Saturday, January 7, 2012

Charmed Low Fat Apple Berry Tart

It’s that time of the year when lots of folks have eaten their share of rich, heavy foods and would like something a little lighter to nibble on. When you think of pies, the word “light” doesn’t often come to mind, but this one truly is. With only 170 calories a slice, 1.5 grams of fat, and the added benefit of protein and fiber, this tart might be just the treat you’ll want to fix yourself and not fear the scale afterward.

Ingredients:

3 medium apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (I used Honeycrisp, but it’s also fun to mix up the apples and use one Golden Delicious and 2 Granny Smith, for example)

1 pint of fresh raspberries, rinsed

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoon lemon juice

8 sheets phyllo dough (14-inch by 9-inch sheets)

butter-flavored cooking spray

cinnamon for sprinkling

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss apples slices and raspberries in a medium bowl with sugar and lemon juice. Meanwhile, remove eight sheets of phyllo dough from the pack. Lay the phyllo sheets on a clean work surface. Removing one sheet at a time and covering the remainder with plastic wrap or a damp paper towel, spray each sheet with butter-flavored cooking spray (I used Crisco spray), then lay sheet in a 9-inch pie dish, with the extra dough hanging over the edge. Repeat with remaining sheets, forming a circular pattern.

Add in the mixture of apple and raspberries, then bring up the sides of the dough and fold in, leaving a gap in the center. Spray with butter-flavored spray. Sprinkle cinnamon over the whole tart.

Bake for 30 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.

I have to confess that my enemy in the kitchen is phyllo dough. It ripped, tore, made holes, and basically drove me crazy, so if you end up using 16 sheets instead of 8, join the club. I’ve been avoiding phyllo dough all year because it always seems to defeat me, but in 2012 I vow to get the upper hand!

Do you have any food or cooking goals for the New Year?

9 comments:

  1. This sounds lovely! And don't feel to bad about the phyllo monster. It gets to us all. :-)

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  2. Somewhere out there, there are people who make phyllo dough by hand (I saw it on some cooking show). I think they're aliens. The stuff always crumbles when I try to use it.

    But easy is good, and apples are better!

    I think my lifelong goal is to find foods I've never eaten before and try them. There are still plenty waiting for me!

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  3. Wonderful recipe, Ellery, mostly fruit here, very healthy, and I'm up for the phyllo challenge, lol.

    Have a delicious weekend,
    ~ Cleo

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  4. I have phyllo issues too! This recipe sounds fantastic, and so easy too...aside from the demon phyllo!

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  5. Oh, yummy! My husband's aunt made her own super-thin dough for streudel, although I don't know that she called it filo or phyllo. It baffled me how she stretched it thinner and thinner and it didn't rip at all. I had problems with regular pie dough. It's a good thing that these days phyllo dough is sold in Kroger's freezer section.

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  6. You might want to check about the "butter flavored spray." There have been reports that the "butter" flavoring in microwave popcorn is bad for your health. When heated it release stuff that messes up your lungs, I think. This showed up in factories where microwave popcorn is produced and the quality control people we getting sick from the fumes.

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  7. Mmmm, this looks terrific, though I agree with Libby about the butter flavored spray. Maybe a little bit of oil would do the same job?

    In my experience, the secret of unsticking the phyllo is to make sure you cover the leaves you aren't using yet with a damp kitchen towel.

    Resolutions? How about to cook enough good food that I don't feel the least bit bad about eating out?? And maybe better think about an exercise program too...

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  8. I hadn't heard of that, Libby, but it is DEFINITELY worth checking out. Yes, I think some melted whip butter combined with a little oil might be a good substation. Thanks for the tip!

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  9. Phyllo is always a bit of a challenge. I would love to try my hand at homemade croissants. But right now, I really, really need low fat, low cal desserts like this one!

    ~ Krista

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