Episode 2: Mom's OK!

Bootie learned to make this because it is one of her husband's favorite desserts. And it's really not as hard as the impressive results would suggest. You're basically cooking apples in butter and sugar on the stove top, covering it with a pie crust, baking the whole thing in the oven and then flipping it so the apples are on top. The genius is that because the crust gets baked on top of the apples, no more soggy bottom!

​Tarte Tatin Recipe:

For dough:

1 cup flour

½ teaspoon salt

5 T unsalted cold butter

cold water

Mix the flour and salt together. Cut in the butter until it’s pea sized (I use a pastry cutter). Add some cold water, a few T at a time—just enough to make a pâte brisée (fancy French word for a pie dough). Wrap it in saran wrap or put it in a covered dish and refrigerate it for at least an hour.

​@5 apples (Fuji or Honeycrisp), peeled and cored

1/2 cup sugar (you can use a little more if you are user a tarter apple like Honeycrisp)

5 T unsalted butter

​Preheat the oven to 375. Cut the apples into fourths (save a half apple for the middle). Melt the butter in a large skillet and add the sugar. Cook it at medium heat until the sugar melts and forms white bubbles. Remove it from the heat and arrange the apples in the pan like the petals of a flower. Squeeze in as many apples as possible. Cook the apples on medium heat without stirring until the caramel is a deep brown (about the color of peanut butter). Remove it from the heat. Roll out the dough and cut holes for venting. Place the dough on top of the apples. If your frying pan has a wooden or plastic handle, wrap it in heavy duty aluminum foil several times. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, until golden. Allow the pan to sit for one minute (so it stops bubbling). Place a plate on top of the pan, take a breath and turn it over. Can be served with ice cream or whipped cream.