Easy and Elegant Strawberry Galette

This versatile Strawberry Galette recipe is so easy it can be whipped up in just a few minutes yet it is also elegant enough to serve to dinner guests. A galette is basically just a free form pie and I've made the recipe even easier by using premade refrigerated pie crusts. Just cut, fill and bake! Of course, you are welcome to use your favorite homemade pie crust recipe if you like...

In addition to being easy, this recipe can be customized to suit your taste by using the fresh fruit of your choice - apples and pears in the Fall, peaches, blueberries, blackberries or raspberries during the Summer. You can even mix different fruit combinations. I happen to love the combination of peaches and blueberries. Whatever fruit you choose, you will love this delicious and easy recipe.

Easy and Elegant Strawberry Galette
Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 box refrigerated pie crust, brought to room temperature per the package instructions
15-17 strawberries sliced lengthwise (amount will depend upont their size)
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine the 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, Set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pie crusts. Using a bowl as your guide (mine was 6" diameter), cut into circles. You should get about 3 per crust. Place on the prepared baking sheet, evenly spaced apart.

Place the sliced strawberries in a bowl. Sprinkle the 4 tablespoons of sugar and cornstarch over the strawberries and stir lightly to combine.

Arrange the strawberry mixture in the center of each circle of pie crust, diving evenly between the crusts. I try to put the larger slices on the bottom and the smaller slices towards the top. Gather and pleat the edges of the pie crust to create a raised border around the fruit.

Lightly brush the border with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the sugar/cinnamon mixture.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Garnish with fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream if desired. Enjoy!

Note: Adjust the amount of sugar depending upon how sweet your fruit is. If you only want to make 3 Galettes, just half the recipe and use only one sheet of pie dough. Save the other sheet of pie dough for another use (or use it to make cute cut outs to top your Galette before baking). To add an elegant touch and shiny gloss to your filling, warm up a little apricot or red current jam and lightly brush on top of the filling when you remove the galettes from the oven.