ROSE APPLES RECIPES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Butter 2 small ramekins (6 to 8 ounce) and dust with white sugar.
• Place apple slices on a plate, overlapping slightly if necessary. Microwave on High about 45 seconds just until slices have softened a bit. Cover plate with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel.
• Mix together sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
• Roll puff pastry sheet to less than 1/8-inch thickness. Using a pizza cutter, cut two 3-inch by 12-inch rectangles. Reserve remaining pieces for another use.
• Spread melted butter over dough; top with a generous amount of cinnamon-sugar. Place apple slices along 1 long edge of dough, about 1/4 inch beyond edge of dough, overlapping slices slightly. Fold bottom half of dough over the apple slices to form a long "folder" of dough with rounded edges of apple slices exposed.
• Beat egg and water together in a bowl. Paint surface of dough with egg wash. Sprinkle with more cinnamon-sugar, to taste.
• Starting from one end, roll dough not too tightly to form a rose-shaped pastry. Seal roll with end of dough strip.
• Transfer roses to prepared ramekins. Sprinkle with a little more cinnamon-sugar. Place ramekins directly on middle rack of preheated oven.
• Bake until well browned, about 45 minutes. Remove ramekins with tongs and place on baking sheet to cool 5 to 10 minutes. Remove apple roses from ramekins and finish cooling on rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Steps:

• Thaw the puff pastry at room temperature if you haven't done so yet. It should take about 20-30 minutes.
• Prepare a bowl half filled with water and the lemon juice. Cut the apples in half, remove the core and cut the apples in paper-thin slices, as shown in my picture. Leave the peel so it will give the red color to your roses. Right away, place the sliced apples in the bowl so that they won't change color.
• Microwave the apples in the bowl for about 3 minutes, to make them slightly softer and easy to roll. If you prefer, you can also simmer the apple slices with the water in a small pan (on the stove). The apple slices should be cooked just enough to bend without breaking. If they break, you need to cook them a little more.
• Unwrap the puff pastry over a clean and lightly floured counter. Using a rolling pin stretch the dough into a rectangular shape of about 12 x 9 inch (30 x 22 cm). Cut the dough in 6 strips, each about 2 x 9 inch (5 x 22 cm).
• In a bowl, place three tablespoons of apricot preserve with two tablespoons of water. Microwave for about one minute (or warm up on the stove) so that the preserve will be easier to spread. Spread a thin layer of preserve on each strip of dough.
• Preheat the oven to 375º F (190 º C). Drain the apples.
• Arrange the apple slices on the dough, overlapping one another, as shown in my picture. Make sure the top (skin side) of the slices sticks a little out of the strip. Sprinkle with cinnamon
• Fold up the bottom part of the dough.
• Starting from one end, carefully roll the dough, keeping the apple slices in place. Seal the edge at the end, pressing with your finger, and place in a regular muffin cup. No need to grease the muffin mold if it's silicone. Otherwise, make sure to grease with butter and flour (or spay).
• Do the same for all 6 roses. Bake at 375 º F (190 º C) for about 40-45 minutes, until fully cooked.