Apple Puff Pastry Tarts

I adapted this recipe from Alton Brown's Good Eats episode "Puff the Magic Pastry." I finally was able to use the apples I bought at the farmers market a good 2 weeks ago. I used a "Prime Red" apple - it's a type that the farmer created though experimentation with cross pollination. I must say... Prime Reds are probably one of my favorite apples now. They are a cross between a jonathan and something else that I forgot. The apples are bright red while having a pure white inside... and they are always crisp but not too tart.

Caroline - I know you are reading this way over in Oregon and your care-package is on the way... complete with some baked good that is posted on my site.

Apple Puff Pastry Tarts

Adapted from Alton Brown

Ingredients

• puff pastry
• Sugar, for dusting
• Prime Red Apples, cored, and quartered
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Apricot jam

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Crimp seams of puff pastry together with fingertips. Dust both sides of pastry with sugar. Using a rolling pin, roll pastry in each direction to close seams. Using a sharp pizza cutter, cut out rectangles. Place pastry circles on a chilled sheet pan and let cool in the refrigerator for a few minutes.
3. Using a vegetable peeler cut wafer thin apple slices. Put apple slices in lemon-juice-spiked water.
4. Flip pastry circles over on the sheet pans and poke them with a fork to provide an outlet for steam. Put parchment paper on the pan underneath the pastry circles. Sprinkle pastry with sugar and arrange apple slices on top.
5. Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Poke the crust; if it feels soft it needs more time in the oven.
6. Microwave some apricot jam for 30 seconds. Dab (don't brush) the jam on the tarts. Cool tarts at least 4 hours and seal in a resealable plastic bag. Serve at room temperature.