​For the galette dough-
 
2½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
8 oz. (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into ½” pieces
⅔ cup ice water (you may  not need all of the ice water)
 
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, the sugar, and salt. Using a bench scraper, work the cold butter pieces into the flour until you  have some small pieces of butter and some no larger than a pea. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of ice water over the dough, tossing the mixture with your fingers. Add just enough additional water so the dough is moist enough to stick together. Gather the dough and divide it in half; shape each half into a disc. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour before rolling out.
 
On a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, roll out one disc of dough into a rectangle, approximately 12” x 14”. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate while you prepare the filling. (If you wish to decorate the galette with cut-outs or braided dough, roll out the second disc of dough on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, into a circle about 12” in diameter. Use cookie cutters or a pie crimper to cut out shapes or strips for a braid. Refrigerate the cut-outs/strips while you prepare the filling. If you are not going to use the second disc of dough, you can freeze it for another time.)
 
For the filling-
        
1 generous cup sweet cherries, stems removed and pitted
2 lbs. ripe but firm pears, peeled, cored, cut into ½” thick slices
(you should have 4 cups of pear slices)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice      
¼ cup dark brown sugar
1-2 tablespoons sugar, depending on the sweetness of the pears
¼ teaspoon cardamom
pinch of salt     
2 tablespoons cornstarch
½ vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped with the tip of a knife
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
 
egg wash made from 1 egg yolk blended with 2 tablespoons cream or milk
sanding sugar for sprinkling
 
Peel and core the pears, cut into ½” slices and place in a
large bowl. Add the lemon juice to the pears. In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cardamom, salt, cornstarch and vanilla bean seeds. Gently toss the pears with the sugar/spice mixture. In a separate bowl, place the cherries.
 
To Assemble the Galette-
 
Retrieve the rectangle of dough from the refrigerator. Leaving a 2” border, fan the pear slices over the dough, leaving the center open for the cherries. Toss the cherries with the sugar mixture and juices remaining in the bowl from the pears. Spread the cherries over the center of the galette. Sprinkle the fruit with pieces of butter. Fold the uncovered border of dough up over the filling, letting the dough pleat slightly as you lift it. Work your way all around the galette. Brush the edge of the pastry with egg wash. If you are adding decorative cut-outs to the edge, retrieve them from the refrigerator and place them as you wish, being careful not to place them on the filling. Brush with additional egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Place the galette on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 20 minutes before baking to help set the dough.
 
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
 
Bake the galette on the bottom rack of the pre-heated 400 degree F oven for 30 minutes. Move the galette to the middle rack of the oven and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, covering the edges with aluminum foil strips if they are getting too brown. The fruit should be tender and bubble slightly around the edges. Cool the galette on a rack before slicing.
              

​makes 1 double crust 9” pie
 
For the Pastry-

(From  bake from scratch)
 
6 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup ice cold water plus an additional 3 or 4 tablespoons if needed
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
1½ tablespoons ground cinnamon combined with ½ cup sugar
 
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon maple sugar for sprinkling the top crust (available through King Arthur Flour and in specialty supermarkets)
 
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, combine flour, 1 cup sugar, and salt. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse just until the mixture is crumbly with pea-sized pieces of butter visible. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Gradually add the cold water, a few tablespoons at a time, tossing with a fork. Add just enough cold water to form a soft, shaggy dough. Gather the dough together, divide in half and shape into two discs. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.
 
On a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, roll out one circle of dough into a rectangle measuring 17” in length x 10½” in width. Spread the dough evenly with 2 tablespoons of the room temperature butter. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar mixture, reserving the other half for the second portion of dough. (If the dough begins to soften, slide it onto a baking sheet and refrigerate for about 10 minutes.) Using the parchment paper to lift the dough, roll the dough into a tight cylinder, starting with the 17” side. Wrap the cylinder in plastic wrap and place in freezer for at least one hour.  Retrieve the second half of dough from the fridge and repeat; roll the dough on a lightly floured sheet of parchment into a rectangle, spread with remaining butter and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar mixture. Roll into a tight cylinder, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze with the first portion of dough. When the dough is solid, remove one cylinder of dough from the freezer and use a sharp knife to slice into ½” pieces. Places the slices closely together on a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper. Make sure the edges touch. Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap and gently roll the pieces with a rolling pin to create a 12” circle. (Don’t over-roll the dough or you will lose the spiral design.) Place the parchment with the 12” circle of dough back into the refrigerator. Retrieve the second cylinder of dough from the freezer and repeat the process, slicing ½” pieces and creating a 12” circle of dough for the top crust. Return the top crust to the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
 
Blueberry Maple filling-
 
3½ pints (7 cups) blueberries, rinsed, stems removed, dried on paper towels
¾ cup granulated sugar
3-4 tablespoons good-quality maple syrup, depending on the sweetness/tartness of  berries
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons cornstarch
 
Reserve 1 cup of berries and set aside. In a large bowl, mix 6 cups of the berries, sugar, maple syrup, zest, juice, cinnamon, and cornstarch. Transfer the mixture to a heavy bottomed saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly to keep the mixture from scorching. When the mixture thickens, remove from the heat, scrape it into a large bowl and stir in the reserved 1 cup of berries. Let the filling cool completely. Be patient; if it’s warm when you pour it over the bottom crust, it will melt the pastry.
 
Retrieve one 12” circle of dough from the refrigerator. Carefully transfer the dough into a 9” deep dish pie plate by removing the plastic wrap from the top of the dough and carefully turning/flipping the crust into the pie plate. Peel back the parchment paper from the dough and use your fingers to smooth the bottom crust across the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. Trim any excess leaving a 1” edge. Turn the edge under and crimp. Return the crust to the refrigerator while the filling cools, at least half an hour.
 
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Retrieve the bottom crust and the second 12” circle of dough from the refrigerator. Pour the cooled blueberry filling into the pie plate. Carefully place the top crust over the fruit, seal the edges, and crimp decoratively. Brush the top crust with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the maple sugar. (If you don’t have maple sugar you can substitute Sugar in the Raw.) Place the pie on a parchment lined baking sheet and place it in the freezer for 15 minutes. This helps the pastry to set up. Remove the pie from the freezer Cover the edges of the pie with strips of aluminum foil. Place the pie on the bottom rack of the preheated oven. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 45-50 minutes, removing the aluminum foil strips, until the pie is bubbling around the edges and in the center. Set on a rack to cool for at least 3 hours before slicing.

(adapted from Bernard Clayton)
 
makes one 9” tart
 
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup granulated sugar
pinch salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
pinch cloves
1 cup finely ground almonds
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 cup (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter cut into ½” pieces
4 egg yolks
1 tablespoon Lillet
 
In a small bowl, use a fork to combine the egg yolks and Lillet. Set aside. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, place the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, cloves, almonds, and zest. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the cold butter pieces and pulse three or four times just until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Turn the mixture out into a large mixing bowl. Use a fork to add the egg yolks and Lillet to the flour mixture. Toss to combine; gather the mixture together and shape into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour before rolling out. On a lightly floured sheet of parchment paper, roll out the dough into a circle about 12” in diameter and ⅛” thick. (If the dough becomes soft or sticky, return it to the fridge for 10 minutes.) Carefully place the dough into the tart pan, smoothing the pastry evenly along the bottom and up the sides. Trim the excess dough leaving a 1” overhang. Turn the overhang back into the edge of the tart pan, pressing it with your fingers to create a border. Place the pan with the pastry into the freezer to firm up. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line the cold tart shell with parchment paper and dried beans. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Carefully remove the parchment and beans. Prick the bottom of the tart shell with a fork. Return the tart shell to the oven, baking for an additional 10-12 minutes until the bottom crust is golden and fully baked. (The tart shell will be fragrant and golden, similar to a linzer cookie.) Set aside on a rack to cool.
 
Lillet-poached White Peaches and Nectarines
 
3 medium white peaches, rinsed
3 medium white nectarines, rinsed
1 bottle (750-ml) Lillet Blanc (reserve one tablespoon for the cream filling)
1 cup water
⅓ cup sugar
2 tablespoons honey
zest and juice from one small orange
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped with the tip of a small paring knife
 
(Note: I leave the skin on the fruit when poaching because it gives it a lovely rosy color. The skin is easy to peel off just before you assemble the tart.)
 
Place the peaches and nectarines in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the Lillet, water, sugar, honey, orange zest, juice, and vanilla bean seeds. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cover the peaches with a circle of parchment that fits inside the saucepan, covering the fruit completely. Place a small plate or lid to keep the fruit submerged. Poach the peaches and nectarines just until they are tender, about 10-15 minutes. The poaching time will depend on how ripe the fruit is; don’t overcook them. Remove the fruit using a large slotted spoon and set them in a bowl to cool. Reduce the remaining poaching liquid over low heat until thick and syrupy, about 8 minutes. Let the fruit and the reduced poaching liquid cool completely; cover and refrigerate them separately.
 
Cream filling-
 
3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
½ teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon orange juice
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon Lillet (reserved from above)
 
½ cup sliced almonds for garnish
½ apricot preserves and 2 tablespoons reduced poaching liquid, heated until combined then cooled
 
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add the heavy cream, confectioners’ sugar, zest, juice, extracts, and Lillet. Beat until the mixture is the consistency of thickly whipped cream. Cover and refrigerate.
 
Retrieve the cooled, poached fruit from the refrigerator. Carefully peel the fruit, then use a paring knife to halve the fruit and remove the pits. Place a double thickness of paper towels on a baking sheet. Set the halved, pitted fruit on the paper towels to drain a bit. Retrieve the cream filling from the refrigerator. Use an offset spatula to spread the cream filling over the Linzer tart shell. Starting in the center of the tart, place the peach and nectarine halves over the cream filling. Brush a little of the apricot ‘glaze’ over the fruit and garnish the outside edge of the tart with the sliced almonds. Cover the tart loosely with aluminum foil and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Refrigerate any leftovers. (The reserved poaching liquid is stellar  in cocktails.)