Rustic Apple Cookies

Name: Rustic Apple Cookies
Prep time: 120 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 140 min
Yield: 9
Ingredients: Whole grain flour 2 ½ cups; Brown sugar ½ cup; Butter cold ½ cup; Egg whites 2.5 oz; Acacia honey 1.4 tbsp; Vanilla bean ½; Powdered yeast for sweets ½ tsp; Fine salt ½ tsp; Royal Gala apples 2; Nut flour ¼ cup; Almond flour ¼ cup; Hazelnuts ¼ cup; Orange juice ¼ cup; Brown sugar 2 tbsp; Cinnamon powder ½ tsp; Eggs 1; Brown sugar to taste

Vegetarian

Difficulty: Average
Prep time: 2 h
Cook time: 20 min
Makes: 9 pezzi
Note + the resting time for the shortcrust pastry

PRESENTATION

There are aromas and flavors that remain etched in the mind and heart. At the first taste, you close your eyes and are transported to childhood places, within the walls of grandparents' house, in the countryside or by the fireplace. This happens when savoring rustic apple cookies, sweet treats of crumbly pastry with acacia honey that enclose a luscious filling of sweet apples, whole hazelnuts, and cinnamon. A small moment of pleasure to enjoy with coffee or a good tea. Rustic apple cookies will also delight you at breakfast.

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients for 9 cookies: Whole grain flour 2 ½ cups (300 g); Brown sugar ½ cup (100 g); Butter ½ cup (100 g) - cold; Egg whites 2.5 oz (70 g); Acacia honey 1.4 tbsp (20 g); Vanilla bean ½; Powdered yeast for sweets ½ tsp (3 g); Fine salt ½ tsp (3 g)

for filling: Royal Gala apples 2; Nut flour ¼ cup (30 g); Almond flour ¼ cup (30 g); Hazelnuts ¼ cup (30 g); Orange juice ¼ cup (50 g); Brown sugar 2 tbsp (30 g); Cinnamon powder ½ tsp

for brushing and garnishing: Eggs 1; Brown sugar to taste

Preparation

How to prepare Rustic Apple Cookies

To prepare rustic apple cookies, start with the pastry: in a stand mixer, add the brown sugar and cold butter in pieces 1. Also, add the pinch of salt 2 and the acacia honey 3

and mix with the paddle attachment of the stand mixer until all the ingredients are blended. Add the egg whites 4, the seeds of half a vanilla pod 5, and mix again for about 1-2 minutes. Finally, add the flour and baking powder 6

and mix until you get a uniform and compact dough 7. Transfer it to a work surface, compact it, and wrap it in plastic wrap (8-9). Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Prepare the filling: wash and cut the apples first in half 10 and then into wedges, then remove the core and seeds and cut them into slices 11. Put the apples in a pan with the sugar and cinnamon 12,

also pour in the orange juice 13 and cook with the lid on for about 5 minutes. Once ready, transfer them to a mixer along with the hazelnut flour 14 and almond flour 15

and blend for a few seconds to create a homogeneous mixture 16. Coarsely chop the hazelnuts and add them to the obtained mixture in a bowl 17, mix 18, and transfer the filling to a piping bag.

Take the pastry, remove the plastic wrap, lightly dust the work surface, and roll out the dough with a rolling pin 19 to form a 12x12 inch square. Trim the edges to give the correct size, then cut the square into 3 strips 4 inches wide 20. With the piping bag, make a strip of filling along the long side of each pastry strip 21.

Roll the pastry to cover the filling until completely sealed, forming 3 rolls 22. Let them rest in the refrigerator for 5 minutes. Then cut each roll into 3 pieces 4 inches long each 23 and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper 24.

Brush each cookie with beaten egg 25 and sprinkle with brown sugar 26. Bake the rustic apple cookies in a preheated fan oven at 350°F on the middle rack for about 20 minutes. Once ready, remove from the oven 27 and let your rustic apple cookies cool slightly before serving!