A rustic fall crostata, or open-faced fruit tart, featuring a flaky, cinnamon crust and filled with brown sugar and fresh apples. It’s perfect topped with a simple, homemade molasses glaze and vanilla ice cream.

This recipe is sponsored by B&G Foods, Inc as a part of their #bakingathome and #cookwithcrisco campaign. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the businesses who support Gathered At My Table!

It’s officially fall. The leaves are turning from emerald greens to deep oranges and reds, the temperature is beginning to drop and we’re heading inside to sit by the fire with warm bowls of soup, and I’m baking. I’m baking cookies and cakes, breads and brownies, and of course, I’m tucking the last of my orchard apples into dough.

This week, I’m sharing a super simple recipe for this rustic spiced apple crostata featuring Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening, Spice Islands® Ground Saigon Cinnamon, and Grandma’s® Molasses. It features a flaky, cinnamon-spiced crust, filled with brown sugar and apples and finished with a sweet molasses glaze and it’s just one of the coziest recipes you’ll make this fall!

what is a crostata?

A crostata is the Italian term for an open-faced fruit tart. You’ve probably more familiar with the French translation, galette, but they are the same thing. A sheet of flaky pie dough, filled with some sort of fruit or produce, and then edges are folded up and around the filling to create a little crust barrier and hold all of the fruit inside. I love making galettes and crostatas because they are SO VERSATILE. You can fill them with anything you want—sweet or savory—, they are quick and easy to make, and the rustic, free-form shape is sure to make an impression at your table.

the crust

For this recipe, I slightly adapted my basic pie dough to create an ultra-flaky cinnamon spiced crust. I used flour, a little sugar, and replaced half of the butter with Crisco All-Vegetable Shortening. Shortening is made up of 100% fat while butter is made up of 80% fat and 20% water. Shortening also has a higher melting point, which helps prevent spread and contributes to rise in baked goods. In this recipe, it makes for extra flaky layers plus is a plant-based fat which is helpful when baking for friends with differing dietary restrictions. I also swirled in some Spice Islands Ground Saigon Cinnamon for an added cozy flavor.

ingredients you need to make this spiced apple crostata:

• Flour. It’s the base of all our baked goods and we’re using regular, all-purpose, unbleached flour for this recipe.

• Sugar. For just a little added sweetness, we’re using just 2 tsp of granulate sugar.

• Salt. Always salt. It helps to balance the sweetness and draw out the other flavors in the dish.

• Spice Islands Ground Saigon Cinnamon. High-quality, finely-ground cinnamon for that warm fall flavor. Find it here.

• Crisco All-Vegetable Shortening. A 100% plant-based fat, shortening is the key to our super flaky crust. Get it here.

• Butter. I use a little bit of unsalted butter in partnership with the shortening in this recipe for a bit of added flavor. If you’re making this recipe completely plant-based, you can omit the butter and replace it with more shortening.

• Ice Water. Cold ice water helps moisten the pie dough, hydrate the flour, and bind everything together. We just use 3-4 tbsp, until the dough begins to come together.

• Brown Sugar. A thin layer of brown sugar at the base of the crostata creates a bubbly caramel bed for the apples.

• Apples. I used a mix of different types of apples found at my local apple orchard. Use your favorite type of apple, or a mix, very thinly sliced.

• Grandma’s® Molasses. Unsulfured, preservative-free molasses makes for a sweet, somewhat smoky glaze. Get it here.

• Powdered Sugar. You’ll need 1/4 cup for this recipe.

• Heavy Cream. Just a splash or two to loosen the glaze.