Are you feeling the fall vibes yet? My apple trees are in full glory, so to celebrate the bounty, I decided to make gorgeous apple rose pastries with a Mediterranean twist. These rose-shaped pastries are infused with orange blossom water, adorned with crushed pistachios and sweetened with honey and apricot jam — and so easy to make.
Sure, you could make puff pastry from scratch, but you’ll find a convenient alternative — pre-made pastry dough — in your supermarket freezer case. Simply thaw the pre-made dough, cut it into strips and layer your apple slices. Rolling and shaping the dough into roses is surprisingly easy — I have a how-to video on my @blanchetv channel on YouTube, if you want to watch the step-by-step — and the results will look as though they’ve come from a high-end bakery.
Apple Rose Pastries
Makes 6
INGREDIENTS
6 apples
Juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 heaping tablespoon honey
1 to 2 teaspoons orange blossom water
1 sheet or more puff pastry
¼ cup apricot jam or the jam of your choice
¼ cup chopped pistachios
Powdered sugar, for serving
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease six wells of a muffin tin.
Cut your apples in half, but don’t peel them — the skins will help the apples retain their shape and color. Use a paring knife to remove the core and stem. Then slice the apples thinly, as they are going to form the petals for your roses. Sprinkle them with lemon juice to prevent browning and toss gently.
Microwave the apples for 3 minutes to soften them. Drain any excess liquid. Add the ground cinnamon, honey and orange blossom water and combine, then set aside.
Partially thaw the puff pastry just until pliable. On a floured cutting board, cut the dough into 6 long slices. Roll the dough gently to widen the strips, as desired. Spread apricot jam down the length of each strip so it covers half the pastry. Sprinkle the jam with crushed pistachios. Arrange the apple slices on the other half, so the curve of the slices stick out a bit.
Fold each strip in half lengthwise, so the jam side covers the apple side, leaving that border of apple curves sticking out. Then roll up each strip to make a rose. Add the roses to a buttered muffin tin, cut side down, and bake for about 40 minutes. Serve with a dusting of powdered sugar.
Find Blanche Shaheen’s recipes and cookbook, “Feast in the Middle East, A Personal Journey of Family and Cuisine,” at www.FeastInTheMiddleEast.com and her cooking show tutorials on YouTube @blanchetv.
