Easy Caramel Apple Pastries

These are so delicious and easy enough my preschoolers helped me with every step of making them (ok, not cutting the apples; but the rest, yes)!

I adapted this recipe by The Little Blog of Vegan for the ingredients I had on hand, namely regular milk and puff pastry, and the cinnamon sugar mixture.

I can’t wait for you to try these. When you do, let me know what you think in the comments below!

Recipe:

• 2 sheets puff pastry
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 heaping tsp ground cinnamon
• Approx. 2-3 apples, depending on their size
• Milk or water (for sticking the pastry pieces together and making the cinnamon sugar stick to the outside of the pastries)
• Caramel sauce (optional for topping after baking)

Directions:

1. Set out your puff pastry to thaw if using frozen. Once thawed, roll it out to roll out the creases.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 355 degrees .
3. Wash and peel the apples. Slice them into thick slices and core them (you can use an apple corer, I used the hole cutter from my biscuit/donut cutter).
4. Stir together the sugar and cinnamon and put it in low flat dish so that you can dip the apples in it.
5. Dip your apple pieces in the cinnamon sugar mixture making sure both sides are well coated.
6. Slice your puff pastry into approx. 1/2 inch wide strips. Cut out leaf decorations with fondant or cookie presses, if you like.
7. Wrap your pastry strips around each apple, threading through the center, until the apple is well covered. Use your milk or water to help the pieces stick together.
8. Brush on milk or water to stick on leaves and to make cinnamon sugar stick.
9. Place the pastries on a cooking sheet covered with parchment paper (or other non-stick cooking paper/mat) and bake for 15 – 17 minutes.
10. Drizzle on caramel sauce before serving.

Notes:

1. The original recipe calls for 4 large apples. I’ve only ever had enough puff pastry to cover 2-3 smaller apples (not tiny, but certainly not large).
2. The original recipe says to bake for 12-15 minutes. Mine have always taken 15-17 minutes to bake. It can’t hurt to check yours after 12 minutes just to be on the safe side. If you bake them too long, the apples will get too mushy in the middle.
3. You can do these as crescents instead of pumpkins. The crescent shape is also beautiful and a little easier for the littlest fingers to wrap. To make the crescent, just cut your cored apple slices in half and follow the recipe from there.
4. These are great for a breakfast treat, to serve as part of a brunch, or for dessert.
5. Whipped cream or a small dollop of vanilla ice cream would be delicious with these too if served as a dessert.