Oh rhubarb, my rhubarb.
I can’t express to you how much I love rhubarb. It fills me with childhood memories of eating the tart crunchy stalks straight from the ground dipped in sugar, and of course of scores of delicious baked goods filled with it.
My hands-down favorite way to enjoy rhubarb is in pie form. I love the sweet-tartness of rhubarb filling inside a flaky, buttery crust. There’s just nothing better.
These Mini Rhubarb Galettes are as simple as can be – you don’t even need a pie pan. Just roll out buttery dough, pile filling in the center, fold the edges in, bake, and voila! You have personal-sized rhubarb pies. Perfect for (socially distanced) summer potlucks with the neighbors.
The Pie Crust
The secret to a simple fruit pie (or vegetable in this case) is the crust. Something this basic really highlights a flaky, buttery crust in a major way.
I’ve been making pie crusts for years, and they’ve generally turned out pretty good, but recently I discovered Erin McDowell’s All Buttah Pie Crust and it changed everything. This crust is not only delicious and buttery, as the best crusts always are, but it’s insanely flaky. I’m talking almost puff-pastry-level flaky. It’s genius – and not nearly as complicated as you’d think.
The basic gist is that you keep your butter pieces much larger than usual, so you end up with big spots of butter throughout your dough. Those big pieces of butter = flaky AF goodness.
I also like to include a quick fold when I’m rolling out my dough, to add a little more flakiness. I just roll it out as usual, then fold it in half, then in half again, then roll it out a second time. (It’s all in the instructions below.) You can skip this folding part if you want – it’ll still make a great pie crust.
Mini Rhubarb Galettes = Easy to Share
Okay my friends, it’s time to get baking.
With everything that’s going on in the world right now – COVID-19, horrific racially-motivated killings (many at the hands of those sworn to protect & serve), deeply-embedded systemic racism, and so, so much division and hatred – we could all use a little extra love.
I’d encourage you to bake up something sweet to share with friends and neighbors as we have the necessary hard conversations and work together toward a better future. A revolution needs fuel, after all. Let’s get to it.
Mini Rhubarb Galettes
Ingredients
Pie Crust
- 1 1/4 c flour
- 1 T sugar
- pinch salt
- 1/2 c cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (1 stick)
- 1/4-1/2 c ice cold water
Rhubarb Pie Filling
- 6 c chopped rhubarb
- 2/3 c sugar
- 2 T corn starch
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
Pie Crust
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.
- Add butter cubes and toss to coat in flour. Then, pinch butter cubes into flour, leaving them in fairly large pieces. You want your pieces of butter to be roughly about the size of grapes, but flat. (Big chunks of butter = flakier crust)
- Drizzle cold water into mixture a little at a time, gently stirring with a fork or your hands until it all combines into a rough ball of dough. Add a T or two more water if your dough is still dry. You don't want it too wet, but you don't want bits of dry flour either.
- Gently press dough into a ball, then flatten with your hands. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- After dough has chilled for 1 hour, divide it into 6 equal pieces.
- Roll each piece fairly thin, then fold in half, then in half again. Gently form dough into a ball again, then roll out a second time (this folding = more flakiness!). This time, you want your dough round to be about 8-9" in diameter.
Rhubarb Pie Filling
- In a small bowl, combine sugar, corn starch, and cinnamon.
- Place chopped rhubarb into a large bowl and sprinkle with sugar mixture. Stir until well combined and all rhubarb pieces are covered in sugar mixture. Let sit for a few minutes while you roll out your pie crusts and preheat the oven.
Put them together and bake!
- Preheat oven to 375°F
- Line 1-2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Place a dough round onto lined cookie sheet, pile about 1c of filling into the center, leaving a couple of inches of dough around the edges.
- Fold edges of dough into the center. They will overlap a bit and that's great. You should have a gap in the center where the filling shows through.
- Repeat with the remaining 5 dough rounds.
- Once all of your galettes are formed, place in oven and bake for 45-60 minutes, or until filling is bubbly and crust is browned nicely.
- Remove from oven and place cookie sheets on cooling racks. Allow to cool completely, then serve, preferably topped with a scoop of ice cream.
- Leftover galettes will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for about 2-3 days, but they are at their flakiest on day 1.
Notes
- If you’re making these on a warm day, keep your dough in the fridge whenever you’re not working with it. So while you roll out one round of dough, keep the rest in the fridge. If your butter is getting melty while you’re mixing the dough, pop it in the fridge for a bit to chill it again before you continue. Cold butter = flaky crust. Melty butter = tough, chewy crust.
- Want a great video tutorial for making pie dough? Check out Erin McDowell’s original recipe and video instructions here.