Apple Napoleons

I can’t believe it is November already. Here in Arizona the seasons can change from one day to another. One day it’s in the nineties and the air conditioner is on; the next it’s cold and the heater is on. This pretty much happens every year. During our morning walk I wore a jacket for the first time and my walking buddy wore gloves. Oh yes, change is finally happening in the Southwest.

Yesterday I made apple napoleons, which was supposed to be a quick and easy recipe. I started out by burning the first batch of puff pastry to smithereens. Bellows of smoke was rolling out of the oven and the little delicate squares were charred beyond recognition. The recipe I was following was from Martha Stewart’s Living 2003 magazine. The directions specifically stated to bake the puff pastry in between two baking sheets at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Well we all know how that turned out. So I started over again, this time baking the puff pastry approx. 15 minutes, which resulted in beautifully baked pastry. I’m not sure why the cooking times differed so greatly maybe it was the puff pastry I used.

Next the apples were cooked down with the remaining cinnamon and sugar until a little caramelizing occurred. I served the Napoleons with two layers of pastry with each layer stuffed with ice cream and apples. If you love cooked apples and all the flavors associated with them I hope you have a chance to make these flaky apple napoleons. Fall is here! Carpe diem!

This recipe has been slightly adapted from Martha Stewart's Living Magazine.

Ingredients:

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons sugar
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
All-purposed flour for work surface
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/3 inch slices
Whip cream, gelato or ice cream

To prepare:

In a small bowl combine cinnamon and sugar, (will be divided) set aside.

Set puff pastry out to defrost, when defrosted unroll and on a lightly floured surface roll out to 1/8 inch. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of cinnamon mixture then cut into 3 x 4 inch squares, 8 total. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with more parchment paper and another baking sheet. Chill in freezer until firm about 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Bake pastry in oven with both baking sheets right out of the freezer approx. 12 to 15 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to wire rack and let cool.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat; when foam resides add apples and cook; stirring occasionally until golden brown about 7 to 10 minutes. Add remaining cinnamon mixture. Cook until apples are tender. I cooked mine a little longer because I wanted them to be caramelized, watch carefully if you decide to do this as it happens very quickly. Set aside, let cool completely.

To assemble; top the pastry with ice cream then add a layer of apples, add another layer of puff pastry, ice cream and then apples. Enjoy with a hot cup of spiced tea or coffee.

Serves 4.