apple rosettes

Credit: The Awesome Daily

It's no secret around here that I love the Fall. Some of my fondest memories of this time of year involve apple picking. 

When the boy visited the other week, we went to a beautiful orchard right off the island of Montreal and came back with filled barrels! Also- for those of you who have no idea who "the boy" is- this is just how I refer to my dear boyfriend on the blog. A couple days prior to his trip, he had casually informed me that he had never gone apple picking, and that this wasn't a custom in the area of the Pacific Northwest where he is from. He might as well have told me the sun doesn't rise there. 

Where I'm from, Fall time means apple picking time. 

So, I initiated him to a family tradition of ours. I pretty much picked him up from the airport and drove him to the orchard. Poor guy, it was a red eye flight, too...  But I think it is safe to say we had a lot of fun. 

Next came the challenge of choosing what to do with all these apples. 

Here is a fun recipe we found that was a wonderful addition to our Thanksgiving feast. Apple rosettes are Pinterest material and not too hard to make. Not to mention so good! 

Ingredients

1/2 package Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet), thawed 

2 red apples (Honeycrisp is a great choice) 

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

1 tablespoon of all-purpose flower, to sprinkle counter

3 tablespoons of ground cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg (if desired) 

3 tablespoons of maple syrup 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

2. Thaw the puff pastry at room temperature, for approximately 20-30 minutes. 

3. Prepare a bowl with the lemon juice. 

4. Cut the apples in half, remove the core and cut the apples in paper-thin slices. Leave the peel so it will give the red color to your roses. Place the sliced apples in the bowl right away they won't change color. 

5. Microwave the apples in the bowl for about 3 minutes, to make them slightly softer and easy to roll.  The apple slices should be cooked just enough to bend without breaking. If they break, you need to cook them further. 

6. Unwrap the puff pastry over a clean and lightly floured counter. Using a rolling pin stretch the dough into a rectangular shape of about 12 x 9 inch (30 x 22 cm). Cut the dough in 6 strips, each about 2 x 9 inch (5 x 22 cm).

7. Spread a thin layer of maple syrup on each strip of dough with a basting brush. 

8. Drain the apples.

9. Arrange the apple slices on the dough, overlapping one another. Make sure the top (skin side) of the slices sticks a little out of the strip. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. 

10. Fold up the bottom part of the dough.

11. Starting from one end, carefully roll the dough, keeping the apple slices in place. Seal the edge at the end, pressing with your finger, and place in a regular muffin cup. Grease the muffin tin with flour, spray or butter (unless it's silicone). 

11. Do the same for all 6 roses. Bake at 375°F (190°C) for about 40-45 minutes, until fully cooked.****

12. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy! They can be eaten right away or they can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to two days. Or in the refrigerator for up to three days. 

****NOTE: Make sure the pastry is fully cooked on the inside before removing the roses from the oven! If after the first 30 minutes the apples start to burn on top, move the pan to a lower rack of the oven and finish baking. You can also cover them with aluminum foil for these last 10 minutes of baking to avoid burning the top of the roses. 

Such a fun recipe and they were so beautiful and enjoyed by guests. Yum!