Simple Cranberry Apple Tarts
Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at 12:10PM in Brunch, Christmas, baking, desserts, fruit, holidays, pie, recipes, snack, vegetarian With just a few simple ingredients, you can have these delicious little tarts on the table and ready to serve to your family and guests. Puff pastry, apples, cranberry apple butter, plus a few other pantry staples and you’re all set! Simple, too! Yes, really.
I had two sheets of puff pastry kicking around in the freezer, and I couldn’t make my mind up about what to do with them. Fate took over when I found that Trader Joe’s was selling sacks of Macoun apples. They’re one of my favorites! They’re crispy, crunchy, juicy--and have just the right balance of tart and sweet. I look forward to their season every year. So with a sack of those, and a jar of Cranberry Apple Butter, I was on my way.
Cranberry Apple Tarts
Makes about 18 tarts
2 sheets puff pastry, thawed
5 medium apples (I used Macouns) peeled, cored, thinly sliced, and tossed with
one to 2 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp apple pie spice
2 tbsp sugar
Pinch of salt
Cranberry apple butter- 9 oz or so (you can use something else here, your fave fruit butter, an apple butter, jellied cranberry sauce, etc.-just be sure it's not too juicy or leaky)
Turbinado sugar
Heat oven to 400.
Roll the puff pastry sheets out into a rectangle. Cut each rectangle into about 9 rectangles or squares. The shape doesn't really matter, just try to make them all roughly the same size. Put the cut pieces on a parchment lined sheet and refrigerate while you get the apples ready.
In a medium bowl, toss the apples with the pie spice, sugar and salt. Mix well, and set aside.
Spread each pastry square with a bit of the cranberry apple butter (not too much, just enough to make a thin layer), and place one sheet in the fridge while you work with the other sheet. Layer the apples on each pastry square over the apple butter, and them sprinkle each tart with some turbinado sugar. Place that sheet in the fridge, and finish the second sheet, layering the apples and sprinkling the sugar.
Bake the tarts for 23-25 minutes, until golden brown on the edges. Remove from the oven and cool the tarts on cooling racks.
- Don’t feel stuck the the rectangular shape of these. You can cut out circles, or any other shape you like. You could even make one large tart.
- These were truly a hit, all the way down to the very last one. They were disappearing off of the cooling racks faster than I could keep track of!
- The cranberry apple butter added a very nice tart to contrast the sweet apples, so if you can find some, it’s worth it! I got mine at Trader Joe’s.
- How pretty would a tray of these be for the holidays? You can set them on the dessert table, or serve as a lighter version of a full fledged pie, with small scoops of ice cream or whipped cream. Cinnamon whipped cream! Yes.
- These would also be a lovely addition to an office party potluck, or any for any party when you’ve been assigned to bring a dessert.
Reader Comments (24)
So simple and so perfect!
Many of my absolute favorite fall dessert include puff pastry and apples, you just can't go wrong with the two :) I'm so intrigued by this cranberry apple butter too. I need to make a trip to TJ's soon!
I heart the combination of apples and cranberry. Your tarts look beautifully rustic. Love that!
Cranberry Apple Butte? Oh I am swooning! That must be fabulous! And I simply love these simple little tarts - often toy with the idea of doing something similar. Yes, I love that such simplicity packs so much of a flavor punch and satisfaction. Perfect, Elle, I love them!
So simple and looks fabulous!
Seriously simple and gorgeous Elle.
Lovely tarts! Puff pastry is so much fun to work with! Am scouring the stores for cranberry apple butter - may have to make my own.
These are absolutely gorgeous! I would love to serve mini tarts at my next girls night! Bookmarked! :)
I tried your recipe and it was a big hit with the wife and kids. I am going to make it for the extended family for Thanksgiving. The smell while cooking was a pleasant torture, but the final product was well worth the wait. Thank you so much for sharing. I used a combination of honey crisp and macoun and it was great. What do you think about the combination of fresh pear and apple for this?
Yum! Sorta like gourmet pop-tarts
Oh my....gorgeous! :)
Send me a slice!
Xoxo
Heather
This recipe looks so delicious! I can't wait to try it out this coming holidays.
Those just look so perfect!
That is awesomely simple! My mom would love this for Thanksgiving since she'll have very little time to prep. It's also warming me up just looking at it. Thanks Elle!
Oh goodness!!! How scrumptious, Elle! Those tarts are a perfect fall treat...beautiful photos too!!
Have a lovely weekend!!
xoxo,
Tammy
I want a tray of those for the coming holidays!
Simple and beautiful--a winning combination. And of course they were tasty! I'd say you hit this one out of the park w/o even breaking a sweat! :)
Mmmm, those look good. The kind of simple where the sum is greater than the individual ingredients. Perfect for the season!
Oh my gosh it has been toooo long since I've been to your lovely blog. These tarts are beautiful - I love how simple they are and the pretty layers of fruit. No wonder they disappeared!
I love the rustic look of these. Perfect!
The simplicity of this dessert makes it exquisite. The photos are lovely, kinda like invites someone to "come home" for the Holidays. I just bookmarked this! Thanks ;)
these look fantastic! I want one now
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I had planned to make these over the holidays and FORGOT. Boo, me. :-( These just look so wonderful and pair together some of my favorite flavors.