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I highly encourage you to take a trip out to your local orchard this fall for some pumpkin and apple picking! If you can't make it there, Good Foods has a gorgeous variety of locally grown apples that without fail, always taste better than a typical grocery store apple. They are incredibly fragrant and flavorful and need little help when incorporated in baked goods. These apple tarts aren't overly sweet or spiced; just delicious apples accented with a buttery dough and a tiny bit of sugar and butter. The Bourbon Caramel is an extra sweet treat that transitions this tart from breakfast to dessert.

Dough:
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 ½ sticks butter, cut in small pieces
½ cup ice water

Filling:
3-4 small to medium apples, peeled, cored, and sliced thinly
½ cup sugar
2 tbsp cold butter
1 egg white
Raw sugar, for sprinkling

To make the dough, combine dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter cubes and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the water and continue to pulse until dough comes together. Transfer to a floured surface, gently knead to combine, and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate and allow to rest for at least 1 hour.

Roll out dough to between 1/8 and ¼ inch thickness and cut 6 inch rounds using an overturned bowl. Fan apples out on each dough round, leaving ½ inch border. Fold the edges over to form a free-form tart. Sprinkle the apples lightly with sugar and dot with thinly sliced butter. Brush the tarts with egg white and sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake at 400 degrees until dough is nicely browned and apples have caramelized, about 18-25 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool, then drizzle with Bourbon Caramel, below.

Bourbon Caramel
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp bourbon
Salt, to taste

Bring the sugar and water to a boil over high heat in a heavy saucepan, washing down the sides of the pot with a wet pastry brush to avoid crystallization. Once the syrup reaches a dark amber color, remove from heat and add the cream carefully, as it will bubble violently. Once it dies down and cools slightly, stir in the bourbon and add a pinch of salt to taste. Caramel will thicken as it cools.