Mini apple bags! With puff pastry, apples, gorgonzola, walnuts, honey and thyme. Perfect little appetizers for fall.
BE PICTURED IN; CHARACTERIZED IN:
Ever have an ingredient left over that you developed an entire recipe around?
Apples, walnuts, gorgonzola, thyme and honey make up the filling of these mini envelopes and let me tell you, it’s a great combination!
Put the filling on a pizza, keep the apples fresh and make a gorgonzola version of Waldorf salad or put it on a flour tortilla and roll it up and eat it as a wrap, whatever you do these ingredients include together. Great success also in the book club, hardly any sales remained.
For more information on which apple varieties are best for baking, check out our guide to apples.
Mini apple turnovers with walnuts and gorgonzola
If you use ready-made frozen puff pastry sheets, they must be thawed in the refrigerator at least 3 hours before use.
ingredients
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1 1/2 cups peeled, cored, chopped apples (use a good cooking apple like Jonagold, Pippin, Granny Smith, Jonathan, Golden Delicious, Gravenstein, Mcintosh)
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1/2 cup chopped walnuts
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1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
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2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled)
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2 tbsp honey
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2 prepared 7-ounce puff pastry sheets (14 ounces total)
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1 egg, beaten
method
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Precook and chop apples:
Place chopped apples in a bowl and microwave over high heat for 5 minutes until apples are cooked through. Take it from the stove and let it cool off. Drain excess moisture.
Once cool, continue chopping so the pieces are between 1/4-inch and 1/2-inch square. (Note that you can skip this step if you wish; the main purpose is to get the apples to release some of their moisture before baking them in the batter.)
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make filling:
Mix the apples, walnuts, gorgonzola, thyme and honey in a small bowl.
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Cut and fill the puff pastry:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Working with one sheet of puff pastry at a time (keep the second one in the fridge until ready to use), roll out the dough to a 9″ x 12″ size.
Cut into 12 3×3 inch squares (a pizza cutter works great for this).
Paint 1/2-inch border around each square with beaten egg (this will help seal the dough).
Place a heaping teaspoon of the apple and walnut mixture in the center of each square.
Fold the squares into a triangle shape, stretching the dough if necessary to cover the filling. Use the tines of a fork to curl the edges.
Place triangles on a baking sheet lined with Silpat or parchment paper, leaving space between triangles.
Chill in the fridge for 5 minutes before baking or chill while you prepare the second sheet of puff pastry.
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Egg wash brush envelopes:
Stir 1/2 teaspoon of water into the remaining beaten egg. Use a pastry brush to paint the tops of the dough triangles for a nice glaze.
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Bake:
Place in the oven at 400°F and bake for 15-20 minutes until nicely puffed and lightly browned. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.
Serve either warm or at room temperature. Can be made several hours in advance.
