Blood-Orange Crostatas

I'm an avid reader of TheKitchn, and recently, they posted a recipe for blood-orange crostatas. I'd spotted these lovely gems at my local Trader Joe's, so I figured I'd give the recipe a whirl.

The Cast of Characters: Sugar, Flour, Salt, Brown Sugar, Oranges, Blood Oranges, Vanilla, Mascarpone Cheese, and (not pictured) butter. Not margarine, BUTTER.

Cube 1 stick of butter, and add it to 1.5 cups of flour, and 1/2 tsp of salt. I don't have a food processor, so I used a fork. :)

Here's what it should look like. I know it doesn't look much like dough at this point, but...trust me. It will. 

See? What'd I tell ya? (This is after working it with my hands, btw.)

Now, take your mascarpone, add 1/4 tsp vanilla, and 2 tbsp sugar. Try not to lick the mascarpone container completely clean, and fail miserably. I know I did.

This is what it looks like after mixing. If you have a mixer with a whisk attachment, you can use that. 

I formed the dough into a log, and cut off pieces to form into individual pastries.

The doughball, flattened and rolled out. Apologies for the blurriness!

Mmmmmmascarpone dollop right in the center.

On top of that, lay a few slices of blood and regular orange.

Fold the edges up, then brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle with brown (or raw) sugar. Pop onto a greased baking sheet, and into the oven for 35-40 minutes at 400*

Et voila! The finished product! The front-and-center one has brown sugar, while the other two do not.

 **NOTE** The original recipe has a couple of variations, such as adding almond extract, and using demerara sugar. I substituted the brown sugar, and did half with, half without.

These are great for brunch, as a snack, etc. I like mine with a bit of vanilla ice cream, or just plain. The blood oranges aren't as sweet as their more common counterparts, which I think adds a nice balance.

Enjoy!