Super Quick Cherry Galette

Let’s face it- we’re all busy. We want to eat healthy and watch the ingredients in our food products for safety and for their halal factor, but it isn’t always possible to do absolutely everything from scratch, nor is it practical for most people. I’ll be the first one to say that it used to be a huge stress on my mind to want so much to make pleasing baked goods for family gatherings or visits to friends’ homes, but no time to do it. It helps to know that there are more and more wonderful vendors of great, high-quality products that meet halal standards which help us put together a nice, somewhat homemade gift or simply a treat for yourself at home.

I love this super quick cherry galette recipe because I’m tied to the memory of buying the cherries on a wonderful weekend getaway to Door County, Wisconsin. Fresh cherry season was over, but it seemed as though the entire county got busy dried and preserving these bursting red, tart cherries. I checked around to a lot of the local shops to see which one had the least amount of extra ingredients and make sure that fruit pectin was used before buying a jar of preserved cherries. My thoughts were that someday down the line this Fall, I would love to warm up the house with a cherry pie or galette, even if I had to purchase a good quality pie crust, even though I normally make my own.

What makes this galette (or, what I like to call a pie with an overlapping crust) so nice is that you really don’t have much to make ahead of time as long as you have preserved cherries and ready-made pie crust defrosted. Perfect for unexpected guests or for dessert when you’re already busy putting together tons of other food for dinner (hint: perfect for ‘Eid gatherings).

First, you’ll need either your own homemade pie crust or a ready-made one.

Then you’ll need a jar of cherry pie filling (or any type of fruit filling as long as it’s about the same amount as in a jar like the one above)

You’ll roll out the dough as you would a homemade one, only a little bit wider because you’ll end up folding the edges way over the fruit filling, not crimp it like in a pie.  The pie filling is added to the center before folding it over.

*Note: Some people like to pre-bake the crust, but this particular recipe doesn’t require that. It’ll bake in a 350º F oven for about 35 minutes (checking the crust periodically to make sure it doesn’t burn).

I like to cover the crust with aluminum foil so the crust doesn’t burn before the rest of the pie or galette is done. It’s a good idea…

Et voila!

It really is that easy, and if you choose high quality ingredients (check your local farmers market for great pie fillings), you’ve got a great chance at making a lovely, almost-homemade dessert like this one.

Super Quick Cherry Galette

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 ready-made pie crust

1 jar cherry pie filling (preserved cherries)

raw cane sugar (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350º F.

Roll out the cold pastry dough a bit wider than you would for a pie crust.

Place the pastry dough into an ungreased round pie plate.

Add the cherry pie filling, then place the flaps of dough that is laying over the edges of the pie plate and fold them over the pie filling.

Sprinkle raw cane sugar on top of the entire pie (optional).

Cover the top of the pastry dough with aluminum foil. Place the pie plate on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven for about 35 minutes, removing the foil for the last ten minutes of baking.

Remove from heat and allow to cool completely before serving.