One Of Bobby Flay's Favorite Fall Desserts Is An Italian Twist On An Apple Pie

Once fall rolls around and the temperature turns crisp, we might not exactly eschew frozen treats like ice cream, but we may start pairing them with more autumnal desserts like seasonal pies and the like. Apple is the obvious American classic, but even that old standard merits an occasional zag. And celebrity chef Bobby Flay's apple crostata, his take on the Italian baked good, presents something just a little different, whether you're still incorporating some of those summery sweets or not.

"My kind of fall dessert," reads a post on Flay's Instagram page. The caption refers, of course, to the crostata, pictured on the platform with beautifully browned, sliced apples obscured only by a dusting of spices, all atop a lovely golden base. Those spices include the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and clove that you might expect from your typical pie, but with flecks of these flavorful spices you can actually see without the usual crowning layer of flaky pastry. The absence of that topper might, at first, seem like the chief difference between a pie and a crostata, but the crust diverges, too. 

The crostata's base often presents more like a cookie than the traditional pie encasement. Crostatas are also famously a little more forgiving than more labor-intensive pies. "[My] tarts, pies and cakes are going to have that "rustic" look no matter what ... a crostata is supposed to feel that way so it's my go-to move," Flay's post reads. And even folks who have yet to attain Food Network star status might enjoy a similarly delightful crostata.

An apple crostata conceptually similar to the one posted on Bobby Flay's Instagram account was previously published by Misfits Market, the online grocer where he once served as chef-in-residence. That version adds a twist by incorporating buttermilk into the dough. Crostata dough also typically contains ingredients like flour, sugar, salt, butter, and eggs. Once you've mastered the crumbly, cookie-like crust, you can start playing around with the filling.

Braeburn, Honeycrisp, and Pink Lady apples are all great in baked applications. You'll generally want to peel and cut them into fairly thin, uniform slices for a crostata. Once they're spiced and sweetened to your liking, you'll roll the dough into an approximate circle shape on a baking sheet and arrange the fruit in the center, leaving a couple of inches uncovered around the dough's outer edge. Part of a crostata's appeal is its rustic appearance, so feel free to arrange the apple slices as neatly or chaotically as you please. After about 45 minutes in an oven set to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, your crostata will be ready to eat. Flay's buttermilk version is even topped with vanilla ice cream. Not a bad idea.