Do you ever play what if?

Have you ever wondered, at one time or another, how your life would have turned out IF….

Wondered what direction you could have gone IF…

Wondered whose path you would have crossed, or not crossed, IF…

I have a bunch of  “what IF’s.” What if I had taken something different in University. What if I hadn’t left the big city. What if I’d chosen the other job offer. What if I’d known fifteen years ago I couldn’t have kids. What if I’d been strong enough to stand up for what I wanted.

What IF….

What if I lived in the present and enjoyed this moment. This moment, right here and right now. Maybe I should leave those big, life changing, “what if’s” in the past and instead be grateful for what is in front of me right now. My family and friends who love me. The summer weather. My runners. My Mom’s recipe for pie crust. Or pate brisse for you fancy people. Attempting my first pie crust is not a huge, life altering feat. But it’s where I am right now. And you know what, at this present moment it feels right; sitting here with my handsome love, laughing, and eating an insanely heavenly galette. And that’s all I’ve got.

Strawberry & Dark Chocolate Mini Galettes

Pie Crust

• 1 C flour
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 C cold butter
• 4-5 Tbsp ice water

• Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Chill.
• Cut in butter until chunks are pea sized. Slowly mix in ice water. Do NOT overwork the dough. Form into a ball, wrap in plastic then chill at least one hour or up to 24 hours.

Dark Chocolate Ganache:

• 1/2 C dark chocolate, chopped (I use Valrhona 70% dark chocolate)
• 2 Tbsp milk or cream

• Bring cream just to a boil. Pour over chocolate then whisk until smooth

Strawberry Filling:

• 3-4 cups sliced, fresh strawberries (or any type of fruit you like that is in season)
• 1  tsp lemon juice
• A few tbsp sugar, depending on how sweet you like your filling. I used 2 Tbsp.
• A tsp or so of cornstarch, also depending on what type of fruit you use.
• Combine all filling ingredients and stir to combine well.

To make the mini Galettes:

• Preheat your oven to 450.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment.
• Remove dough from fridge and divide into 6 balls. Roll each into a 4-5″ circle.
• Spread over desired amount of ganache leaving a 1″ border. Top with berries.
• Fold up edges of pie crust. Brush with an egg white and sprinkle with sanding sugar.
• Bake on parchment paper for 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Notes:

• It might sound daunting but it’s not! Pie crust is so easy, once you’ve tried it you will never want store bought again. The recipe above is only a half recipe.
• Leave behind as much of the juice from the berries as possible. Also, I think I overfilled the galettes. Some of the crust didn’t stay folded over but the galettes tasted yummy anyway. The crust was super light and flakey. I think the key is to leave small chunks of butter for flakiness. I also put ice-cubes in my water to ensure it stayed cold while working.
• If you want, you could make one large galette. Try for about a 12″ circle of pie crust.
• This recipe is rather made up. I perused a bunch of foodie sites, salivated at the pictures, then determined I was in the mood for chocolate (big surprise) and I had a bunch of fresh strawberries from the market…so viola! Strawberry & Chocolate Mini Galettes.