TWD-Tarte Fine

Apples and puff pastry. The two are a magical combination. I threw this beauty together in 15 or so minutes and a half-hour later had a great little Autumn dessert for me and Josh after the kiddos were in bed. I did the sweet and buttery version and it hit the spot. The simplicity sealed the deal and made this a real winner.  I was too tired to do any pictures tonight so if you want the recipe and some lovely pictures, head on over to Lethally Delicious where Leslie has some great tips as well as pictures of the finished tarte.

TWD-Cran-Apple Crisp

Fall. One of my very favorite times of the year. What could be more Fall than apples and cranberries? I actually made this last November, not long after getting Baking: From My Home to Yours, because it looked like such a great recipe.

Well Fall has come again and with it the chance to make the Cran-Apple Crisp again. Mmmmm! I actually made a double batch, one for my neighbor's dinner party, and a small one for our family. This is an easy and delicious recipe. I love the ginger in the crisp. It adds a lovely zing. My neighbor served it hot, with homemade pumpkin ice cream on top. That sounded delicious to me, something I might try next year.

This is a real winner of a recipe. I haven't been able to upload a picture yet, but might get to it tomorrow. If you are interested in the full recipe, head on over to The Repressed Pastry Chef. You won't be disappointed!

TWD: Applesauce Spice Bars

I'm now officially ready for autumn! The kids are on their way back to school and we have amazing apple bars. Now if I could get Tampa, Florida to cool down a bit...

These spicy little bars were DEE-licious!!! We loved every bite!! They had a cake-like consistency with a perfect buttery-carmelly icing on top. The bits of apple and chewy raisins were a perfect pair mixed into all the homey deliciousness. The crazy thing about these is that they were even better the next day. Of course, I omitted the nuts because they would have ruined this yummy treat. But we all devoured them.

Thanks Karen for choosing this delicious recipe. I will definitely add this to my list of favorites!!!

TWD - Parisian Apple Tartlet

When I first read this recipe I was thrilled that it was so easy! Puff pastry from the freezer, apples, a little brown sugar and a bit of butter. How in the world could you go wrong with that combination? After reading other's reviews I decided I was going to be brave and make my own puff pastry. I didn't want to try and track down a butter puff pastry and didn't want to use one with shortening after reading Dorie's opinion on puff pastry.

So, I pulled out my binder from Cook Street and had a go at puff pastry for the first time in seven years. Yikes! The weather here in Utah has been very mild for this time of year so I figured it was a good time to try this as it wasn't so hot that the butter would become too soft and melt while I was working with it. It was a lot of work and required a lot of time because the dough needs to rest between the series of rollings and foldings. By repeating those steps multiple times, this creates alternating layers of butter and pastry, thereby creating a flaky, light puff pastry crust.

When I put the tarts in the oven I was apprehensive that my puff pastry wasn't going to work out and that I would have a big melted butter mess on the bottom of the pan. I watched carefully and was relieved when it appeared to be doing exactly what it was supposed to do!

We had our friends over for Sunday night dessert and the Parisian Apple Tartlet was a huge hit! I served them slightly warm, with a small scoop of Butter Pecan ice cream on top, which added a creamy element which complimented the baked apple and pastry in a lovely way. In fact, I thought it was so good I had two servings. Good thing I hit the gym hard Monday morning!

Although the puff pastry was a lot of work, I would definitely make these again, and would try my hand at puff pastry again. If you are interested in this simple, fabulous dessert, head on over to My Baking Heart for the full recipe.

Until next week! Happy Baking!