Apple Galette with Bacon and Maple Syrup (Puff Pastry)

This cinnamon apple galette is topped with crispy bacon and a generous pour of maple syrup. The puff pastry is store bought, but it was flaky, the apple, cinnamon, butter, brown sugar combo was scrumptious and the bacon topping added that salty crunch followed by the sweet taste of the syrup. Overall, this dish is easy to assemble and a great sweet/savoury dessert. Perfect for a fall/winter's day.

6 slices bacon
2 large or 4 medium apples, such as McIntosh, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp and/or Cosmic Crisp, peeled sliced ¼" thick
1 puff pastry sheet, thawed in the refrigerator overnight
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, unbleached
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 large egg
1-2 Tbsp. coarse sugar

To Serve:
pure maple syrup or vanilla ice cream

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C/170°C fan, Gas Mark 5). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cook the bacon in a skillet until the fat has rendered, but not yet crisp, remove from the pan and place on a paper towel-lined plate to rest. Once cooled down, chop the bacon coarsely and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine sliced apples, brown sugar, lemon juice, pure maple syrup, flour and cinnamon. Mix well to evenly coat apples. Use hands to coat evenly if necessary.

Roll out the puff pastry on the prepared baking sheet. Place sliced apples onto the middle of the puff pastry, leaving 1" all around to fold over. Overlap the apple slices a little bit so you can pack in more of them. Do not dump the whole bowl of sliced apples onto the crust because we will be using the liquid from the apple mixture to drizzle onto the top of the galette.

Once apples are arranged onto the crust, fold over the sides of the pastry. Drizzle leftover liquid from apple mixture on the top of the sliced apples.

Whisk an egg in a small bowl. Brush the folded-over sides with this egg wash. Then sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake until the apples are tender and the crust is golden brown, about 45-55 minutes. Check after 30 minutes and tent loosely with foil if the filling gets too brown.

Remove from the oven and brush the filling with maple syrup while still hot. Transfer to a rack to cool slightly before serving.

Makes 8 slices.