How to Make Apple Roses - Handle the Heat
Filed Under: Dessert | Fall | Pastry | Thanksgiving

How to Make Apple Roses

By Tessa Arias
  |  
October 28th, 2015
5 from 3 votes
5 from 3 votes

How to Make Apple Roses with this simple recipe for beautiful and gourmet individual apple pastries. Can be made ahead of time and perfect for Thanksgiving! Step-by-step video included.

Yield: 6 individual pastries

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook: 40 minutes

Tessa's Recipe Rundown...

Taste: Kind of like apple pie but with more of a pastry twist! Texture: Flaky, buttery, tender, and juicy. Ease: Surprisingly easy and can be made ahead of time! Just requires a little bit of prep. Appearance: Obviously the best part - absolutely beautiful! Pros: Super fun and impressive individually sized dessert perfect for special occasions. Cons: None. Would I make this again? Yes!

How to Make Apple Roses with this simple recipe for beautiful and gourmet individual apple pastries. Can be made ahead of time and perfect for Thanksgiving!

You’ve probably seen these apple roses floating around the internet lately and thought they looked way too difficult to actually make. Well, I’ve made a video tutorial and am sharing an easy recipe with you to show you just how simple they are!

In one of my first baking classes in culinary school it felt like if something could be potentially made into a rose shape, we ended up doing it. That’s when I discovered it really isn’t all that difficult to manipulate something just enough to make it look absolutely gorgeous and totally gourmet!

How to Make Apple Roses with this simple recipe for beautiful and gourmet individual apple pastries. Can be made ahead of time and perfect for Thanksgiving!

Watch the step-by-step video below to see exactly how these come together. The full printable recipe is further below! Also, this is the mandolin I used to get super thin slices. Love it!

How to Make Apple Roses – Step by Step Video:



How to Make Apple Roses with this simple recipe for beautiful and gourmet individual apple pastries. Can be made ahead of time and perfect for Thanksgiving!

5 from 3 votes

How to make
Apple Roses

Yield: 6 individual pastries
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
How to Make Apple Roses with this simple recipe for beautiful and gourmet individual apple pastries. Can be made ahead of time and perfect for Thanksgiving! Step-by-step video included.

Ingredients

  • 2 apples (pink lady, braeburn, or honeycrisp)
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
  • Flour, for dusting
  • 3 tablespoons apricot or strawberry preserves
  • Powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a standard muffin tin.
  2. Core the apples and slice in half. Using a very sharp knife or mandolin on the second setting, slice paper thin 1/8-inch slices and immediately sprinkle and toss in lemon juice prevent browning. Toss in the butter, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
  3. Microwave the slices for 45 seconds, or until soft and pliable enough to mold.
  4. Place the puff pastry on a lightly floured work surface. Roll out into a 9 by 12-inch rectangle. Cut six 2-inch wide strips of dough.
  5. In a small bowl, combine the preserves with 2 tablespoons of water. Microwave for 30 seconds if it was refrigerated. Spread evenly over each strip of dough. Arrange about 10 apple slices lengthwise in a straight line, overlapping slightly, on a strip of dough. Fold up the bottom part of the dough and begin tightly rolling the dough to form the rose shape. Press the edge to seal. Repeat for all the pies and place in the muffin tin.
  6. Make ahead: at this point the unbaked assembled roses can be covered and stored in the fridge for up to 1 day before baking as directed.
  7. Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired. Pastries are best served the day they are baked but can be stored in an airtight container and rewarmed in a 300°F oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until warmed through and flaky again.
Course : Dessert
Cuisine : American
Tessa Arias
Author: Tessa Arias

I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)

Tessa Arias

About Tessa...

I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)

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Recipe Rating




  1. #
    Katie — June 13, 2021 at 2:20 pm

    Can I substitute the preserves with honey or maple syrup?

    • #
      Tessa — June 14, 2021 at 10:38 am

      I haven’t tried that but you’re welcome to give it a go! I prefer the slight tartness the preserves gives to this recipe 🙂

  2. #
    Tess — November 11, 2019 at 8:51 pm

    Can you assembly these apple rosettes and then freeze them so they can be baked at a latter date?

  3. #
    Bill C — May 8, 2019 at 4:45 pm

    Came on just to say I doubled the recipe to make my wife a “dozen roses” for mothers day, and she LOVED it. Thanks!

  4. #
    Cece — November 21, 2018 at 2:49 pm

    Ive made these several times and hoped to help address a few comments. 1st cutting evenly thin slices can be difficult but with lots of practice it can be done. A mandolin is much better option for more uniform slices especially for the novice knife skills. Secondly the dough in the center only comes out right if you don’t roll to tight. Also I bring water and lemon to gentle boil and simmer slices for 1min (instead of microwave) and cool. When I want apples to have a more red color I add a couple drops of red dye to the water mixture while cooling. Good luck everyone hope that helps.

  5. #
    McKenzie — November 18, 2018 at 7:38 pm

    Without a mandolin I don’t recommend this lol. The few that I had truly thin enough slices for turned out well, but with a knife it’s pretty hard to get evenly thin pieces. I also did extra time in the microwave to help soften the apples which did make a difference when rolling them. Time to go get a mandolin

  6. #
    L — November 16, 2018 at 8:51 pm

    HI!

    I attempted this yesterday but the pastry dough did not cook (stayed mushy and soft) even after almost 2 hours in the oven. what could i have done wrong?

  7. #
    Arlene D’Angelo — October 19, 2018 at 3:57 pm

    I noticed several people commented about the center dough was not cooked through, and asked if there was a solution to that. The question was not addressed. I am planning on making them tomorrow and would be helpful if you could give some feedback regarding that. Also if making a day in advance, should or could they be (A) baked and how to store—-refrig or container or (B) unbaked and how to store if unbaked. Planning on making these tomorrow, so would appreciate your feedback asap. Thanks so much.

  8. #
    Deb — June 9, 2018 at 5:38 pm

    Can these be made, frozen and then reheated? Thanks!

  9. #
    Jean Irwin — February 5, 2018 at 11:33 pm

    I’ve made these several times now & they’ve been perfect. I found that if you’re using a dark metal muffin tin, you need to lower the temp down to 375F. I also roll my puff pastry thin & when it’s time to roll, roll them loosely. If they’re too tight, the pastry doesn’t cook.

  10. #
    Harriet — June 4, 2017 at 9:09 pm

    Can you make these a day or two in advance? If so is it best to cook them a bit then finish cooking them when you are about to eat them or leave them completely uncooked and then cook them?

  11. #
    Pretty princess — November 3, 2016 at 7:26 pm

    Hey
    I am planning to make this one as it seems easy, can we use condensed milk in place of apricot or strawberry preserve.
    Pls reply asap i have to bake them tomorrow

  12. #
    Bernie — October 9, 2016 at 8:20 am

    What to do if you don’t have a micro wave what does one do?

    B

  13. #
    Lisa Colbert — October 1, 2016 at 10:59 pm

    These are GORGEOUS!!!! I just made them…your directions were PERFECT! I think I need to cook them less….I doubled the recipe but kept 40 min and they are burned…..even the pastry dough is burned. It’s not too bad..can still serve them but don’t look AS pretty as they could. How about a lower heat? Less time? Help!

  14. #
    Ashley — August 4, 2016 at 8:03 pm

    I made these tonight and the middle of the pastry was not cooked. I cooked for a bit longer but still not done.. anyway to fix that?

  15. #
    Preethi — July 27, 2016 at 8:25 am

    Can you bake these inside cupcake wrappers? Last time I tried making them some of the roses got stuck in the tin and got a little burnt on some sides

    • #
      Tessa — July 27, 2016 at 8:50 am

      I haven’t tried, but let us know how they turn out if you give it a shot!

  16. #
    Kim — July 17, 2016 at 5:11 pm

    Tried these for Thanksgiving & my family has been begging for them ever since.
    Patience when rolling & making sure the slices are Thin is the key
    Loved all the compliments I Got on this One !

    • #
      Tessa — July 19, 2016 at 6:09 pm

      Love to hear that, Kim!

  17. #
    Malina — June 2, 2016 at 4:19 pm

    I tried once. It’s beautiful and delicious! But like other ladies said, the pastry in centre is not cooked. Is there any solution for this, please? Also, if using both phyllo pastry how many layers should I use? Thanks.

  18. #
    Richard — May 22, 2016 at 2:21 am

    Two practice runs and the pastry in the middle is still slightly under-cooked.
    They were delicious though and looked great.
    I’m just off to prepare them for our dinner guests today.

    I did wonder about using red wine instead of lemon juice so that I’d have red roses, but that will have to wait for another time.

    Richard D

  19. #
    Vicki — May 4, 2016 at 1:12 pm

    Can you assemble these the night before and bake the following morning?

    • #
      Tessa — May 6, 2016 at 8:54 am

      Sure!

  20. #
    Paula — April 19, 2016 at 12:54 am

    I couldn’t wait. After years having failures with puff pastry, I tried again tonight. Guess what, following the directions really works well. I was able to manipulate the puff pastry (YAY) and my apple roses are in the oven now.

    I have HIGH in the SKY APPLE PIE, hopes.

    We shall see, if they’re not presentable enough for company, I know they will be delish (with apologies to Rachael Ray).

    Just what makes that little old ant
    Think he’ll move that rubber tree plant
    Anyone knows an ant, can’t
    Move a rubber tree plant

    And no one thought I could work with puff pastry. Hah!

  21. #
    zee — April 9, 2016 at 8:12 am

    We changed to recipe and made pepperoni pizza roses. Yummy!

    • #
      Tessa — April 9, 2016 at 6:10 pm

      Oh fun!! Great idea 🙂

  22. #
    Debi — April 2, 2016 at 7:19 am

    I made these last night…..wonderful! And so pretty!

  23. #
    Amanda — March 13, 2016 at 12:56 am

    My husband has a work party on Monday and I wanted to make them Sunday night and send them with him Monday morning…should they be kept out or in the fridge? Will they even still be good the next day??

  24. #
    sandra — March 12, 2016 at 2:28 pm

    IM GOING TO TRY THIS AGTER CHURCH TOMARROW

  25. #
    Carol — March 2, 2016 at 2:36 am

    I love the recipe, so easy to make. I made 2 for testing, as I had filo pastry at home and never managed to use before. After some YouTube search, my fillo pastry was ready and my roses ended up beautiful. I will be definitely making on the weekend for friends to give a decoration touch in my brunch. Ah! And they are delicious too. Thanks for the recipe.

  26. #
    Nadia Walker — February 18, 2016 at 3:09 pm

    this is so easy to make !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂

  27. #
    Tracey — February 1, 2016 at 2:48 pm

    Tried to make these with triple layer Phyllo pastry. Complete disaster. Apples didn’t soften in the microwave. Slimy apples. Falling out of the pastry while trying to roll it together. If you even have one apple slice not thin enough it doesn’t work. Cutting apples by hand is a joke.

    • #
      Tessa — February 2, 2016 at 6:19 pm

      Hi Tracey! Sorry your adaptions didn’t work out. If you try again, be sure to follow as I’ve instructed and I think you’ll have better results. A mandolin can be your BFF sometimes 🙂

  28. #
    Louise — January 10, 2016 at 8:41 am

    Has anyone tried making these with phyllo pastry? How did they turn out?

  29. #
    Susan Gruenberg — January 5, 2016 at 6:16 pm

    Looked amazing, crispy outside and apples wonderful. But the dough in the middle remained uncooked despite a secon reheating,. Maybe lower temp and longer cook time,

  30. #
    Elizabeth — November 25, 2015 at 12:48 pm

    Do these have to be made with puff pastry, or could they be done with a gluten free pastry? Are they freezeable? They look so pretty! Thanks

  31. #
    fitfoodiele — November 19, 2015 at 5:19 pm

    oh wow… these are a tasty work of art! would love to try these for thanksgiving. you are awesome! thanks for sharing, Tessa 🙂

  32. #
    Patty K — October 30, 2015 at 8:34 am

    Gorgeous, Tessa! Perfect for this holiday season!

  33. #
    Quinton @ Southern Food Lovin’ — October 29, 2015 at 5:22 pm

    I am not to much on pretty like this, but my wife’s birthday is coming up and I think she will love these. You say the pastry needs to be eaten the same day, but I was wondering about the apple slices. I wanted to make a couple dozen and send them to my wife’s work place and just curious as to how the apples will fair all day?

    • #
      Tessa — October 30, 2015 at 2:20 pm

      How sweet! I’m sure she’ll love them. The baked pastries should stay good throughout the day. If there’s a toaster oven at her work people could always use that to reheat and re-crisp the pastries briefly if they wanted.

  34. #
    Dani Mendocha | Styled Variety — October 28, 2015 at 9:08 am

    These apple roses are beautiful! Such a fun treat for a party! 🙂

    Dani | http://www.styledvariety.com

  35. #
    Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness — October 28, 2015 at 5:12 am

    I seriously have been wondering how to make these! Of course you would know how to do it, oh baking queen! I need to try these…anything that tastes like apple pie and it, well, SO PRETTY? I need that!

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