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1
We're gonna do the dough first. Mix together the flour, sugar, and salt in a big bowl.
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2
Cut the stick of butter into roughly 1/4'' cubes and mix it in with a pastry cutter. You want to end up with pieces the size of small pebbles, so don't mix it up too much.
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3
Whisk together the egg yolk, water, and vanilla, and add it all to the butter/flour mixture with a fork. If it starts to give you a little resistance and clump up, you're good.
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4
Put some flour on a big cutting board or other flat thing, and dump the dough on top of it.
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5
Roll the dough into a ball, then flatten it into a disk. Wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes.
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6
Preheat your oven to 400.
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7
Put more flour on your cutting board and more flour on a rolling pin. Just throw the whole damn bag of flour at your kitchen Rip Taylor-style; you're gonna want a lot of it.
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8
Roll the dough to about 1/4'' thick, then cut it into rounds and press it into whatever fancy-ass tiny tart molds you got. And make sure to spray them with non-stick if they're metal.
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9
Put the little tartlets on a baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, until they start to get a little golden brown and toasty. Let them rest on a baking sheet for 5 minutes after they come out. You know the drill.
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10
Now's a good time to start on the filling.
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11
Mix together the brown sugar and water in a big, wide pan over low heat. Let them get comfortable for a while, until they're simmering and starting to caramelize and turn a little darker.
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12
Slowly add in the vinegar, followed by the cider, and let them simmer and reduce for a bit, about 10 minutes.
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13
You're gonna do two different things here: get a smaller pan and pour a little of the gastrique you just made (yes, that's what it's called) in, just enough to cover the bottom.
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14
Put the onions and a pinch of salt in, stir, and let them caramelize while you keep stirring. It should take about 15 minutes.
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15
At the same time, put the apples in the bigger pot (remember, that's gonna be full of most of the gastrique) and poach 'em for about 5 minutes, until they're limp but not mushy or falling apart. Basically, just keep an eye on them and make sure they don't start turning gross.
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16
Once the tartlets, mini-tarts, tartinis, whatever-the-hell-you-want-to-call-ems are cool, put some of the onions in each and layer the sliced apples on top, followed by about a tablespoon of brie per tart.
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17
Set your oven to 350 and put the tarts in again, just until the brie melts. Shouldn't take more than a minute or two.
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18
Eat.
