Famous Local Beauties

There are three pounds of Gravenstein apples* on my counter. What to do? They're just a little bit special. Gravensteins don't keep well, and they don't travel well either. What good are they then? Well, they taste absolutely lovely. Mostly sweet, a little bit tart with something almost floral hiding in there too. And they can more than hold their own when baked in a pie. When you see Gravensteins, you just buy them. Period.  It'll be another year before you see them again.

So now that I got 'em, what do I do with 'em? How to use them to their best advantage? Perhaps one of these gorgeous apple recipes I've had my eye on...

• Apple, Honey, Goat Cheese Tartlets from Serious Eats
• Apple Dumplings from the Design*Sponge "In The Kitchen With..." series
• Tarte Aux Pommes at Apartment Therapy/The Kitchn
• Free-Form Apple Tart also from The Kitchn
• This Apple Tea Cake at What Katie Ate is simply beautiful

*Read more about Gravenstein apples here.