to give gifts, but boyfriend forebode me from buying anything. So I decided to bake something, but what? As it was fall (and boyfriend's mom is lactose intolerant), apple something seemed like the only option. But, as boyfriend purports his mother's apple pie as the best it seemed foolish to make one and seemingly compete. I opted for a fun, rustic apple tart. The difference between this and apple pie, which seemed so huge and important at the time and so miniscule in retrospect, an apple tart is flat.

Recipe adapted from Real Simple.

Ingredients:
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. Crisco
2 Tbsp ice water
5 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
3/4 c. sugar
2+ tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions:

1. Mix flour, salt and crisco together with a fork or fingers until it clumps together into little balls
2. Add ICE water and mix until it forms a ball
3. Roll out pie crust into a large, rough circle
4. Mix apples, sugar, cinnamon and lemon peel in a bowl. Arrange apple mixture in center of pie crust. Fold edges over apple mixture, making pleats around the outside. (Note: I used an excess of cinnamon because I think it is wonderful. The prescribed 2 tsps however is a reasonable amount.)
5. Brush pie dough with egg. Bake 20-30 minutes or until crust is golden and apples have lost some of their crunch.