I have a confession to make: I am terrified of making pie crusts. I have experienced enough total fails to realize that pie crust is not my forte. So what is a person with a surplus of apples, who cannot make a pie crust but wants the taste of apple pie, to do? Why make an apple crostata of course! While I do make a homemade dough for the crostata, I don't have to worry about getting it from the rolling surface into the pan without ruining it, and the free form nature of the crostata lends itself well to imperfections.

I use Ina Garten's recipe with a few of my own modifications. Here's the recipe:

For the pastry:

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated or superfine sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 pound (1 stick) very cold unsalted butter, diced
2 tablespoons ice water

For the filling:

1 1/2 pounds McIntosh, Macoun, or Empire apples (3 large)
1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup granulated or superfine sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Directions

For the pastry, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse 12 to 15 times, or until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water all at once through the feed tube. Keep hitting the pulse button to combine, but stop the machine just before the dough becomes a solid mass. Turn the dough onto a well-floured board and form into a disk. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Flour a rolling pin and roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to a baking sheet.
For the filling, peel, core, and cut the apples into 8ths. Cut each wedge into 3 chunks. Toss the chunks with the orange zest. Cover the tart dough with the apple chunks leaving a 1 1/2-inch border.
Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and allspice in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts holding together. Sprinkle evenly on the apples. Gently fold the border over the apples to enclose the dough, pleating it to make a circle.
Bake the crostata for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden and the apples are tender. Allow to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I've been making these for years, and have some suggested tips/modifications:

I use whatever apples I have on hand. This year I had a bunch of different apples from multiple CSA deliveries and used a combination of these for the fillings.
I dice the butter and then put it in a ramekin in the freezer for about 20 minutes so it is very cold when I am ready to make the pastry.
I toss the apples with a little sugar (1-2 T) along with the orange zest to provide a little more sweetness.
I brush the sections of pasty that have been folded over the filling (essentially the "top") with an egg wash so that it gets nice and golden-brown.
I serve this warm with vanilla ice cream but I think a salted caramel might also be tasty.

If you are sitting on a mountain of apples and applesauce is not on your agenda, I highly recommend giving the Apple Crostata a try!