Bursting with fresh and juicy sweet caramelized apples encased in a buttery delicious pastry, this Easy Apple Puff Pastry Recipe melts in your mouth!
With only 4 ingredients, you'll LOVE how EASY my Apple Puff Pastry Recipe is to make! Find more easy apple recipes like this one below the recipe card at the bottom of this article. 
Apple Puff Pastry Recipe
Dessert doesn't get much better than this rustic Apple Puff Pastry. Not only is it easy to make and beautiful, but it is bursting with sweet caramelized apple flavor in a flaky pastry crust.
The puff pastry is buttery, light, and super flaky too! I love how it puffs up around the apple slices, keeping all of the moist deliciousness of the apple filling nestled neatly inside the flaky pie crust.
When you serve this to your friends and family they will no doubt be impressed with your mad pastry chef skills!
Ingredient List
- Puff pastry sheet - I use Pepperidge Farms frozen puff pastry dough, but homemade puff pastry dough will work too. Thaw frozen puff pastry in the fridge overnight, if possible.
- Apples, sliced thinly
- Cinnamon sugar - you can purchase cinnamon sugar premade or you can make your own using 1/2 cup white sugar and 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon. Store leftovers in an airtight container.
- Unsalted butter, diced
How to Make Apples in Puff Pastry
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. and grease or line baking sheet
- Puff pastry sheet-Carefully unfold and place on baking sheet
- Apple Pie Filling -Wash & slice as thinly as possible.
- Toss sliced apples with sugar and arrange on the puff pastry sheet.
- Top apples with diced butter.
- Bake -15-20 minutes until pastry is golden brown.
- Cool -slightly before serving warm
- Serve - with Caramel Sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream
What are the best apples to use in puff pastry?
Before we bake apples in puff pastry, it's important to know a few apple varieties that are better suited for baking.
Not all apples are ideal for baking, and with so many varieties of apples to choose from it can be a challenge to know which apples will be best for making apples in puff pastry.
The best baking apples offer a balance of sweet and tart flavors and hold up to the baking process. We're making an apple pastry not applesauce, after all! It's important to choose a firmer apple that will hold its shape and not get mushy. Nobody wants mushy pastry!
Don't be afraid to use a variety of apples when baking. Mixing things up a bit by using several different apple varieties can give your apple puff pastry a deeper, richer flavor.
With over 2500 apple varieties, there are a lot of choices. I tried to list a few firm apples I feel are more readily available. There are other apple varieties for baking I left off my list but in a pinch, this is a good go-to list of baking apples:
- Envy - a cross between Royal Gala and Braeburn, the Envy has an exceptionally sweet flavor. It can be hard to find, but Envy apples are a wonderful choice for just about any application and they don't turn brown easily, so that's a big plus!
- SweeTango - One of my favorite apples! This apple is the perfect combination of sweet and tart. It is firm and juicy and another good choice for any application. The SweeTango apple season is only available for a short window in the Fall, so whenever I see them, I always stock up.
- Braeburn - A firm apple that keeps its shape during cooking, but still produces a soft apple filling. Not as sweet other varieties.
- Rome Beauty - Holds up well to baking. Flavor is a bit flat compared to other apples, so it's a good idea to pair with another, more flavorful variety.
- Granny Smith - My go-to when I want a tangy apple flavor to offset a sweet dessert. Tart and tangy with a firm flesh, I like to pair Granny Smith apples with a sweet apple like the Envy or the Gala apples for best results.
- Pink Lady - A tart apple with a sweet finish. This is another great option for baking.
- GalaApples- Sweet and crisp, this is an all around great apple for baking that is readily available.
Recipe Prep Tips
- Thaw the puff pastry in the fridge overnight, or on your work surface for about 30 minutes until it easily unfolds.
- Slice the apples as thinly as possible. Using a mandoline slicer helps make quick work of the slicing, but a sharp knife will do the job too.Always use the safety guard when using a mandoline slicer.
- You can slice the apples how you prefer. I sometimes slice them into half moon shapes, but I sort of love the rustic feel of slicing them into rounds. Plus, the star shapein the center when you slice an apple this way is too cute.
- Coat the apples as evenly as possible when tossing them with the cinnamon sugar. I use a large bowl that makes it easy to carefully toss the apples without breaking them.
- Lightly grease baking sheet with butter or line it with parchment paper before placing the unfolded pastry dough on it. Be sure the baking sheet is large enough to hold the unfolded piece of puff pastry.
- Use a pizza cutter or a sharp knife to cut into equal squares
- You do not need an egg wash as we are going for a more rustic pastry look.
- If you are only using sweet apples in this recipe, you might want to toss the apples with a teaspoon of lemon juice. Lemon juice is not needed if you are using apples with a bit of tanginess.
Apple Puff Pastry Recipe
dessert
American
Yield: 9
Author: Life Tastes Good
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 30 Min
Bursting with juicy sweet apples encased in a buttery delicious dough, this Easy Apple Puff Pastry recipe is easy to make and melts in your mouth!
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed just enough to unfold (see notes)
- 2 Apples, sliced thinly
- 3 tablespoons cinnamon sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, diced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Lightly grease a baking sheet with butter or line with parchment paper.
- Unfold puff pastry and place on baking sheet. Keep chilled in the fridge until ready to use.
- Slice 2 apples, thinly (see notes)
- Combine apples with 3 tablespoons cinnamon sugar and arrange on puff pastry, overlapping slightly to fit all the sliced apples. Slice more as needed.
- Place 1 tablespoon butter pieces evenly on top of the apples.
- Bake in preheated oven 15-20 minutes until pastry is golden brown.
- Cool slightly before cutting into equal squares. Serve warm.
Notes:
- I use Pepperidge Farms frozen puff pastry dough, but homemade puff pastry dough will work too. Thaw frozen puff pastry in the fridge overnight, if possible.
- Find Pepperidge Farms puff pastry in the freezer section of your grocery store.
- Slice apples, as thinly as possible, across the middle into rounds to see the star shape that hides inside the apple.
- Using a mandoline slicer helps make quick work of the slicing. Always use the safety guard when using a mandoline slicer.
- Be sure the baking sheet you use is large enough to hold the unfolded piece of puff pastry.
- I suggest serving this with my Homemade Caramel Sauce. You can easily make the caramel sauce ahead of time and reheat as needed.
Nutrition label disclaimer: Nutrient values are estimates only. Variations may occur due to product availability and food preparation. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
COPYRIGHT © 2021 Life Tastes Good
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FAQs
Always preheat your oven for a minimum of 15-20 minutes before baking, because Puff Pastry depends on even heat to rise and puff. Place pastries 1 inch apart. If you want a flaky thin and crispy pastry that's not very puffy, prick the unbaked Puff Pastry all over with a fork, which lets steam escape while baking.
Why is my puff pastry not fluffy? ›
Temperature is a key factor in baking up puff pasty that actually puffs. Set the oven dial too low, and the pastry is likely to fall flat. Follow this tip: As a rule of thumb, a higher oven temperature (400°F is ideal) results in puff pastry with a higher rise.
What makes puff pastry crispy? ›
Puff pastry is essentially layers of dough and solid fat, usually butter or shortening. This is also called a laminated dough. When it's baked, the steam from the fat separates the layers and the fat crisps them up, leaving you with crispy, flaky pastry.
What makes puff pastry so flaky? ›
In the oven, the water in the layers of dough (and some water in the butter) turns into steam. This steam has just enough force to puff up each thin sheet of dough before evaporating into the oven. What's left behind is a delicate shell of airy pastry. Yum.
Is egg or milk better for puff pastry? ›
Egg wash is the most reliable but it can be very thick and sticky. Milk wash will go on more evenly but it can soak into pastry and make it weaker. Melted butter works nicely after the crust has set but it can make the crust greasy and weaker.
What does vinegar do in puff pastry? ›
Adding an acid, the theory goes, stops the gluten in its tracks and rescues the crust from toughness. These same acid enthusiasts claim that stopping or at least hindering the gluten makes the dough easier to roll out, and may even prevent it from shrinking as it bakes.
What things should we avoid with puff pastry? ›
Heat is the enemy of Puff Pastry—it handles best when cold. So avoid working with it on hot, humid days, in a stifling hot kitchen or next to your oven.
What temperature should you cook puff pastry at? ›
About halfway through baking, peek into the oven to see how the pastry is baking. Always bake Puff Pastry Shells in a preheated 425° F oven. Bake Puff Pastry Cups in a preheated 400° F oven for 20 minutes. Do not bake either Shells or Cups in a microwave or toaster oven.
What are the faults in puff pastry? ›
Oven too hot, causing excessive lift. Over-baking causing the surface layers to dry out too much. Fat levels too high in pastry. Unevenly flaked as fat not evenly dispersed.
Do I need to cook puff pastry before adding filling? ›
Do I need to blind bake pastry cases when cooking with wet fillings? As a general rule, you do need to blind bake when cooking a dish with wet fillings. For example, if you're making a quiche or frangipane, blind baking the crust first will help ensure the pastry case stays buttery and retains its crunch.
For medical reasons I should minimize the fat on my recipe. Puff pastry is mainly made by 3 important ingredients, flour, water, and fat (butter or oil). Unfortunately, I learned that butter and oil, consist of 100% fat. I've successfully created puff pastry using oil in a pan before.
Why is my puff pastry so hard after baking? ›
Problem: Your Pastry is Hard and Tough
You've added too much water to the flour but not enough fat. It is important to keep the pastry cool during rolling and the oven needs to be hot.
Do you put yeast in puff pastry? ›
Puff pastry is typically used to make treats like Napoleons and palmiers—recipes where you want buttery flakiness and a good bit of crunch. Yeasted puff pastry goes through a similar process as traditional puff pastry (lamination, that is), but instead uses a yeast-raised dough.
What's the difference between rough puff pastry and puff pastry? ›
Rough puff pastry does not rise as high as classic puff pastry, so it is not suitable for products where a light texture is desired.
Do you need to poke holes in puff pastry? ›
Place pastries 1 inch apart. If you want a flaky thin and crispy pastry that's not very puffy, prick the unbaked Puff Pastry all over with a fork, which lets steam escape while baking.
How do you get the best results with puff pastry? ›
The keys to ensuring that you get crisp, flaky layers from your pastry are concerned with temperature and handling. Pastry should be at room temperature for rolling (to make it more pliable), but chilled before baking (so the buttery layers remain separate).
What are the rules for puff pastry? ›
Always cut Puff Pastry straight down, never on an angle, to prevent layers from sticking together and inhibiting the rise. Cut up and down, and don't drag the knife. You can brush an egg-wash glaze (1 egg plus 1 tsp. water) over the Puff Pastry to create a rich, golden sheen when baked.
How do you keep puff pastry from getting soggy on the bottom? ›
Before blind-baking, brush the base with beaten egg or egg white. This causes proteins to form a water resistant layer.
