The Best of Fine Cooking — Real Italian 2017

FoR The Dough

71/2 oz. (1 2/3 cups) unbleached

all-purpose flour

33/4 oz. (3/4 cup) whole-wheat flour

1/4 cup plus 1/2 Tbs. granulated sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

9 oz. (1 cup plus 2 Tbs.) cold unsalted

butter, cut into small pieces

FoR The FilliNg

3/4 lb. small fresh figs (preferably brown

Turkey), quartered (about 2 cups)

6 oz. fresh raspberries (11/2 cups)

1/3 cup plus 2 Tbs. granulated sugar

3 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. honey

1 Tbs. fresh thyme, roughly chopped

2 tsp. finely grated orange zest

3 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. graham cracker crumbs

1 oz. (2 Tbs.) cold unsalted butter, cut into

10 thin slices

11/2 Tbs. heavy cream

mAke The Dough

Put the flours, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in

a food processor. add the butter and pulse

in short bursts until the mixture resembles

coarse meal. add 3 Tbs. cold water and pulse.

If the mixture seems dry, add water 1 Tbs. at

a time, pulsing until the dough just starts to

come together. Do not overprocess. Turn the

dough out onto a clean work surface, gather

it together, and portion it into ten 21/2-oz.

rounds. Flatten them into disks, wrap indi-

vidually in plastic, and refrigerate for at least

2 hours and up to 3 days.

When ready to bake, position racks in the

bottom and top thirds of the oven and heat

the oven to 400°F. line 2 large rimmed baking

sheets with parchment.

On a lightly floured surface with a lightly

floured rolling pin, roll each dough disk into a

51/2-inch round that’s about 1/8 inch thick. Put

5 rounds on each baking sheet.

mAke The FilliNg

In a medium bowl, lightly toss the figs, rasp-

berries, 1/3 cup of the sugar, the honey, thyme,

and orange zest until combined.

ASSemble AND bAke The cRoSTATAS

Sprinkle each round of dough with 1 tsp. gra-

ham cracker crumbs, leaving a 1/2-inch border.

Put a generous 1/4 cup of the fig mixture in the

center of each dough round, mounding the

fruit. Top each tart with a butter slice.

Fold the edges of the dough over some

of the fruit to create a 1-inch rim, leaving the

center exposed. Work your way around, pleat-

ing the dough as you go. With a pastry brush,

brush the crust of each crostata with cream

and sprinkle the crusts and filling with the

remaining 2 Tbs. sugar.

Bake until the crostatas are golden brown,

30 to 35 minutes, swapping and rotating

the baking sheets’ positions about halfway

through baking.

Transfer the baking sheets to racks to

cool for about 5 minutes. Then loosen the

crostatas with an offset spatula and let cool

completely on the sheets. The crostatas are

best the day they’re made.

rustic fig and raspberry mini crostatas

An inspired combination of figs, raspberries, fresh thyme, orange zest, and

honey makes these Italian-style pies an unexpected change from the familiar.

Yields 10

desserts