Puff Pastry Apple Roses

Beautiful puff pastry apple roses made with thinly sliced apples, cinnamon sugar, and honey butter. Flaky, warmly spiced, and much easier to make than they look!

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Total Time 40

Servings Roses

Ingredients

1 sheet puff pastry thawed if frozen
1 medium red-skinned apple
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp granulated sugar
2 tbsp butter melted
2 tbsp honey
icing sugar for dusting

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Generously grease or line 2 wells of a muffin tin.
Mix the cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl. Set aside.
Cut the apple in half and remove the core. Slice the apple into thin, even slices.
Place them in a microwave-safe bowl and add the lemon juice. Microwave for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the slices are pliable enough to bend without breaking.
Roll the thawed puff pastry out on a lightly floured surface. Cut it into 2 strips, about 2 inches wide.
Stir the melted butter and honey together in a small bowl.
Brush a thin layer of honey butter over each strip of puff pastry. Arrange the apple slices along one long edge, slightly overlapping them and leaving the red-skinned edges extending above the pastry. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Fold the bottom half of the puff pastry up over the apple slices.
Starting at one end, gently roll each strip into a rose.
Place each apple rose into the prepared muffin tin and sprinkle with a little more cinnamon sugar.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the puff pastry is golden brown and crisp and the apples are tender. If the apples begin browning too quickly, loosely cover the tops with foil and continue baking.
Let the apple roses cool slightly, then carefully remove them from the muffin tin. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm.

Notes

Choose a firm, red-skinned apple: Honeycrisp, Fuji, or Granny Smith hold up well, while red skin gives the roses their prettiest petal effect.

Slice the apples very thinly: Thick slices are harder to bend and can cause the pastry to tear or unravel as you roll.

Make sure the apples are pliable: After microwaving, you should be able to gently bend a slice without it snapping. If needed, microwave for a little longer.

Keep the puff pastry cool: If it starts feeling soft or sticky while assembling, refrigerate it for a few minutes before continuing.

Don't pull them out too early: The apple edges may look done before the pastry is. Look for golden, crisp puff pastry, and loosely cover the tops with foil if the apples brown too quickly.

Best enjoyed fresh: Apple roses are crispiest the day they're baked. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days and reheat in the oven or air fryer to help bring back the flaky texture.

Photo note: In the step-by-step photos, I kept the puff pastry as one wider strip to make a larger rose. For the recipe as written, cut the pastry into 2 strips to make 2 individual apple roses.

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