Rainy Day Bake-Off

Didn't have a need to make a bento yesterday (Mother's Day) or today. Art Guy did make a Mexican Dinner for me last night though. It was fajitas, frijoles y arroz, and horcata.




A thunderstorm rolled in unexpectedly last night, and today has been mostly overcast with some drizzling rain here and there. I don't work till this evening so I decided to make something that incorporated the bushel of apples I acquired last week. The result: Little Apple Pizza's or Pies (or whatever you wish to call them!) I designed them to be bento-sized, so you could make them bigger if you want. It's a cute, sweet little something that could fit in your lunch box, so enjoy!



Little Apple Somethings (Adapted from My First Cookbook by Rena Coyle)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
10 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold water

2 apples
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon sugar
dash or two of lemon juice

1. Place flour and butter in a mixing bowl. Blend the butter into the flour using a pastry cutter, fork & knife, your fingers, or any method that seems to work for you. http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Pastry_Blender

2. Add the sugar and salt to the flour mixture and mix well. Slowly at the cold water and mix till the dough starts to hold together. Transfer the dough to a clean, floured surface.

3. Knead the dough for 5 minutes by pressing the dough away from you, fold the top of it back towards you, turn the dough a quarter turn to your right or left, and repeat. If the dough starts to stick, sprinkle some more flour on the surface and on your hands.

4. Divide the dough in half and roll it out till the dough is about a 1/4 inch thick. Cut out circles with a cookie cutter or a cup (mine are 3 inches in diameter), and transfer to a cookie sheet.

5. Using an apple corer, remove the core and slice the apples. Keep the slices about 1/4 inch thick. Divide the individual slices into thirds, cutting at an angle. Place the apples, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice in a bowl and stir till the apples are evenly coated.

6. Arrange the apple pieces on the dough circles (about 4 pieces per circle), and place the cookie sheets in a 375 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. When the bottoms turn golden brown, they are done.

7. Remove from pan, cool, and eat!

Note: I rarely every follow a recipe exactly...I usually use it as a guide and go from there. So if you don't like alot of cinnamon or prefer more sugar on the apples, feel free to change the amounts. I usually just sprinkle it till I like how it looks. I also do most of my baking on stoneware because its less likely to overbrown and it cooks more evenly. Feel free to experiment and be creative!