Turn Apple Picking Into Apple Puff Pastry Donuts
Fall is finally here and that means it is time to start apple picking. There is truly nothing better than ripe and crisp apples, especially when we’ve been waiting all summer for them. If you have lots of apples from your picking trips, the perfect dessert recipe to make are these apple puff pastry donuts. You can get all the flavors of apple cider donuts at home without having to fry any batter.
Ingredients
Instructions
STEP 1:
Preheat your oven to 375 °F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
STEP 2:
Turn your apples on their side and slice both ends off so that when you cut into them, it creates round, disc shapes. Cut both apples into 1cm thick slices.
STEP 3:
Core the middle of the apple disc slices with some kind of round tool. An icing top works well or a bottle cap. This turns our slices into the donut ring shape we need.
STEP 4:
Melt your butter and then stir in the sugar and cinnamon to create a cinnamon sugar paste. Set aside.
STEP 5:
Open your puff pastry dough and separate into pieces. Cut each piece into strips about one inch thick.
STEP 6:
Brush your apple slices one by one in the cinnamon sugar paste and then wrap one piece of dough around the outside of the apple ring. Do this by looping the thin strip of dough over and under the cored center of the apple.
STEP 7:
Lay all the prepped apple slices onto the parchment paper and bake in the oven until golden and flaky. This should take about 20 minutes.
Why You’ll Love These Apple Puff Pastry Donuts
These apple puff pastry donuts are absolutely incredible because they have a soft and sweet apple filling with a crispy, puff pastry crust. The crunch you get from each bite is remarkable and even more irrestible than apple pie.
While these are not true “donuts” in the traditional sense of baking, they resemble that circular donut shape that we all know and love. In fact, the design that wraps the pastry dough around the apple ring resembles a pumpkin after it puffs up from baking in the oven.
This artistic touch make these apple puff pastry donuts the perfect dessert for fall. It’s not only full of rich pastry flavor, but it’s also on theme for any Halloween or fall parties.
ALSO READ: Spiced Apple Farro Oatmeal Breakfast Bowl
What Type of Apples Should You Use?
In my humble opinion, these apple puff pastry donuts taste even more delicious because the recipe features fresh apples from my apple picking adventures this fall. Whenever I go apple picking, I’m always excited to see what recipes I can come up with. Somehow, it always seems like I have too many apples to use.
This recipe is excellent when you have fresh apples lying around your home because they make a large batch of donuts, but each bite has a thick slice of apple. It’s important to prominently feature your fresh ingredients, especially in fruit-based desserts.
When it comes to selecting your apples for this recipe, it all comes down to what’s available and in season. When apple picking or at the grocery store, go for variations on red apples like Red Delicious. However, it really doesn’t matter at the end of the day. Freshness is the most important factor.
Try to avoid green apples because these might be a bit too tart for the recipe. Since we only use a small bit of sugar and butter, the natural sweetness of the apples should come through in these apple puff pastry donuts.
Apple Puff Pastry Donuts: Behind the Puff Pastry
I decied to avoid frying these beautifully fresh apples and making a mess out of dough as I always do when trying to make traditional donuts. Instead, I opted to use puff pastry because it’s easy to buy in store or prepare in advance. It also creates a buttery, flaky texture that resembles apple pie crust.
Two brands of puff pastry I recommend are Pepperidge Farm, which you can find at any major grocery store, or Duflour, which you can find at Whole Foods. I personally used Duflour in this recipe and it baked out perfectly to create the gorgeous golden crust you see in my photos above.
I hope you try this apple puff pastry recipe for your next fall party or event and impress your friends with this surprisingly easy and yet creative dessert.