Charles isn't really into desserts, but he loves apple desserts, so during the fall I make a point to prepare a variety of apple treats. This year I kicked off my seasonal baking with Apple Tarts. They are made with store-bought puff pastry, but Charles thought that I had made it from scratch.
My husband has many talents, but cooking is not one of them. This is one of those rare recipes he helped with. He peeled and cored the apples while he watched Game of Thrones. It was a huge help, that shaved off a lot of the preparation time for me.
I experimented with two different ways of assembling this tart. First I used a tart pan, and then I tried making a rectangular tart on a baking sheet. The tart made in the tart pan turned out better. The butter and sugar melt into an ooey gooey mess, and the tart pan contains since the puff pastry gets pressed up the sides of the pan.
With the baking sheet, the tart doesn't really have edges, and the tart filling melted everywhere and some of it burnt onto the pan. Moral of the story: use a pan that gives your tart edges.
You can serve this with a dusting of powdered sugar, or with a scoop of vanilla or caramel ice cream on top. I recommend serving it warm - dessert is always better when it is warm, right?
Ingredients
- 1 Frozen Pillsbury Puff Pastry Sheet
- 2 Granny Smith Apples
- ⅓ cup Brown Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Butter
- 1 tablespoon Flour
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- a dash of Salt
Instructions
- Defrost the puff pastry sheet and heat your oven to 425 degrees.
- Peel and core the apples. Slice them very thinly.
- Pour the brown sugar, butter, flour, vanilla, and salt into a bowl and use a fork to combine, mixing it into small crumbs. Add the apples and coat them in the crumbs.
- Press the puff pastry into a tart pan, stretching it slightly to fit, and lightly pressing the dough up the sides of the pan.
- Arrange the apples in the tart pan, fanning then out closely in layers.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the puff pastry is golden brown and puffy.
