'Cheat' On Thanksgiving Desserts!

Tori Ritchie Has Tips To Prepare Delicious Pies In A Jiffy!

(CBS)  Dessert is an important part of Thanksgiving dinner, and can be a time-consuming one, as well.

But you don't have to spend hours preparing delicious desserts for your table.

On The Early Show Friday, cookbook author and cooking teacher Tori Ritchie wrapped up a weeklong series on Thanksgiving with ideas for quick and easy-to-make "cheater" pies.

Ritchie was in the flagship store in Manhattan of specialty home furnishings retailer and Early Show partner Williams-Sonoma.

She suggested "free-form" apple tarts, then dressed up store-bought pies with flavored whipped cream and pastry cutouts.

"FREE-FORM" APPLE TARTS

Ritchie calls "free-form" apple tart "a crust-a-phobia's dream" because there is no complicated fitting and fluting of the pastry; you don't even use a pie pan!

Instead, you make or buy a pastry crust and roll it out in a rough circle on a rimless baking sheet.
The filling is a traditional mixture of apples, sugar and cinnamon and an unusual addition: apple cider. You reduce the cider down to a thicker, concentrated mixture, then pour it over the apples. This adds a real depth of flavor to the tart.

Simply pour the filling into the middle of the crust, roughly fold the dough up around the filling, brush with a little cream, and bake. It really couldn't be easier.

Recipe

Free-Form Apple Tart

For the dough:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1⁄3 cup granulated sugar
11⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
16 Tbs. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces
1⁄3 to 1⁄2 cup ice water

For the filling:
1 cup apple cider, fresh or from concentrate*
3 Tbs. granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of kosher salt
4 Fuji apples, about 2 lb. total, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2 Tbs. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Heavy cream for brushing dough
11⁄2 Tbs. Demerara* or other coarse sugar
Vanilla ice cream for serving

To make the dough, in a food processor, combine the flour, granulated sugar and salt and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until pea-size crumbs form. Add the 1⁄3 cup ice water and pulse twice. The dough should hold together when squeezed with your fingers but should not be sticky. If it is crumbly, add more water, 1 Tbs. at a time, pulsing twice after each addition. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and shape into a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.

To make the filling, in a 1- to 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the apple cider to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the cider is reduced to 1⁄4 cup, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and let cool to room temperature. The cider can be covered and refrigerated for up to 5 days.

Preheat an oven to 400°F.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 14-inch round about 1⁄8 inch thick. Transfer to a baking sheet and refrigerate while you finish preparing the filling. In a small bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, cinnamon and salt. In a large bowl, combine the apples and the sugar mixture and stir to coat. Drizzle the apple cider over the apples and stir to coat.
Remove the tart dough from the refrigerator. Arrange the apple mixture in the center of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Dot the surface of the apples with the butter. Gently fold the edges of the dough up and over the apples, pleating loosely and leaving the tart open in the center; take care not to mash the fruit. If the dough starts to crack as you are folding it, let stand at room temperature until it is pliable enough to fold. Refrigerate the tart for 15 minutes. Brush the dough with cream and sprinkle with the Demerara sugar. Bake until the tart is golden brown and the edges are crispy, 35 to 40 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for at least 15 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Serves 8.

WHIPPED CREAM & PASTRY CUTOUTS

If you're truly pressed for time, you can easily dress up a store-bought pie.

The first thing to consider is flavored whipped cream. Most people know you can add vanilla to your cream before whipping, but you can also add a dash of maple syrup. This is particularly yummy on pecan pie. If you've already whipped your cream, or you're using store-bought whipped cream, try sprinkling it with cinnamon. That would be a nice accompaniment to pumpkin pie.

Your pie will truly look special if you pipe the cream on with a pastry bag.

Ritchie also suggests making those fancy-looking pastry leaves that are sometimes on purchased pies. You can simply buy small cookie cutters and cut the shapes you want out of pie crust dough. Be sure you don't buy puff pastry dough, though. Ritchie suggests using a paring knife to make veins and other details on the leaves before baking. Pop them in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

There are no recipes, as such, for the whipped cream/pastry cutouts.