Tips, variations, and serving ideas
- Choose the right apples: Tart varieties like Granny Smith or sweet‑tart Honeycrisp hold their shape and balance the sweetness of the caramel and brown sugar; this is the same guidance used in apple turnover and caramel apple recipes.
- Cool the filling completely: Warm filling can soften or melt the puff pastry from the inside, reducing flakiness and encouraging leaks. Cooling first is a key step in most apple hand‑pie instructions.
- Don’t overfill: Using about 1–2 tablespoons of filling per pastry keeps them from bursting and matches the portioning in similar puff pastry apple turnover recipes.
- Add crunch: Sprinkle coarse or raw sugar over the egg‑washed tops before baking for extra crunch and sparkle, a common tip in puff pastry dessert recipes.
- Make them salted caramel: Use salted caramel or sprinkle a pinch of flaky sea salt over the caramel drizzle right before serving for a sweet‑salty twist.
Serve Caramel Apple Puff Pastries warm at brunch, as an afternoon coffee treat, or as an easy fall dessert that looks and tastes far more complicated than it really is.