Pastry shell with an apple filling is a dessert that’s versatile and easy. And most importantly, delicious! As in a Red Delicious apple or similar fruit filling that’ll be delightful. These ones are decked out with Muscadine grapes, the in-season “cherry” choice on top.
These are shiny, but first you have to make the pastry.
And pastry is unique over cookie and cakes (that can made with healthy fats). But there’s no skipping butt-ah in pastry or else you have a paste.
…And you don’t need much for the effect. 🧈
The healthier truth is you only need a smidge ‘o butter to get buttery tastes. Think a knife pat vs. a whole stick.
..But-ah, it’s forgiving.
In return, pastry loves back.
You can’t mess up the pastry love (tastes) with its 2 ingredients… butter and flour. Sugar is not a necessary trio. And that makes this apple pastry a tasty low-sugar dessert. And an economical one.
…So it pays2-try pas-try!
And it’s also a lower calorie dessert option if you count water as a 3rd ingredient.
Water is often the most important ingredient in many recipes including this one.
Cold water is the kind that matters here for this easy dough make and bake.
And using a cold butter-flour-water trifecta makes it magical out of the heated oven.
Maybe that saves you?… where you don’t need to do a local bakery run in a pinch if ya got flour and butter in your kitchen.
And this recipe can be used or any rough puff pastry, from a whole pie to an individual pastry shell dessert pan.
Except one twist…
And this one’s a doozy in my book…
To make food life more interesting. And easy. It’s also always about the healthier but tasty ways in my shared world.
Tools like a pasta maker help do this.
That if you’re on the fence of whether you need one, if you like shortcuts (…who doesn’t?) this is a tool that helps you get thickness uniformity.
There’s a time and place for rustic, and it you want a consistent thickness roll that works for pastry, a roller will do that and help with the crisp finish.
With a roller, it’s still by hand because you’re cranking the machine handle. But the dough won’t bounce back like it often does with a hand roller.
A pasta machine is more like a press or iron.
And you can roll a few times after each fold that will create some well-worth-it lamination and flakey crunch texture at the end. You’ll be glad you did. And for fun if nothing else! 🎉
That makes bringing out the equipment worthwhile.
Which btw, a pasta maker comes in handy during holiday cookie season. You can even make cookies this way to get even 1/4″ cookie dough.
And then turnaround and make homemade pasta from the same machine.
This is the pastry shell bottom with the recipe below:
To construct the sealed pastry shell bottom, instead of one flat round piece of pastry dough, I cut out a round piece with a round cookie cutter on the bottom and attach to long pastry strips that become the sides.
This way you get more of a deep basket to hold more apple filling (making it healthier). Like a wicker basket effect. 🧺
But you do you!
This yields delightful pastry tastes and textures I can only compare to Palmiers if you know those (like my younger self did 🧒🏻)… they’re a little crispy and very buttery (even with the little pat of butter)
To make the apple filling: you can rough chop apples, and add in an oven-safe bowl or skillet with a little water, and bake alongside the pastry. No need to heat separately.
Be sure to add water so the apples don’t dry out. I love to add cinnamon and it leaves the nicest oven potpourri aroma. Baking and heat invigorates the spice.
When the apples are soft, you can bring ’em out of the oven while you check on your pastry.
This comforting autumn bake can be a warming autumn ritual, that pairs with a steaming hot mug drink you sip on.
It’s comfort food. And maybe you just had a comforting potato soup bowl (that’s low-sodium).
If you want to freeze the baked pastry shell, they will be just as good.
Let them de-thaw overnight in the fridge and they’re as good as new for the next day.
And just in time for apple season!
How ’bout them apples? If you like this apple pastry shell recipe idea, you might also love an apple cheesecake. 🍎
Apple Pastry Shell Dessert
Equipment
- pasta maker or baking roller
- cookie cutters
- muffin or cupcake tin
Ingredients
- 1 cup flour, plus bench flour
- 2-3 Tbsp butter, cold
- 3/4 cup cold water
Instructions
- Add flour to a bowl. Cut off small bits of cold butter (from the fridge) and add to the bowl. Add enough cold water to create a soft shaggy dough disc. If too wet, add some bench flour to the dough disc top and bottom.
- Cover the dough and let chill for about 10-15 minutes in the fridge (or freezer), or overnight in the fridge.
- Add bench flour on the outside of the dough so it doesn't stick to your fingers and pasta maker or dough roller.
- Fold the dough a few times to create lamination that will help the flakey crunch at the end.
- Roll dough at least twice after folding dough. If using a pasta maker, use higher settings. On my pasta maker, it's "7" for about 1/4" thick rolled dough.
- Butter or baking spray the bottom of a muffin tin for non-stick. With the rolled dough, cut out 4 round bottoms with cookie cutter. Add one to each muffin pan cavity bottom. With the remaining dough, cut approximately four 1" long strips and wrap around as a ring for each cavity to make a basket shell, patching together with the round dough piece.
- Bake at 375°F/190℃ for about 35 minutes until dark golden bottoms.
