We already know that I am not a pie person, but under extreme circumstances I can be arm-wrestled into making one.

Although, I would probably win most arm-wrestling matches these days (excepting any matches against large fit males). Whether this is real or not, I feel like my arms are POPPING thanks to Livefit. In a good and bad way. I feel strong. I also feel like I’m starting to look like this. Not really. She’s way more fit than I will ever be.

But I digress. So I made pie crust for that vegetarian pot pie (only because it was easy and didn’t require butter massaging), but I have a few more pies planned for next week. And I had major pie scraps from pot pie #1. When you make pies, do you ever use up all your pie crust? This question needs an answer.

The last time I made a legitimate pate brisee pie, I also had quite a bit of leftover dough. I made some of these precious things with it, but I hear leftover dough also makes winning little cookies rolled out, cut and dusted with cinnamon-sugar, or just sugar, or a bit of egg and sugar, or glazed after being baked.

Here’s one more idea for the books: a super simple free-form pie, or galette, that just requires the dough, an apple, and a sprinkling of sugar. Plus HEALTHY CARAMEL. Making the caramel requires just 5 minutes more work than the rolling and chopping, and I think it’s really worth it.

Doesn’t it look so rustic?? That’s because it’s literally just a matter of rolling, slicing, placing, sprinkling and baking. And then eating!! So after making a pie, not only will you have a beautiful gorgeous whole pie (you genius, you), you’ll also have a bonus delicious, rustic mini tart. I ate the entire thing.

Moral of the story: when you’re baking pies this coming week, use that crust to make a mini pie for yourself. And eat it all. Because fruit.

Also: don’t arm-wrestle large men. (PS. On my tenth rep of benching at the gym this morning, I failed (i.e. could not lift the bar up from my chest) and one of said large men thankfully rescued me before I crushed myself. Twas embarrassing, but I was comforted to see that the kindness of human beings is still alive and well at 7 a.m.)

Notes

This makes a very good companion recipe to pretty much any pie recipe, but to make this the main attraction, you could make a whole batch of vegan pie dough and make either a whole bunch of small galettes or a few larger ones. I would guess that the cooking time should remain about the same as long as you slice the apples thinly and roll out the dough to the same thickness.

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Leftover Dough Apple Galette

Ingredients

Leftover pie dough preferably vegan
1 small Granny Smith apple sliced thin
Turbinado sugar and non-dairy milk for topping
Date caramel Try this or this

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees (any other temperature should work if you’re baking a pie at the same time).
On a piece of parchment or wax paper, roll out the crust into a rough circle until very thin, about 1/8-inch. Transfer the crust to a baking sheet and arrange the apple slices in an overlapping circle on top of the crust, leaving a ¾-inch border of plain crust all around. Fold the crust over the apples to form the galette.
Brush the crust with a little milk and sprinkle with sugar—maybe ½ a teaspoon. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the apples start to look dry and browned around the edges.
While the crust is baking, make the date caramel. Check on the galette. If you poke it, the apples should feel soft and dry to the touch. Remove the baking sheet and brush the apples with the caramel. Return to the oven and bake for another 5-10 minutes.
If you’re only making one tart, you will have leftover caramel (eat it in parfaits, spread it on bread, dump it into whatever other pie you’re making—I’m sure you’ll find a use for it).