These Almond Apple Puff Pastries are so easy to make, using frozen puff pastry, almond paste and apples. They are so elegant and delicious.
These Almond Apple Puff Pastries are such a cinch to prepare. Homemade goodies are the best and you can use some store bought ingredients to give you a head start. In this recipe, store bought puff pastry and almond paste make this recipe especially easy and convenient.
These pastries are so beautiful and elegant. They are very quick to prepare too. One of the nice bonuses about this recipe is that you can keep all the ingredients on hand and when you have unexpected company or want a simple baking option, this is the recipe to reach for.
I love flaky, tender puff pastry. It's a great staple to have on hand for both savory and sweet food. Almond paste and apples are a great combination for this very humble sweet treat. You can even use pears for another delicious option.
Ingredients:
1 (1 lb) package puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed
2 apples, peel and cut into thin pieces
3 Tablespoons butter, melted brush apples with melted butter,
sprinkle with sugar
Egg wash (1 egg and 1 Tablespoon water)
½ cup apple jelly
Homemade Almond Paste:
1 cup Almond Meal/Flour
¾ cup Powdered Sugar
¼ teaspoon Almond Extract
1 Egg White
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
Prepare the almond paste. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth. You can also just mix it by hand. If you're using store bought almond paste, add one egg white and a splash of vanilla extract to the almond paste and mix to combine until the paste is soft and workable. If you make the almond paste from scratch it will be soft and very easy to work with.
Peel and slice the apples thinly. You can also use pears in this recipe instead of the apples.
Prepare the egg wash by lightly beating the egg and water. You can use milk or cream instead of the water too.
If you would prefer to make puff pastry from scratch, there are many recipes online. I also have a Quick Puff Pastry recipe on my website that you can use.
Unfold the puff pastry and roll it out on a lightly floured counter just until the seams are evenly rolled out. Each sheet of pastry should be rolled out into 11-12 inch square. You don't have to be too precise with it, since you'll be cutting out circles out of it anyway.
Cut out circles out of the dough. I used a 3 ½ inch round cookie cutter. Place about ½-3/4 of a Tablespoon of almond paste on top of each circle of dough and spread it out evenly, leaving a rim around the edges. Shingle the slices of apples on top of the almond paste. The apple slices need to be very thin, so that they will bake through completely. Brush the apple slices with the melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Brush the edges of the pastries with the egg wash.
Bake the pastries in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until the pastries are golden brown.
While the pastries are baking, place the apple jelly in a small saucepan and heat it up just until the apple jelly is liquid. You can also warm up the apple jelly in the microwave for about a minute. When the pastries are baked and still warm, brush the pastries with the liquid apple jelly. This will not only add more apple flavor and sweetness to these pastries, but also give them a beautiful glossy finish.
Almond Apple Puff Pastries
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 55 mins
- Yield: 18 pastries
- Category: Sweets
Ingredients
- 1 (1 lb) package puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed
- 2 apples, peel and cut into thin pieces
- 3 Tablespoons butter, melted brush apples with melted butter,
- sprinkle with sugar
- Egg wash (1 egg and 1 Tablespoon water)
- ½ cup apple jelly
Homemade Almond Paste:
- 1 cup Almond Meal/Flour
- ¾ cup Powdered Sugar
- ¼ tsp Almond Extract
- 1 Egg White
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Prepare the almond paste. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth. You can also just mix it by hand. If you're using store bought almond paste, add one egg white and a splash of vanilla extract to the almond paste and mix to combine until the paste is soft and workable. If you make the almond paste from scratch it will be soft and very easy to work with.
- Peel and slice the apples thinly. You can also use pears in this recipe instead of the apples.
- Prepare the egg wash by lightly beating the egg and water. You can use milk or cream instead of the water too.
- Unfold the puff pastry and roll it out on a lightly floured counter just until the seams are evenly rolled out. Each sheet of pastry should be rolled out into 11-12 inch square.
- Cut out circles out of the dough. I used a 3 ½ inch round cookie cutter.
- Place about ½-3/4 of a Tablespoon of almond paste on top of each circle of dough and spread it out evenly, leaving a rim around the edges.
- Shingle the slices of apples on top of the almond paste.
- Brush the apple slices with the melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.
- Brush the edges of the pastries with the egg wash.
- Bake the pastries in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until the pastries are golden brown. While the pastries are baking, place the apple jelly in a small saucepan and heat it up just until the apple jelly is liquid. You can also warm up the apple jelly in the microwave for about a minute. When the pastries are baked and still warm, brush the pastries with the liquid apple jelly. This will not only add more apple flavor and sweetness to these pastries, but also give them a beautiful glossy finish.
I loved the recipe but I struggled with the dough. When I baked the tarts my final product came out to be very uneven. Some pastry was flat, others rose up too high. Why?
Thank you
I'm sorry to hear that the dough gave you some trouble. Puff pastry needs to be really cold when you work with it, so maybe that could be the case. If it gets even a little bit warm, it's much harder to work with. The dough that stays chilled usually rises much better too. Also, it's possible that it wasn't rolled out evenly, so if some parts were thicker, they will puff up more and other parts that were rolled thinner, wouldn't puff up as much. Hope that helps.
If im using store bought almond paste, how much do I use?
I haven't tried it myself to give you an exact measurement, but I would try 1 3/4 cups and see how that works. (I'm basing this on the recipe for the filling: 1 cup almonds + 3/4 cup powdered sugar.)
Hi. What can I substitute butter with for the apples?
Just finished making these. Ran out of powdered sugar, had dates on hand so substituted. Made a nice touch to the flavor, next time maybe I'll substitute all the sugar with dates! Thank you for the simple recipie!!! It's delicious!
What is the apple jelly for?
Hi Olga, this looks really good but i'm confused about the egg wash from step 4. How, and when do you use that? Thanks, Vica
Brush the egg wash over the edges of the pastries before baking them, Vica.
I fell in love with this recipe and made it today. I had a few problems but taste wasn't one of them. Yum! My almond paste seemed too thick but I did it by hand and I didn't know when to use the egg wash. Would love some pointers for definite next time. 🙂
Did you use the homemade almond paste or the store bought almond paste? If you use the store-bought almond paste, you will need to add an egg white and some vanilla extract to it and mix it up until smooth, either with a mixer or a food processor until it is smooth. The homemade version should be soft enough to work with. You could flatten it out in your hand before placing it on the pastry. You can also dampen your fingers to help spread it out, or dip a spoon in some water and use the back of the spoon to spread it out. I hope that helps.
I was looking for some tasty and interesting dessert to make for my son's end of season soccer party. Bingo! This looks amazing and is quick and easy! Love using this pastry in many other recipes, now this adds to my collection!
Wow, on my "make as soon as possible" list! Thank you!
Yum! I will be making these this weekend. I did not realize you could make your own almond paste so easily!