Apple Puff Pastry #recipe @vmburns

 VMBURNS: During the holiday, I wanted sweets, but didn't want to bake a lot for one person. So, I found a great recipe for an apple puff pastry and had to give it a try.

The beauty of this recipe is that you can make small quantities. The ingredients picture shows two apples, but I actually only used one. I also love that I did not have to be perfect with this recipe. Like more cinnamon than sugar? No problem. In fact, you could easily use less sugar, if you're trying to reduce your sugar intake. If I make an entire apple pie, then I want it to be perfect. But nothing has to be perfect when you're baking for yourself. No one else will see it. My strips of puff pastry were crooked. My apples didn't have to be exactly 1/4 inch wide. And yet, it still tasted delicious. I used Honey crisp apples, but I think Granny Smiths would work well, too. And yes, I ate it with ice cream and caramel sauce. I also might have added an additional sprinkling of cinnamon and sugar after it came out of the oven. Don't judge. 

APPLE PUFF PASTRY

INGREDIENTS

• 2 large Honeycrisp apples
• 1 puff pastry sheet, thawed
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Thaw the puff pastry according to the directions on the package.
3. Core the apple and slice into 1/4 inch rounds. You should get 4-5 slices per apple.
4. Mix the cinnamon and sugar in a shallow dish. 
   
5. Dunk each apple into the cinnamon and sugar mixture.
   
6. Roll out the puff pastry and slice it into thin strips. Wrap each apple slice with the strips.
   
7. Make an egg wash by lightly beating an egg. Brush the egg wash over the pastry wrapped apples, then sprinkle some of the cinnamon sugar mixture.
8. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown, but not burned.
   

READERS:  What indulgences do you like with your pie? ice cream? Caramel sauce? cheese? Let me know in the comments below. 

MURDER FROM A TO Z

When Michigan bookshop owner and mystery writer Samantha Washington and her sister, Jenna, agreed to host a class for seniors on estate planning, they didn’t plan on discovering shady doings at Shady Acres Retirement Village . . .

Nana Jo has volunteered her lawyer granddaughter, Jenna, to teach estate planning to retirees—with Sam providing her bookshop as the venue. But during the seminar, entitled Getting Your Ducks in Order, it quickly becomes clear someone’s up to Fowl Play. When elderly Alva Tarkington, accompanied by her niece, sits down for a consultation, Sam realizes the woman’s frequent blinking is actually Morse Code—S.O.S. The sisters get her alone, and Alva tells them she believes her life is in danger and must change her will . . .

Unfortunately, Alva is found dead the next day—seemingly from natural causes. But Nana Jo and the sisters suspect otherwise. In between penning her latest historical mystery, set in 1939 as England declares war on Germany and Lady Elizabeth Marsh pursues stolen paintings and a traitor, Sam teams up with the senior sleuths of Shady Acres to search for motives—beginning with Alva’s family. They soon learn not everyone is who they say they are, and someone is more than qualified to teach a class on cold-blooded murder . . .

Releases January 27, 2026

AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER