Description
Make sure to let them cool a bit before you dig in… if you can.
Ingredients
Scale
- 5 small (about 1 lb) Granny Smith apples peeled, cored and diced
- 2 9.75″ X 10.5″ sheets of puff pastry, thawed
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 C lemonade
- 1/4 C turbinado cane sugar, plus more as needed
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp light brown sugar, packed
- 1 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp cold water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl – or directly in the medium-sized saucepan you’ll be cooking the filling in – stir together the diced apples, lemonade, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, granulated sugar, and brown sugar.
- Place the saucepan with the apples over medium-high heat and bring to a noisy simmer, stirring frequently, until the sugar has dissolved. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover with a lid. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples have just begun to soften and the sauce coating them has thickened and reduced – about 7–10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
- Coat the wells of a 12-cup muffin tin liberally with baking spray or pan grease. Use a paper towel to make sure the inner edges are coated, and to remove any excess. Sprinkle a small amount of turbinado sugar into the bottom of each well, just enough to lightly cover it.
- Slice your sheets of puff pastry into three long rectangles – down the seams if the sheet came folded into three even sections, then slice the rectangles in half horizontally, leaving you with 6 rectangles.
- Take a rectangle and pull the ends together, dropping it into a muffin well and using your fingers or a blunt tool to press the puff pastry down into the pan and against the sides. We want to mold the center of each rectangle to the shape of the muffin tin, leaving the outer edges overlapping the sides. Repeat with all twelve pieces of puff pastry.
- Preheat your oven to 400°F. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and water until slightly frothy and no streaks remain.
- Spoon a small amount of apple pie filling into each muffin well, making sure not to overfill. You want a heaping amount, but not so much you can’t pinch the edges closed, or that it makes the puff pastry soggy. Make sure to gather any of the sauce from the sides and bottom of the saucepan and spoon that over the top of the apples.
- Grab one edge of the exposed puff pastry and bring it over the filling, pinching the two sides together. Repeat with the other edge, and continue until you’ve pinched together the puff pastry over all the pies. It’s fine if they don’t appear to cover the filling, and also fine if they do.
- Use a basting brush to lightly baste the tops of each apple croissant with egg wash. Make sure to coat each petal of puff pastry evenly. Sprinkle a generous pinch of turbinado sugar over the tops of each croissant, then place the muffin tin on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, until the tops are golden browned and the filling is bubbling out over the edges of the croissants. If at 20 minutes they don’t seem ready, lightly cover them with a sheet of aluminum foil and continue baking for 5 more minutes.
- Allow the Baked Apple Croissants to rest in the muffin tin for 1–2 minutes, then use a knife to pop each one out – they should slide out easily. Transfer them to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool as long as you can before you devour them. These can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container, for 2–3 days. Reheat in the microwave in 20 second intervals, or place in a cold oven and turn it on to 250°F until it’s as warm as you want.
Notes
- Use 2 tbsp of lemon juice and a few tablespoons of water in place of lemonade, if needed. Refer to the post above the recipe for more on substitutions.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
