Apple and Nut-Butter Puff Pastry Tarts

From the kitchen of Carly

Buttery puff pastry cradles layers of nutty nut butter and spiced apple butter, topped with fresh apple slices, roasted peanuts, and a sprinkle of sugar. These individual tarts bake up golden and crisp, delivering sweet fruit and salty crunch in every bite.

Apple and Nut-Butter Puff Pastry Tarts

Puff pastry alone is butter on butter on butter, but layer it with peanut butter, apple butter, and fresh apples, and you've got a tart that hits every texture at once: shatter, chew, and tender fruit. The egg wash seals the edges while the open center lets steam escape so nothing gets soggy. These feel fancy enough to serve for company but come together in one baking sheet.

Prep
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Cook
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Total
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Servings
4
Difficulty
medium

Ingredients

4 servings

  • 1sheet frozen puff pasty, thawed
  • 1All-purpose flour
  • 4 tbsppeanut or other nut butter
  • 4 tbspapple butter
  • 1 lbfirm baking apples , peeled, cored, sliced into 1/2-inch wedges
  • 1/4 cupchopped salted, roasted peanuts or other nut
  • 2 tbspunsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 1Sugar
  • 1 largeegg

Instructions

  1. Crank the oven to 425°F. On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry out into a long rectangle, then cut it in half crosswise so each piece is roughly square. Lay both halves on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and prick them all over with a fork. Using a small offset spatula, spread 2 tablespoons of nut butter across the center of each half to form a 5-inch round, then layer 2 tablespoons of apple butter on top of each. Pile the apple wedges onto the center of each tart, scatter the chopped peanuts over, dot the fruit with the butter pieces, and finish with a sprinkle of sugar.

  2. In a small bowl, beat the egg with 1 teaspoon of water. Brush the pastry border with the egg wash, then fold the edges up and around the apples, leaving the center exposed. Press lightly along the folded edges to seal them, brush the outside of the pastry with more egg wash, and dust with another round of sugar. Slide the baking sheet into the freezer and let the tarts chill for 10 minutes.

  3. Bake until the puff pastry turns golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Drop the oven temperature to 350°F and keep baking until the pastry is deep golden brown and the apples are completely tender, another 20 to 25 minutes.

  4. Store any leftover tarts uncovered at room temperature for up to 6 hours after baking.

Tips from the kitchen

  • Spread your nut and apple butters on the pastry base before adding apples, this keeps the bottom from getting waterlogged and also gives you a flavor cushion the fruit sits on.
  • The two-temperature bake (425 then 350) is the trick: hot oven puffs the pastry fast, lower heat finishes the apples gently without burning the edges.
  • Don't skip the 10-minute freezer chill before baking, it keeps the pastry from sinking and spreading instead of rising.
  • Let the egg wash dry for a minute before sprinkling sugar so it sticks properly and creates an actual caramelized crust.

Variations

  • Almond butter and peach butter with fresh peaches instead, same technique, different flavor axis.
  • Tahini and date butter (blend soaked dates into tahini) with pears, leans toward Middle Eastern spice if you dust with cinnamon sugar.
  • Sunflower seed butter with pumpkin puree and thinly sliced pears, good for fall and feeds people with tree nut allergies.
  • Just apple butter and sliced apples, skip the nut butter and nuts entirely, straight toward apple galette territory.

Make ahead and storage

Keep uncovered at room temperature up to 6 hours, or wrap loosely and refrigerate up to 2 days, reheating gently in a 300°F oven for 10 minutes. Not ideal for freezing once baked, the pastry gets tough.